Spores of foodborne pathogens such as Clostridium botulinum, Clostridium perfringens and Bacillus cereus are widely distributed in nature. Presence of those spores in food products, particularly C. botulinum spores in vacuum packed, ready-to-eat low-acid products, is a great safety concern. The research here described is a first effort towards understanding...
The thermal denaturation of proteins has been extensively studied using several methods including differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). A custom-built optical system was used to study thermal effects on protein as an alternative method to DSC measurements. It was used to investigate the thermal stability of bovine serum albumin (BSA) with...
The principal aim of this study was the use and evaluation of dynamic
modeling techniques to identify mathematical models for cereal drying rates and
quality changes that best describe thin-layer malt drying data. Seven thin-layer
malt drying experiments were performed at the Great Western Malting pilot
facilities, Vancouver, WA. Malt...
Edible coatings controlling preservative migration from
surface to food bulk could inhibit surface microbial growth
which is often the main cause of spoilage for many food
products. In this project we focused our attention upon
methylcellulose, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, and chitosan as
the structural component for such edible films. These films...
The aroma of milk has been often defined as bland and pleasant, yet characteristic. Conventional thermal processing of milk can certainly extend shelf life, but inevitably changes its flavor. High pressure processing has been suggested as an alternative for milk pasteurization with improved fresh flavor retention. The objective of this...
A commercially important polyelectrolyte, xanthan, was chosen for
a systematic analysis of the relationship between molecular
conformation and surface properties. In the first study the effects
of ionic strength, xanthan concentration and temperature on the
xanthan molecular conformation were investigated by potentiometric
titration. The effects of the same factors and...
The validation and potential use of mathematical models to estimate the
shelf-life of refrigerated food exposed to temperature abuse and basing such
estimations on microbial growth was analyzed. Combined heat transfer, microbial
growth models, and non-parametric statistical procedures formed a computer-based
predictive tool to assess shelf-life and estimate the accuracy...