Hey everyone!
For those of you that went to the 2014 IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo (AFME) this year I hope you enjoyed your trip and have fully recovered from an amazing experience! For those that did not get a chance to go this year I hope you are able to make it to IFT in 2015 where it will be held in Chicago from July 11 - July 14.
It's a great time to support our fellow classmates presenting their research, our college bowl team and represent Chapman University. The IFT AMFE offers everyone the chance to walk the floor and see innovative products and trends for the upcoming year and get an idea of specific areas within the industry you may want to work. When you get tired of walking the floor you can take advantage of the numerous scientific sessions offered which are not only informative, but a great way to learn about interesting topics, trends and technologies. This year's sessions included discussions on 3D food printing, the science of flavor pairing, the perception of consumers on azodicarbonamide and so much more!
If the above reasons were not enough to convince you to attend IFT, here's one more, come to network! The Institute of Food Technologists goes through great lengths to set up mixers and networking events whether it be for students, new professionals or specific divisions. I encourage everyone to come prepared with business attire, business cards and a social attitude. It's a great time to meet professionals and connect with other food scientists regardless of if you are looking for a job.
Still not convinced? Check out pictures from this year's trip to New Orleans, LA (to be posted soon)! It was a blast! Check the blog in a few days where I will be posting a few pictures in honor of our college bowl team, student research and awards received!
Thanks for tuning in!
- Charles Quinto
Showing posts with label research. Show all posts
Showing posts with label research. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Food for Thought: Honeybees Decline
Hey everyone,
Hope the spring semester is going well! It's been a while but here is a post I've been meaning to write for a few weeks so here it is! It seems these days as if more and more articles, posts, and documentaries are spreading the word on the declining honeybee population. For those who do not know, here are a few important facts about honeybees taken from the Natural Resources Defense Council:
Hope the spring semester is going well! It's been a while but here is a post I've been meaning to write for a few weeks so here it is! It seems these days as if more and more articles, posts, and documentaries are spreading the word on the declining honeybee population. For those who do not know, here are a few important facts about honeybees taken from the Natural Resources Defense Council:
- Since 1990, >25% of managed populations have disappeared in the U.S.
- Bees are pollinators which assist in spreading pollen and seeds
- Pollination is important for >30% of the world's crops and as high as 90% of wild plants
- Hone bees are important for producing food crop
While it is still widely thought that the reduced populations were due to residual pesticides, recent studies suggest there may be another suspect, tobacco ringworm virus. While it is still unknown whether the virus contributes or is responsible for the decline what has been observed are the following:
- The virus initially remained in the gut or salivary glands, but recently has been found throughout the entire bodies of the bees
- The virus is also found in a parasite (varroa mite) that infects the bees
- Tobacco ringworm in addition to the black queen cell virus, deformed wing bee virus and Israel acute paralysis virus were found at higher concentrations prior to colony collapse in studies completed by the U.S. and China
More information can be read here (recommended): http://www.nrdc.org/wildlife/animals/files/bees.pdf
National Geographic information: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/honeybee/
Link to Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/paulrodgers/2014/01/31/plant-virus-jumps-1-6-billion-year-species-barrier-to-infect-honeybees/
- Charles Quinto
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Food for Thought: Flavor Pairing
Hey Everyone,
Spring semester is right around the corner! Ever wonder why sometimes one spice tastes like another or why absurd sounding combinations end up tasting amazing? It may have to due to shared flavor compounds!
A paper was written discussing the hypothesis that ingredients sharing flavor compounds taste better together than those with different compounds. For example, though it may not sound appealing to consider eating white chocolate and caviar, both contain trimethylamine and additional flavors. What was also interesting was analysis of cuisines by region show that North American and Western European dishes gravitate towards the use of ingredients with similar flavor compounds. East Asian and Southern European dishes on the other hand, avoid the use of similarly flavored ingredients.
To entice you into reading the entire paper take a look at these flavor networks!
The entire paper can be read here:
http://www.nature.com/srep/2011/111215/srep00196/full/srep00196.html
Enjoy!
- Charles
Spring semester is right around the corner! Ever wonder why sometimes one spice tastes like another or why absurd sounding combinations end up tasting amazing? It may have to due to shared flavor compounds!
A paper was written discussing the hypothesis that ingredients sharing flavor compounds taste better together than those with different compounds. For example, though it may not sound appealing to consider eating white chocolate and caviar, both contain trimethylamine and additional flavors. What was also interesting was analysis of cuisines by region show that North American and Western European dishes gravitate towards the use of ingredients with similar flavor compounds. East Asian and Southern European dishes on the other hand, avoid the use of similarly flavored ingredients.
To entice you into reading the entire paper take a look at these flavor networks!
The entire paper can be read here:
http://www.nature.com/srep/2011/111215/srep00196/full/srep00196.html
Enjoy!
- Charles
Monday, November 4, 2013
Food for Thought: More Pork, Hold the Antibiotics
Hey everyone,
It's November! Today's article is about pigs and antibiotics! As you may know, one of the problems we are facing with foodborne illness is the antibiotic resistance the bacteria exhibit. This is largely due to the use of antibiotics in farms. What you may not know is that feeding animals small amounts of antibiotics actually correlated with increased growth rate which is part of the reason they were used in the first place!
Steve Dritz, a specialist in swine nutrition at Kansas State University, explains that 60 years ago there was a a trend between increased growth rate of animals and the consumption of antibiotics. Observed effects showed 12-15% increased growth with antibiotics with the added benefit of requiring less feed in order to reach full weight! Over time, additional studies performed observed similar growth-promotion with the introduction of antibiotics.
