College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/1598
The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations.
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Item The Development of a Qualitative Risk Assessment and Targeted Storage Decline Kinetics Data as Critical Components for Developing a Full Quantitative Risk Assessment of Salmonella Contamination in Milk Chocolate(2019) Oni, Ruth Adeola; Buchanan, Robert L; Food Science; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Salmonella enterica infections and outbreaks have been associated with chocolate consumption over the last four decades. The source of contamination for these occasional salmonellosis outbreaks are often unidentified, and typically the level of contamination is only a few salmonellae per serving. The main goals of this dissertation were to collate relevant scientific information regarding microbial safety of milk chocolate, conduct a qualitative assessment of risk factors for Salmonella contamination encountered during the complex processes of cocoa bean cultivation and the subsequent process of milk chocolate manufacturing, and to generate targeted data and survival models for kinetics of Salmonella stored in milk chocolate crumb; all components critical to the development of a stochastic quantitative microbial risk assessment. The farm-to-packaging qualitative assessment provided categorizations of risk for relevant activities and ingredients, identified critical data gaps and “risk spots” and culminated in an Excel-based risk rating tool used to illustrate the usability of the qualitative assessment. Results indicate an overall low residual risk of Salmonella contamination of a packaged milk chocolate product for a base model, provided dictates of process control measures are rigorously adhered to, and the risk rating tool enables the assessment of what-if scenarios for deviations from optimal practices. One of the data gaps identified in the qualitative risk assessment led to investigation into the use of milk chocolate crumb, an intermediate product during milk chocolate processing, and its potential association with Salmonella risk. Evaluation of the survival kinetics of S. enterica in milk crumb showed a significant (p<0.05) dependence of survival on storage temperature, strain and crumb type. Due to the manner in which crumb is generally utilized during milk chocolate processing, findings from this study are the first to link the use of crumb and Salmonella risk, and presents promising opportunities for risk reduction which can be explored through further research into optimization of crumb storage parameters. This study serves as a valuable resource to food safety stakeholders in the chocolate industry as it builds the foundation and provides much-needed data for a quantitative microbial risk assessment model that can be used to optimize food safety control programs.Item Promotion of Value-Added Uses of Soybeans(2011) Slavin, Margaret; Yu, Liangli; Food Science; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Soybeans contain a wealth of health-promoting phytochemicals, the amounts of which are known to vary considerably across genotypes and growing conditions. The present work is dedicated to better understand these variations and to improve the methods for investigating soy phytochemicals. To address the first of these concerns, low-linolenic soybeans and colored seed coat soybeans were investigated for their health beneficial components, as well as their chemical and biological properties. A study of low-linolenic soybeans showed their similar antioxidant activity, total phenolics, and isoflavones to normal fatty acid soybeans. The potential for a different trend in tocopherols and lutein was observed between low-linolenic and regular fatty acid soybeans, but the limited study size prevented a definitive conclusion. This work was the basis for further studies on low-linolenic soybeans not included in this report. Subsequently, a study of eighteen soybeans of brown, green, yellow and black seed coat colors concluded that black seed coat soybeans had significantly higher scavenging activity against hydroxyl, peroxyl, and ABTS+ radicals. Black seed coat soybeans also contained higher total phenolic contents and isoflavones than the other colored soybeans, and were the only color to contain the anthocyanin cyanidin-3-glucoside. However, when soybean extracts were tested for their ability to prevent colon cancer cell proliferation, seed coat color and chemical composition were not necessarily predictive of an extracts' bioactivity. Lastly, a new analytical method was developed and validated for quantification of phytosterols, tocopherols and carotenoids, three separate classes of soy lipophilic phytochemicals, in a single extraction and HPLC run. A ternary, isocratic solvent system of acetonitrile, methanol and water (48:22.5:29.5, v/v/v) was used to achieve separation on a phenyl column. Evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD) was used to quantify beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol, campesterol, alpha-, delta- and gamma- tocopherols, while lutein was quantified with visible light absorption at 450 nm. This method offers a more efficient alternative to separate, individual methods for quantifying lutein, tocopherols and sterols in soybeans.Item Development of okara powder as a gluten free alternative to all purpose flour for value added use in baked goods(2010) Aguado, Ana; Lo, Y. Martin; Food Science; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Soymilk and tofu production yields large quantities of agrowaste (okara). Okara is high in fiber and protein making it a potential nutritious food ingredient. The shelf life of only a day makes it difficult to work with in large scale operations. To increase the value of okara, the dried product was incorporated with other ingredients to create a gluten-free flour (AF). Analysis of biscuits and cookies made with AF yielded poor product height, spread and texture. However, pancakes and muffins made with AF were more successful. AF was not significantly different (p < 0.05) from the control in the muffin product in regards to springiness, hardness and height. Sensory evaluation of the muffins found AF muffins out-performing a commercial gluten free flour, and was not significantly different from the control in flavor and texture, with no distinguishable beany flavor. These studies demonstrate that AF produced from okara can be used to increase the value of the agrowaste.