Penn State's renamed One Health Microbiome Center affirms broad expertise

May 15, 2023

The Microbiome Center in the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State has announced its renaming to the One Health Microbiome Center, reflecting its collaborative culture and aspirations to write its next chapter in the booming study of microbial communities that live throughout the world's environments.

Raise a glass to home winemaking: Penn State Extension offers workshop

April 21, 2023

An upcoming Penn State Extension workshop is aimed at helping home winemakers take their hobby to the next level. The “Advanced Home Winemaking Workshop” will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 20, in 252 Rodney Erickson Food Science Building on Penn State’s University Park campus.

College of Agricultural Sciences announces alumni award recipients

April 13, 2023

Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences has honored two graduates with 2023 Outstanding Alumni Awards.  

Dairy processors can build crisis readiness skills at upcoming events

April 7, 2023

The Penn State Extension dairy food processing team will offer three events aimed at educating dairy processors about food safety and helping them build crisis readiness skills. A two-day event, titled, “Dairy Industry Crisis Readiness Drill Training,” will take place May 11-12 at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center in State College.  

Penn State Global announces 2022-23 faculty, staff, student awards

April 7, 2023

Penn State Global has announced the 2022-23 recipients of its annual awards that recognize the outstanding contributions of individuals and academic programs at Penn State who have helped to advance the University’s global engagement goals.

Students, faculty in College of Ag Sciences lauded for exceptional work

April 7, 2023

The Penn State chapter of Gamma Sigma Delta, the agricultural honor society, recognized Penn State faculty and students during its annual meeting, which was held April 5.

Food science professor elected fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology

March 31, 2023

Ed Dudley, professor of food science at Penn State, recently was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. 

Is a little-known amino acid concentrated in mushrooms the key to healthy aging?

March 31, 2023

Ergothioneine — or ERGO, an amino acid made primarily by fungi and found in high concentrations in mushrooms — may be a useful tool in fighting these conditions, according to a Penn State researcher.

Penn State faculty visit Belize to forge collaborations

March 20, 2023

Over spring break, a group of 14 Penn State faculty visited the Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education to explore opportunities to develop long-term collaborative research, education and outreach projects. The multidisciplinary group included faculty from the College of Agricultural Sciences, Eberly College of Science, Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, and School of International Affairs.

New partnership will address health and food safety challenges in Kenya

March 2, 2023

Representatives from Penn State, Meru University of Science and Technology, and Meru County in Kenya signed a memorandum of understanding in a ceremony in Kenya to formally commence their new partnership. This collaboration also will involve the Technical University of Denmark.

Heinz ketchup bottle innovator creates food packaging program endowment

March 2, 2023

After a successful career in food packaging, Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences alumnus Doug Peck has committed $200,000 from his future estate to create the Douglas R. Peck Food Packaging Endowment in Food Science. The program endowment will support opportunities and efforts in the Department of Food Science related to food packaging programming.

Processing, like fermentation and roasting, doesn’t cut cocoa’s health benefits

February 24, 2023

It is widely believed that when foods undergo processing, their health benefits are reduced. But that is not true for cocoa, according to a Penn State-led team of researchers, who conducted a new study using a mouse model.

Q&A: Is chocolate healthy?

February 10, 2023

As Valentine’s Day approaches, the mind naturally turns to love — and chocolate. To learn more about chocolate and its effects on us, we spoke with Joshua Lambert, professor of food science at Penn State. Lambert’s research focuses on diet, specifically adopting dietary practices to prevent cancer, obesity and inflammation. He has worked extensively with cocoa, the key ingredient in chocolate.

Researchers devise, test food-safety training program for farmers market vendors

January 23, 2023

Responding to a need revealed in their earlier studies, a team of Penn State researchers developed and pilot-tested a customized food safety training program for farmer’s market vendors.

Bucknavage appointed to Pennsylvania Food Policy Council Advisory Committee

January 17, 2023

The governor’s office recently named Martin Bucknavage to represent Penn State Extension on the advisory committee of the new Pennsylvania Food Policy Council. Bucknavage is a senior food safety extension associate in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences and team lead for industrial food safety and quality.  