Dritz says that in the 1990s, pork production changed dramatically. Instead of pigs being born and raised in the same barn or barns within a close location, pigs were now born in one location and moved to a new site. In previous years, pigs would develop in areas with a high risk of infections spreading from one generation to the next. The new regulation ensured that the piglets were growing in a clean area free of disease. Groups of pigs brought onto one site are kept together without mixing pigs from other groups. The regulations are so strict that even workers moving between groups must change their boots to prevent any transmission of infectious diseases.
Post implementation of the new farming standards, pigs began to grow at the same rate as seen with antibiotics. Dritz carrried out experiments and found that the effect of antibiotics on growth were no longer as high as in the past. Though it is thought that the reduction of disease and good hygiene are responsible for the increased growth rate, no definitive conclusions have been made.
What is clear is that pigs can grow just as quickly without antibiotics with the decreased risk of organisms becoming resistant to drugs we may need to treat illnesses. However, change is slow and not all farmers have taken Dritz' advice nor were they all convinced with the evidence presented. Unfortunately it's difficult to fight against a large population's perception, especially one that has been instilled for such a long time.
With time, hopefully change will occur and we can move towards more natural ways of raising animals that are better.
Here's the article from NPR.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/11/04/241603861/why-are-pig-farmers-still-using-growth-promoting-drugs
Thanks for reading!
- Charles Quinto
It's November! Today's article is about pigs and antibiotics! As you may know, one of the problems we are facing with foodborne illness is the antibiotic resistance the bacteria exhibit. This is largely due to the use of antibiotics in farms. What you may not know is that feeding animals small amounts of antibiotics actually correlated with increased growth rate which is part of the reason they were used in the first place!
Steve Dritz, a specialist in swine nutrition at Kansas State University, explains that 60 years ago there was a a trend between increased growth rate of animals and the consumption of antibiotics. Observed effects showed 12-15% increased growth with antibiotics with the added benefit of requiring less feed in order to reach full weight! Over time, additional studies performed observed similar growth-promotion with the introduction of antibiotics.
Dritz says that in the 1990s, pork production changed dramatically. Instead of pigs being born and raised in the same barn or barns within a close location, pigs were now born in one location and moved to a new site. In previous years, pigs would develop in areas with a high risk of infections spreading from one generation to the next. The new regulation ensured that the piglets were growing in a clean area free of disease. Groups of pigs brought onto one site are kept together without mixing pigs from other groups. The regulations are so strict that even workers moving between groups must change their boots to prevent any transmission of infectious diseases.
Post implementation of the new farming standards, pigs began to grow at the same rate as seen with antibiotics. Dritz carrried out experiments and found that the effect of antibiotics on growth were no longer as high as in the past. Though it is thought that the reduction of disease and good hygiene are responsible for the increased growth rate, no definitive conclusions have been made.
What is clear is that pigs can grow just as quickly without antibiotics with the decreased risk of organisms becoming resistant to drugs we may need to treat illnesses. However, change is slow and not all farmers have taken Dritz' advice nor were they all convinced with the evidence presented. Unfortunately it's difficult to fight against a large population's perception, especially one that has been instilled for such a long time.
With time, hopefully change will occur and we can move towards more natural ways of raising animals that are better.
Here's the article from NPR.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/11/04/241603861/why-are-pig-farmers-still-using-growth-promoting-drugs
Thanks for reading!
- Charles Quinto
Friday, October 11, 2013
Food for Thought: Peanut Butter & Alzheimer's Disease
Hey Everyone,
Fall is definitely here if you couldn't tell from the chilly temperatures and the pumpkin themed flavors and aromas everywhere! I personally love the smell of the traditional pumpkin spices used - the cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, ginger...all of it! Speaking of scents, did you know that patients with Alzheimer's have an altered sense of smell with their left nostril being significantly more impaired than the right!?
It turns out that the ability to smell is one of the first sense affected over the course of cognitive decline due to its association with the first cranial nerve. The University of Florida has been studying smell sensitivity using peanut butter! Generally, our sense of smell uses two distinct sensations: the olfactory sense and the trigeminal sense. Peanut butter was chosen because it is "a pure odorant that is only detected by the olfactory nerve."
Normal clinical diagnostic tests for Alzheimer's take weeks to receive confirmatory results so preliminary tests with immediate results such as the peanut butter test could be beneficial. The article describes the method used to test each individual's ability to smell peanut butter and is posted below. Check it out! It even has a short video.
Here is a link (with a video!) to the University of Florida's Newspage:
http://news.ufl.edu/2013/10/08/alzheimers-test/
Here is a 2nd article link:
http://www.popsci.com/article/science/if-you-can-smell-you-may-not-have-alzheimers?dom=tw&src=SOC
Fall is definitely here if you couldn't tell from the chilly temperatures and the pumpkin themed flavors and aromas everywhere! I personally love the smell of the traditional pumpkin spices used - the cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, ginger...all of it! Speaking of scents, did you know that patients with Alzheimer's have an altered sense of smell with their left nostril being significantly more impaired than the right!?
It turns out that the ability to smell is one of the first sense affected over the course of cognitive decline due to its association with the first cranial nerve. The University of Florida has been studying smell sensitivity using peanut butter! Generally, our sense of smell uses two distinct sensations: the olfactory sense and the trigeminal sense. Peanut butter was chosen because it is "a pure odorant that is only detected by the olfactory nerve."
Normal clinical diagnostic tests for Alzheimer's take weeks to receive confirmatory results so preliminary tests with immediate results such as the peanut butter test could be beneficial. The article describes the method used to test each individual's ability to smell peanut butter and is posted below. Check it out! It even has a short video.
Here is a link (with a video!) to the University of Florida's Newspage:
http://news.ufl.edu/2013/10/08/alzheimers-test/
Here is a 2nd article link:
http://www.popsci.com/article/science/if-you-can-smell-you-may-not-have-alzheimers?dom=tw&src=SOC
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