Latest News
The Penn State Product Development team, a group of students in the food science department, recently was named one of three finalists in the Dairy Research Institute New Product Competition.
Bonnie Ford, quality assurance laboratory specialist in Penn State's Department of Food Science, recently accepted the 2013 Dairy Laboratory of the Year Award from the Pennsylvania Association of Milk, Food and Environmental Sanitarians.
Recently released reports about the frequency of foodborne illness -- commonly known as food poisoning -- show that the risks have not changed much in recent years, according to an expert in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.
Proposed new Food and Drug Administration regulations developed under the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act, or FSMA, will affect how Pennsylvania farmers, processors and retailers operate.
A four-student team representing Penn State's Food Science Club recently placed third out of 10 finalists in the 2013 Research Chefs Association Student Culinology Competition in Charlotte, N.C.
Robert F. Roberts, who has served as interim head of the Penn State Department of Food Science since May 2012, has been named to the post on a permanent basis.
John Hayes, assistant professor of food science in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, has received The 2012 Roy C. Buck Faculty Award in the Agricultural Sciences for his article, "Wine Expertise Predicts Taste Phenotype."
A distinguished researcher in the field of food microbiology has created the first endowed professorship in Penn State’s Department of Food Science in the College of Agricultural Sciences. Larry Beuchat, 1965 agriculture graduate, created the Dr. Larry Beuchat Professorship in Food Microbiology with a gift of $1 million to recognize the Penn State faculty who inspired him and to encourage a new generation of researchers.
Sensory Evaluation Center looks at the factors behind food choice. John Hayes, assistant professor, who directs the University’s Sensory Evaluation Center, is interested in why people eat the foods they do. He approaches this complicated question from the relatively fresh angle of sensory science.
A lot goes into making delicious the Penn State Creamery's ice cream—milk, cane sugar, nuts, chocolate, fresh fruit and more. But an unexpected ingredient is essential to the Berkey Creamery’s ability to churn out some 750,000 cones per year: a generous dose of state-of-the-art technology.
A new strain of norovirus, known as GII.4 Sydney 2012, is making the rounds this winter, causing a significant number of acute outbreaks. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it has become the dominant strain, causing more than 140 reported outbreaks in the United States this year. People should try to limit their exposure to norovirus and try to minimize its spread, advised an expert in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences
Growers should be aware of the Produce Safety Rule proposed Jan. 4 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to a food-safety expert in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. If adopted, it will establish mandatory practices that farmers must employ to prevent microbial contamination of fresh produce.
A standout student-athlete in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences recently received a prestigious academic award. Maggie Harding, a redshirt sophomore on the women's volleyball team, was named the recipient of the Elite 89 award for the 2012 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship. Harding, of State College, who is majoring in food science, carried a 4.0 grade point average into the tournament. She was presented with the award during the women's volleyball banquet on Dec. 12 in Louisville, Ky.
Seems like every month there is a new food scare that makes the national news. Most recently, it was antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens found in pork.
Three graduate students studying food science, with an emphasis in sensory science, in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences won awards in a poster contest held at the recent 2012 Society for Sensory Professionals Conference in Jersey City, N.J.
A four-student team from Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences recently finished second in the Collegiate Dairy Products Evaluation Contest.It was the University's first entry into the contest after a seven-year absence. Team members included senior Food Science majors Kelsey Rogers, of Howard; Megan Woo, of San Francisco; Jennifer Updegrove, of Oley; and Allison Hoy, of Pittsburgh.
For those fortunate hunters who bag a deer in the upcoming season, a food-safety specialist in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences offers some advice for field dressing and storing the carcass properly and processing the meat.
An ingredient in green tea that helps reduce blood sugar spikes in mice may lead to new diet strategies for people, according to Penn State food scientists.
As Penn State celebrates 150 years of graduate education, Research Unplugged featured a graduate student researcher at the third talk in its six-event series. Food science doctoral candidate Nadia Byrnes and her faculty mentor, John Hayes, presented "Some Like it Hot: The Science Behind Our Food Preferences." Hayes is assistant professor of food science and director of the University's Sensory Evaluation Center.
Pasteurization is a crucial element in producing safe, high quality dairy products, and most companies in the business of producing them are very committed to the process. To provide the latest information on pasteurization, Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences is offering a workshop designed for plant supervisors and quality-control and maintenance personnel.