College of Ag Sciences minority alumni return to campus, discuss their journeys

December 5, 2022

Four graduates of Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences recently returned to campus to discuss success in class to success in life as guest speakers on a minority alumni panel, hosted by the college’s Office of Multicultural Affairs.  

Internships earn awards for College of Agricultural Sciences students

December 2, 2022

Twelve Penn State students have been selected as College of Agricultural Sciences Alumni Society 2022 Internship Award winners. The award, which includes a $1,000 stipend, was established to encourage students to participate in a credit or noncredit educational internship program related to their field of study.

Penn State Berkey Creamery announces new Salted Caramel Cheesecake flavor

November 30, 2022

The newest flavor from the Penn State Berkey Creamery — Salted Caramel Cheesecake — will be available for a limited time through the end of December. It is the first new flavor created by the creamery since White Out was announced in fall 2018.

Faculty in College of Ag Sciences recognized for research achievements

November 8, 2022

Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences lauded outstanding accomplishments in research during the college’s inaugural Research Awards Ceremony, held Oct. 25 at the Hintz Family Alumni Center on the University Park campus.

'Growing Impact' podcast probes world of cellular agriculture, meat production

November 1, 2022

This month's episode of the "Growing Impact" podcast features Josephine Wee, a food scientist at Penn State with expertise in mycology and fungal biology, whose work with cellular agriculture may provide solutions to some of the challenges of large-scale commercial meat production.

Microbiologist in food science, E. coli Reference Center gets grant for research

October 27, 2022

A Penn State microbiologist and the huge collection of bacteria he oversees recently received a four-year, $371,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to be part of a multi-institutional $2.5 million research project aimed at predicting “bacteriophage” resistance from only a genome sequence.

Research team gets CDC grant to strengthen infectious disease surveillance

October 6, 2022

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has funded a $750,000 grant for research by a team of Penn State scientists to strengthen infectious disease surveillance, detection, and preparedness by developing an accessible bioinformatics platform and tools for utilization by the CDC’s Laboratory Response Network.

Berkey Creamery products nab top awards at national dairy product contest

October 5, 2022

At this year’s World Dairy Expo Championship Dairy Product Contest, the Berkey Creamery earned two first-place awards for its butter pecan ice cream and black raspberry frozen yogurt. It also brought home a third-place trophy in the sharp cheddar category. 

Tailgating this football season? Avoid a food safety fumble

September 22, 2022

Planning to tailgate or “homegate” this football season? As fans fire up grills in anticipation of the game, Penn State Extension food safety experts offer tips and strategies to help block foodborne illness before it intercepts your fun.

College of Ag Sciences students taste Greek cuisine and culture on trip

September 14, 2022

Students in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences explored Greece’s rich culture — and its food — while studying abroad in Thessaloniki, Greece, this summer.

Microbiome Center announces inaugural Interdisciplinary Innovation Fellows

September 13, 2022

The first-ever round of Interdisciplinary Innovation Fellowships will support the work of Microbiome Center members and allow them to acquire knowledge and techniques to then share with other University colleagues.

After a two-year hiatus, College of Ag Sciences resumes study abroad programs

July 28, 2022

After a two-year pause due to the pandemic, students in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences once again are taking advantage of study abroad opportunities. In the spring semester, students visited countries around the world, including Spain, Ireland, Germany and Kenya.

Sigler wins awards for academic advising excellence from College of Ag Sciences

June 22, 2022

Chris Sigler, assistant teaching professor and academic adviser in the Department of Food Science, recently received both the 2022 Excellence in Academic Advising Award and the 2021-22 Community of Advising Excellence Award from Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

Food safety from farm to fork: Resources for farmers markets vendors

May 11, 2022

As farmers markets kick off this season, vendors and producers may benefit from Penn State Extension educational materials on controlling food safety risks from farm to fork — including a resource guide and an online course.

Microbiologists get grant to study biofilms guarding foodborne pathogen Listeria

April 29, 2022

Microbiologists in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences have received a $605,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study how microbial biofilms protect Listeria monocytogenes, the bacterium that causes the deadly foodborne illness listeriosis.