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College of Agriculture and Life Sciences 
Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences

Plant Food Processing

The Plant Food Processing Program serves different sectors of the food processing industry, such as fruit and vegetable processing and innovative plant-based products, as well as food and growers associations, food supply chain, and general consumers.

Services

  • Accelerated shelf-life study for shelf-stable products and ingredients
  • Food product design and development, e.g. new products, process optimization, ingredient applications, and scale-up
  • Training and workshops, including good manufacturing practices and advanced thermal processing

Program Goals

Extension

Facilitation and support for the plant-based food industry and the generation of value-added products in North Carolina. We assist new entrepreneurs and long-standing companies by providing rational interventions related to the improvement, design, and development of unit operations (drying, extrusion, extraction, and thermal processes) for sustainable food processing. 

Research

We apply food science and technology expertise to innovate ways to upcycle secondary streams of the food industry, such as fruits, vegetables, and grains, to create functional ingredients. We also develop safe food products with enhanced physicochemical, nutritional, and sensory characteristics using these smartly engineered food ingredients. 

Equipment

  • Anton Paar MCR92 Viscometer
  • Aqualab-4 Water Activity Meter: Time-efficient water activity measurement
  • Biotek Gen-5 Epoch2 Microplate Reader: Powerful instrument to analyze colorimetric-based tests such as total phenolic content (TPC) or DPPH tests
  • CEM Protein Analyzer: Calculates true protein content for a given sample based on the individual protocols
  • Goldenwell FS-900N Ultrasonic Processor: Effective particle size reduction for plant matters
  • Konica-Minolta CR-5 Spectrophotometer-Colorimeter: Built-in calibration and expedient color profile analysis
  • Labconco Port Chamber Freeze Dryer: Protein yield and bioactive compounds extraction with minimal destruction
  • Mettler-Toledo HE53 Moisture Meter: Small sample (min. 0.5g) moisture analysis
  • PHCBI MLR-352H-PA Incubator: Controlled temperature, humidity, and light for accelerated shelf-life studies in food products and ingredients
  • SALD-201F Shimadzu Particle Distribution Analyzer
  • Sorvall X-Pro Series Centrifuge
  • Thermoscientific- Cimarec iTM Multipoint 15 Stirplate