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Food & Nutrition Research Briefs, October 2009
Reducing water hardness may increase its ability to remove bacteria from
broiler chicken skin, according to Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
scientists. After five rinses in very hard, moderately hard, or
"soft" water, the soft water removed up to 37 percent more bacteria
from the chicken skin than did the other two water types. This included
Campylobacter, Staphylococcus and Pseudomonas bacteria. By
controlling water hardness, poultry processors may be able to improve the
ability of processing water to remove bacteria from the skin of processed
poultry.
Details
Scientific contact:
Arthur
Hinton, Jr., (706) 546-3621, ARS
Richard
B. Russell Research Center, Athens, Ga.
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Reducing water's hardness may increase its ability
to rinse bacteria like Campylobacter from chicken during
processing.
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Laser "tattoo" technology now being
tested by ARS and University of Florida scientists may one day replace sticky
labels on produce. Photo courtesy of Ed Exteberria, Univ. of
Florida
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Those small and sometimes inconvenient sticky labels on produce may
eventually be replaced by laser "tattoo" technology now being tested
by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and University of Florida scientists.
Called "laser etching," the new technology puts a tattoo on
grapefruit and other produce so it can be identified at the supermarket
checkout lines. Grapefruit has always been labeled with sticky paper labels
that can mar the fruit and stick to one another in storage. The labels are also
easily removed, making it more difficult to track a piece of produce back to
the source if the need arises. This permanent laser etching into the fruit peel
does not increase water loss or the entrance of food pathogens or postharvest
pathogens if the laser label is covered with wax.
Details
Scientific contact:
Jan
Narciso, (863) 293-4133, ext. 119, ARS
Citrus
and Subtropical Products Laboratory, Winter Haven, Fla.
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A new rice batter product developed and patented by the Agricultural
Research Service (ARS) absorbs up to 50 percent less cooking oil than
traditional batters. The new product is now being marketed by a Maryland
company. Users can mix the dry product, called ChoiceBatter, with water before
coating and frying foods such as chicken, fish, shrimp, veggies and desserts.
The batter can also be used for grilling and baking. The rice flour-based
batter is cholesterol- and gluten-free, Kosher, and available over the
Internet.
Details
Scientific contact:
Fred F.
Shih, (504) 286-4354, ARS
Food
Processing and Sensory Quality Research Unit, New Orleans, La.
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ARS researchers Kim Daigle and Fred Shih have
developed a rice flour batter that can be used to fry food such as chicken and
shrimp, but absorbs up to 50 percent less oil.
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ARS microbiologist Anthony De Lucca has found that
a compound in cayenne peppers holds promise for dual use as an antifungal
treatment in both agriculture and medicine.
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Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and their colleagues have
found that a patented antifungal plant compound in cayenne, called CAY-1, holds
promise for dual use as an antifungal in both agriculture and medicine. The
substance is believed to work by attaching to fungal membranes, where it causes
cell components to leak, eventually killing the cell. CAY-1 also may enter
fungal cells and adversely affect certain signaling pathways that, in turn,
damage the cells' mitochondria. CAY-1 was lethal during the early spore
germination cycle of seven tested fungi, but was inactive against dormant
spores.
Details
Scientific contact:
Anthony
De Lucca, (504) 286-4253, ARS
Food
and Feed Safety Research Unit, New Orleans, La.
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Agricultural Research Service (ARS) researchers and entrepreneur Matthew de
Bord, founder of Origami Foods, LLC, of Stockton, Calif., are the co-inventors
of a patent-pending process to make colorful, paper-thin sheets of edible fruit
and vegetable wraps and glazes. The versatile wraps come in flavors like mango,
strawberry, tomato-basil, carrot-ginger, and red bell pepper. All of Origami's
wraps contain at least 75 to 90 percent fruit or vegetables, and are low in
calories, low in fat, and free of additives, preservatives, artificial flavors
and artificial colors. The wraps may help kids learn to like the many flavors
of fruits and vegetables.
Details
Scientific contact:
Tara
McHugh, (510) 559-5864, ARS
Processed
Foods Research Unit, Albany, Calif.
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Colorful carrot-ginger wraps for these California
rolls are among the array of tasty vegetable and fruit wraps developed by ARS
scientists and Origami Foods, LLC, of Stockton, Calif.
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ARS researchers are mapping data from Maine to
Virginia to model potential production of crops such as potatoes, sweet corn,
fruit, nuts and vegetables to find out where local food production could meet
current and projected demand and where it won't. Photo courtesy of Natural
Resources Conservation Service.
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Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are mapping an array of
county-level data from Maine to Virginia on weather, soil, land use, water
availability and other elements. Then they'll use their map to model potential
crop production and find out where local food production could meet current and
projected demand-and where it won't. Until recently, low fuel prices have
contributed to the globalization of the U.S. food system. Relying more on the
strategic production of locally grown food could counter the challenges of
rising transport costs, growing population demands and vanishing farmlands. The
study also will help identify how the costs and benefits of locally grown
produce compare with produce that is transported over long distances to the
Eastern Seaboard market.
Details
Scientific contact:
Wayne
Honeycutt, (207) 581-3363, ARS
New
England Plant, Soil and Water Research Laboratory, Orono, Maine.
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An Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist is working with an
international group of researchers on a project to improve the livelihoods of
people in rural Ecuador by promoting the conservation and use of indigenous
crops. People in and around Cotacachi, in the northern Andean highlands, have
been farming for thousands of years, and the result is a stunning diversity of
crops, some of them little known outside the Andes. But many people now work
away from their farms, prompting concerns that some of the crops, along with
the associated cultural traditions, may be lost. As part of that project,
scientists at Ecuador's National Department of Plant Genetic Resources have
saved samples of much of the crop diversity in their genebank. Farmers also
have exchanged seeds at fairs and worked with the scientists to evaluate crop
varieties. A food-processing plant was built to package products made with crop
varieties provided by a farmers' cooperative.
Details
Scientific contact:
Karen
A. Williams, (301) 504-5421, Plant Exchange Office, ARS
National
Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Md.
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An Agricultural Research Service scientist is
working on a project to improve the livelihoods of people in rural Ecuador by
promoting the conservation and use of indigenous crops like those in this
photo.
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New SummerFest peach. Photo courtesy of Mark
Demuth, ARS.
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Peach growers and consumers now have two new sweet, juicy, yellow-flesh
peaches to add to their list of favorite varieties. SummerFest is a
high-quality freestone peach with an excellent balance of sweetness and
acidity. Harvested in the middle of peach season (mid-August in the
Mid-Atlantic states), SummerFest has good firmness, which is important for
shipping. FlavrBurst is another high-quality freestone peach that has a good
amount of sweetness, but is lower in acidity than typical peach varieties. It
may be more suitable for those who cannot tolerate acidic fruits, but still
desire a "peachy" flavor. FlavrBurst also has good firmness at
harvest maturity.
Details
Scientific contact:
Ralph
Scorza, (304) 725-3451, ext. 322, ARS
Appalachian
Fruit Research Station, Kearneysville, W.Va.
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