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NC1023: Improvement of Thermal and Alternative Processes for Foods (NC136)

Statement of Issues and Justification

The US food processing industry must respond to the consumer demand for safer foods of higher sensory quality that fulfill their nutritional needs and expectations. To address the increased demands for these products, the industry must redefine technology to assure food wholesomeness. Thus, new and existing process technologies must rise to the challenge and play a pivotal role in the improvement of the quality of value-added agricultural and food production. The development of such processes requires even more knowledge of food properties, the response of the quality attributes in foods to thermal and non-thermal processes, models defining heat, mass, and momentum transfer, process control via sensor development, and systems that ensure food safety. Industries cannot respond to these demands as there still are engineering problems that have to be overcome, but cannot without the proper research. The expertise to develop this knowledge is best achieved through different research institutions with a high level of commitment and dedication as well as a desire for creative cooperation among participants. The probability of success is greatly enhanced by the collaborative sharing of expertise among member engineers, food scientists, and other experts in Multistate Project NC-136 (NC_TEMP1901).

JUSTIFICATION

The strong collaborative nature of the NC-136 Committee has been central to its success. Its collaborative structure enables the stations to share knowledge and research facilities to achieve their objectives in an efficient manner (see Organizatiuon and Governance for specifics).

In the U.S and around the world, changes in economic, social, and demographic conditions have created an increased desire for new food products with much higher sensory quality, new packaging, more convenience, new delivery systems, and safer and more nutritious foods. The greatest challenge to the food industry is to change fast enough to keep pace with new technology advances and new consumer trends. The impact of organic foods and dietary supplements on consumers' choices of products cannot be ignored. Since many food products are basically differentiated by sensory attributes, health promotion by major changes in dietary patterns may become a feasible component of product development and marketing. The need to improve quality and retain nutritional value has resulted in a number of alternative thermal and non-thermal preservation technologies. These technologies are currently being investigated with the aim of producing high-value end products. However, while these developments are encouraging, there is still a lot to be learned. New and exciting trends in science, including molecular biology, nanotechnology, and nutragenomics, are changing the way in which engineers and scientists address issues such as process efficiency, product safety and quality. As demand for new food products containing nutraceuticals and/or new functionality are increasing, reliable means to characterize the effectiveness of these ingredients as well as their interactions with other base ingredients are urgently needed. Optical and biosensing techniques for real-time evaluation of food systems during processing and storage should be investigated. The objectives of NC-136 take on special relevance in light of these new products, technologies and challenges.

The NC-136 Committee, which initially focused on thermal processes, has expanded its focus during the current 5-year cycle by including the study of non-thermal technologies. During the next 5-year cycle, research into traditional processes (e.g., freezing, canning) will continue, but the emphasis will shift to new processing technologies. A whole new body of knowledge will be developed by integration of engineering principles with molecular biology, biochemistry and microbiology in addition to continued reliance on advances in physics and chemistry. The need for biophysical properties, understanding of transport processes in biological systems and scale-up from the molecular scale to commercial applications will remain essential. Modeling is playing increasing roles in industrial research and development as well as efforts by academia to understand food systems during processing and distribution. Relevant information related to microbial death kinetics for alternative processes is being collected and evaluated. However, an understanding of the interaction of microorganisms with each other, and the environment under processing and storage conditions, is still needed. Research into solutions that combine non-thermal food processing technologies, biological preservatives (e.g., bacteriocins), and enhanced packaging technologies must continue. Sensor systems are also needed in real time applications for process control and endpoint prediction. Systems that can provide real-time detection of food-borne pathogens will be investigated. Thus, we propose an expanded scope for our project.

The capabilities offered by the multicollaborative aspect of the NC-136 project provide a unique opportunity to partner aspects of these research areas for identification, characterization, development and improvement of modified and novel products which will positively impact human nutrition and health. Expected impacts of the collaborative efforts are an understanding of the effects of non-thermal food processing methods on stability and safety of foods; an insight to the functionalities of food molecules to allow for dramatic improvements in food quality; advances in the modeling of complex phenomena in foods; lower-temperature processing technologies (e.g., high pressure, irradiation) to help retain the sensory qualities and biological activity of foods. The productivity record for NC-136 during this 5-year cycle (Table C1, Attachment C) demonstrates the Committee's ability to achieve its objectives. The level of funding through the USDA and other competitive grants (Appendix A) shows a considerable leveraging effect, and is indicative of the relevance and quality of the science advances by this group. The NC-136 plays an important role in keeping US processors at the forefront of a global industry. This is demonstrated by the number of grants from industry. Agricultural producers and consumers benefit in turn from a competitive, innovative domestic food processing industry. Rapid, substantive progress will be best achieved through the continued sharing of resources and unique capabilities that can be brought to bear through NC-136 (Appendix B).