Mission:
The Food & Industrial Oil Research Unit identifies and develops new concepts in utilizing vegetable oils as alternative value-added industrial products and develops innovative technologies to solve problems in the utilization of edible vegetable oils. The unit conducts fundamental and applied research with the goal of expanding domestic use and export markets for American agricultural materials. Research includes organic, physical, polymer and analytical chemistry and chemical engineering to modify chemical and physical properties of vegetable oil or its fatty acids to enhance their use as additives, or major components of fuels, lubricants, inks, paints, polymers, composites and other industrial materials. Innovative technologies are developed to solve problems in the utilization of edible vegetable oils and to expand markets for vegetable oils. New lipid based human foods are developed from new oilseed varieties generated by ARS, university and private research programs employing selective breeding or genetic engineering. Attributes such as functionality, oxidative stability, flavor and texture quality and high temperature stability of these new food products are determined.