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The following posters were presented by the group in the meeting

1. Heat Transfer Modeling of Innovative Infrared Heating for Pear Peeling
2. Varietal Effects on Physiochemical Properties and Polyphenols Distributions in Pomegranate Fruits
3. Hypocholesterolemic Effects of Pressed and Solvent-Extracted Fruit Seed Oils
4. Development of Healthy Crispy Carrot Snacks Using Sequential Infrared Dry-Blanching and Hot Air Drying Method
5. Effect of Foxtail Millet Protein Hydrolysates on Lowering Blood Pressure in Spontaneously Hypertensive Ratsoster
6. Drying and Decontamination of Almonds by Sequential Infrared and Hot Air Drying
7. Impact of Emissive Power of Electric Infrared Emi9ers on Tomato Peeling Performance
8. Effect of Infrared Radiation Drying on Sensory Characteristics of Rice
9. Drying and Quality Characteristics of Kale by Infrared Heating
10. Effect of Pulsed Light Treatment on Inactivation of Horseradish Peroxidase
11. Influence of Pre-sorting and Infrared Pre-drying on Walnut Quality

The following posters were presented by the group in the meeting

1. Changes in Physicochemical Properties of Infrared Dried Rice During Storage
2. Disinfection of Rough Rice Using Combined Pulsed Light and Holding Treatment
3. Effect of Enzymatic Hydrolysis on Nutritional Value of Protein Extracted From Tomato Seed
4. Effects of Press Speed, Restriction Die Size, and Moisture Content on Safflower Oil Yield and Process Optimization
5. Improvement of Shelf Lives of Rough and Brown Rice Dried by Using Infrared Heating

A seminar and demonstration event was successfully held at UC Davis to disseminate a sustainable IR dry-peeling technology for fruits and vegetables. The new technology was developed by the research team led by Dr. Zhongli Pan of the Healthy Processed Foods Research Unit of USDA-ARS and Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, UC Davis. It eliminates the uses of water and chemicals and generation of wastewater in peeling of fruits and vegetables. The research project was supported by the Specialty Crop Block Grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and California League of Food Processors (CLFP).  The representatives from CLFP, fruit and vegetable processors, and food processing equipment manufacturers attended the event. The peeling demonstration was conducted by using a newly developed pilot scale IR heating system to peel tomatoes and pears. The IR dry-peeling technology showed much better peeling performance and produced much firmer products without using water/steam and chemicals compared to the current hot lye and steam peeling. It serves as an urgently needed alternative for reducing the negative environmental impact and need in water in the food industry.

During IFT 2019, Ph.D. Student Xingzhu Wu and Chang Chen are selected as student representatives of IFT Nutraceutical & Functional Foods Division and IFT Food Engineering Division. In the coming year, Xingzhu and Chang will collaborate with other representatives across the country to increase student involvement in food science, and bridge the industry and academia. Congratulations!

Ph.D student Xingzhu Wu has been selected for a 2019-2020 Mistletoe Research Fellowship. He was among 36 fellows chosen from more than 400 applications.

He will receive an unfettered research grant ($10,000) for his further studies. More importantly, he will participate in the 2019-2020 Mistletoe Startup Collaboration and have the opportunity to engage in scientific and entrepreneurial collaboration with a frontier tech startup. The Startup Collaboration program started with a 3-day Match Workshop (August 5^th-7^th. Singapore) where he met startups, other fellows, and members of the Mistletoe Community (investors, entrepreneurs, community partners) to form a project team. His area of collaboration is Sustainability, and the program will be conducted remotely via Online Learning Community platform at his spare time throughout a year. Every team is guided by a team mentor from a Mistletoe Community Partner organization with significant experience in technology implementation. Additionally, through this online platform, he will have the opportunity to listen to subject matter experts on patent strategy, communicating science to the public, and transitioning from academia to industry or entrepreneurship.

For more information: https://www.mistletoefound.org/

The Innovative Infrared Research and Development Team is the recipient of the 2018 Research and Development Award for its contributions and accomplishments in innovative research and development and commercial implementation of sustainable infrared heating technologies for improved food healthfulness, quality, and safety while saving energy and water during food processing. The research team comprises Zhongli Pan, Tara H. McHugh, Chandrasekar Venkitasamy, Ragab Gebreil, and Hamed M. El-Mashad.

More info could be found here

The following posters were presented by the group in the meeting

1. Physical Properties of Jujube Slices by Hot Air and Infrared Drying
2. Process Development for Antioxidant Extraction from Wet Pomegranate Peel
3. Walnut Structure and Its Influence on Hydration Characteristics
4. Effects of Grinding Methods on Physicochemical and Functional Properties of Black Tea Powder