WASHINGTON, D.C. – The top minds in specialty crop research will be on display this spring at United Fresh 2011, May 2-5 in New Orleans. The annual convention and expo of the United Fresh Produce Association will again feature posters on food safety, quality assurance, and fresh fruit and vegetable marketing as part of its S-294 Poster Sessions.
“Innovation is the lifeblood of the fresh produce industry, and innovation starts with cutting-edge research,” said United Fresh Senior Vice President of Food Safety and Technology Dr. David Gombas. “The research on display at United Fresh 2011 holds the key to developing everything from new products to safer approaches to processing to unique ways producers can reach their customers.”
The poster session is sponsored by the California Leafy Green Products Handler Marketing Agreement (LGMA) and presented through the S-294 project, “Postharvest Quality and Safety in Fresh-cut Vegetables and Fruits.” The project is a USDA-authorized Multistate Research Project, including U.S. scientists from 16 State Agricultural Experiment Stations and 5 USDA ARS laboratories along with international participants from several laboratories in Canada, Italy and Spain. The purpose of this project is to address technological opportunities and complex problem solving activities related to fresh-cut products that are beyond the scope of a single research institution, so that the research can be conducted in a more efficient and comprehensive way. The scientists involved in the S-294 project are an interdisciplinary group with expertise in the physiology and quality of fresh-cut products and the microbiological safety of those products. The research being conducted involves integration of physiological, pathological, food safety, and instrumental and sensory quality measurement concepts that are essential for developing the most effective handling procedures and innovative, new technologies for maintaining the quality, safety and shelf stability of fresh-cut products.
Research poster topics on display at United Fresh 2011 as of March 30 include:
- Sanitation procedure for juicers producing fresh squeezed non-pasteurized citrus juice – Jan Narciso, Chris Ference, Sarah Stone, Jinhe Bai, and Liz Baldwin, USDA Citrus & Subtropical Products Lab, Winter Haven, Fla.
- A method for training sensory panelists for quality evaluation of fresh fruit – Anne Plotto, Keith Williamson, Sharon Dea, Sarah Stone, Jinhe Bai, and Liz Baldwin, USDA Citrus & Subtropical Products Lab, Winter Haven, Fla.
- Gamma Irradiation: Dose effects on baby-leaf spinach vitamins – Gene Lester, USDA-ARS, Beltsville, Md., Guy Hallman, USDA-ARS, Weslaco, Texas, and Juliana Perez, NAEC, Argentina
- National Institute of Food and Agriculture: Funding opportunities in Produce Safety and Quality – Ram Rao and Dan Schmoldt, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
- Quality change in stored fresh-cut seedless watermelon subjected to firmness retention dips and shipping plus vibration damage – J.C. Beaulieu, J.M. Lea, B.F. Ingber and N. Goldberg, USDA, ARS, Southern Regional Research Center, New Orleans, La.
- Antimicrobial effect of a commercial fermentation product and NatureSeal® on fresh-cut squash – Lihua Fan, En Yang, Craig Doucette and Sherry Fillmore, AAFC, Atlantic Food and Horticulture Research Centre, Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada
- Effects of atmosphere composition on fresh-cut artichokes – M. la Zazzera, F. Piazzolla, M.L, Amodio, and G. Colelli, Dept. of the Science of Production and Innovation in the Mediterranean Agricultural and Food Systems, University of Foggia, Italy
- Degradation patterns for external and internal quality attributes of fresh-cut apples – M. L. Amodio, L. Dollo, I. Ricci, and G. Colelli, Dept. of the Science of Production and Innovation in the Mediterranean Agricultural and Food Systems, University of Foggia, Italy
- Use of a novel portable hyperspectral imaging device for post sanitation inspection – Alan M. Lefcourt1, Michael Wiederoder1,2, Nancy (Tong) Liu1,2, Moon S. Kim1, Y. Martin Lo2, and Kevin Chao1, 1 Environmental Microbial and Food Safety Laboratory, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, Md., 2 Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Maryland, College Park, Md.
- Impact of modified atmosphere packaging and antimicrobial dips on the market life of diced red onion. – Charles F. Forney1, Richard Grant2, Lihua Fan1, Craig Doucette1 and Michael A. Jordan1, 1 AAFC, Atlantic Food and Horticulture Research Centre, Nova Scotia, Canada, 2 Nova Agri Inc., Centreville, Nova Scotia, Canada
- Cutting Romaine lettuce while submerged in sanitizer improves efficacy of sodium hypochlorite – S.J. Bach, Changwen Lu, P. Toivonen, and P. Delaquis, AAFC, Pacific Agricultural Research Centre, Summerland, British Columbia, Canada
- BOUNTY OF THE BITE: Kinetics of volatile synthesis following cellular disruption associated with masticated and fresh cut apple fruit – Nihad Alsmairat, Carolina Contreras, and Randolph M. Beaudry, Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich.
- Viability of Salmonella enterica, and selected quality characteristics of romaine lettuce following immersion in PROSAN, a biodegradable foodgrade sanitizer – Aubrey F. Mendonca, Dept. of Food Science & Human Nutrition, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
- Repeated use of PROSAN as a vegetable wash: changes in lethal effects against pathogenic bacteria and natural microflora on romaine lettuce – Aubrey F. Mendonca, Dept. of Food Science & Human Nutrition, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
- A new marketing approach for minimally processed onions – Eva Almenar, Amanda Humes, RenSun Lee, Sara Sobon, Derek Johnson, Rita Morse, Muhammad Siddid, Janice Harte, Elliot Ryser, and Bruce Harte, School of Packaging, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich.
- Validation of a preharvest approach to predicting quality and postharvest shelf-life of spinach with a hand-held SPAD meter – Eduardo Gutiérrez-Rodríguez, Amy Gunderson, Trevor Suslow, University of Califonia, Department of Plant Sciences, Davis, Calif.
- Effects of levulinic acid and sodium acid sulfate on quality and E. coli population of fresh-cut Iceberg lettuce during storage in modified atmosphere package – Xuetong Fan and Wenqiang Guan, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Eastern Regional Research Center, Wyndmoor, Pa.
- Commercial Scale chlorine dioxide gas fumigation of fresh produce – Bassam A. Annous, Angela Burke, Joseph Sites, Joel Tenney, and Thomas Isaac, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Eastern Regional Research Center, Wyndmoor, Pa.
For more information on S-294, or to present a poster at United Fresh 2011, interested parties may contact David Gombas at 202-303-3411 or email dgombas@unitedfresh.org.
Founded in 1998, the United Fresh Produce Association Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization committed to meeting the public’s needs for an abundant supply of healthy, safe and affordable fresh fruits and vegetables. The Foundation is dedicated to increasing the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables to children as a critical step in combating childhood obesity and launching a lifetime of healthy choices. To assist industry members in meeting these goals, the Foundation offers educational programs, leadership development, public outreach, and industry training through four different Centers — Center for Leadership Excellence, Center for Nutrition and Health, Center for Food Safety and Quality, and Center for Global Produce Sustainability. For more information, visit www.unitedfresh.org or call 202-303-3400.
Source: United Fresh Produce Association Foundation