Chapman at IFT 2014 New Orleans

Great job at the 2014 IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo everyone! Shout out to this year’s College Bowl team that took us to Nationals and did an amazing job! Although we didn’t win, first place winners from Penn State was led by team captain Latha Murugesan, an alumna of Chapman!

Top row: Tara Okuma, Dr. Lilian Were, Jessica Sambuco,
Erin Young, Brendan Wong
Bottom row: Jessica Hallstrom, Crystal Lin

Additional recognition for all those who participated in research competitions, presented posters, gave oral presentations and/or received an award!

Kimberlee Au
Research: "The Effects of Modified Atmosphere Packaging,
Irradiation, and Methyl Bromide Fumigation on the
Quality and Shelf Life of Sweet Cherries" (Fruit & Vegetable Products Division)

Jessica Hallstrom
Received a certificate as a finalist in the "Excellence in
Student Leadership Award" and was selected as an
"Outstanding Volunteer for SCiftS"

Donna Levy
Research: "Microbial Safety of Fresh Herbs from
Los Angeles,Orange County, and
Seattle Farmers' Markets" 
(Food & Microbiology Division)

Crystal Lin
Research: "Antioxidant Capacity of Ground Coffee
in Raw Ground Beef with Added Salt"
(Muscle Foods Division)
Graduate Poster Competition Finalist
Recognized by Phi Tau Sigma for Excellence in Scientific Research

Tara Okuma
Research: "Identification of Meat Species in Pet Foods using
Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Assay"
(Muscle Foods Division)
Undergraduate Research Competition Finalist

Karen Thang
Research: "The Effects of Modified Atmosphere Packaging,
Gamma Irradiation, and Methyl Bromide Fumigation on
the Chemical, Physical, and Sensory Quality of Blueberries"
(Fruit & Vegetable Products Division)

Food for Thought: Use of Food Scraps

Hey everyone!

We're getting closer towards the end of the semester! Today I bring you some exciting news! Entrepreneur John Edel has received funds from Illinois to build an anaerobic digester in Chicago. The anaerobic digester will use anaerobic bacteria to break down an estimated 27 tons of food wastes daily to generate methane gas. This will serve as a fuel source to produce electricity to power a brewery, a mushroom farm, a vegetable farm, a fruit farm and an aquaponics system for fish. This is a great step towards utilizing waste for beneficial purposes!

Here's a diagram of how it will work!

Here is the link to the article: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/04/09/300620735/food-scraps-to-fuel-vertical-farmings-rise-in-chicago
And here is information about The Plant: http://www.plantchicago.com/about/

Thanks for reading!
- Charles Quinto

Food for Thought: Gut Bacteria!

Hey everyone!

I don't know about you guys, but I'm still transitioning into our time leap forward thanks to daylight savings! In any case, the semester is moving along and it's almost the middle of March! Today I bring you information about your gut bacteria! Exciting, I know, but please try and contain your bowel movements.

Picture from NPR article, see link below

As many of you might know, it has been suggested that probiotics may confer health benefits due to a number of various reasons, but today I want to discuss an article I read from NPR. Harvard University has been examining the effect of a diet high in meat and dairy. It turns out, the microflora in the gut changes within two days of a high protein and dairy diet, but this alteration has the potential to cause intestinal and inflammation diseases in mice.

As the types of micrboes in the gut began to shift, so did their expression of genes. Bilophila organisms began to dominate the gut as they love their bile (or rather ours!). This is important since there is an increase in bile production when a diet is rich in fats from meat and dairy. Though the Bilophila are assisting us, increased numbers have been associated with the promotion of inflammation.

Just another reason to consume a well balanced diet!
Have a great week everyone!

And as always, if you would like to see the full article, here is the link:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/12/10/250007042/chowing-down-on-meat-and-dairy-alters-gut-bacteria-a-lot-and-quickly

- Charles Quinto