Introduction
Component I. Quality Characterization, Preservation, and Enhancement
Component II. New Processes, New Uses and Value-Added Biobased Products

Introduction

This National Program is focused on post-harvest quality and utilization of agricultural commodities and products. The research projects under this National Program were reviewed by the National Program 306 team, in cooperation with lead scientists and Area management, resulting in termination of some projects and refocusing, redirection, and/or restructuring of others. The objectives and outcomes of a program planning and coordination workshop, held in March 2003, can be found on the National Program 306 website. The revised project plans are scheduled for peer panel review from late 2003 into early 2004. All projects in this National Program, after addressing peer reviewer comments, will implement their revised 5-year research plans to begin on a common schedule in 2004. Selected accomplishments in this national program are shown below under the two program components.

Selected Accomplishments by Component

Component I. Quality Characterization, Preservation, and Enhancement

Detection of damaged wheat kernels. Detection of damaged wheat kernels, such as that caused by Fusarium head blight (scab), is important to growers, plant breeders, grain inspectors, and processors for reasons of fair value assessment, food safety, and for assessment of the degree of resistance in breeders' lines. At the Instrumentation and Sensing Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland, scientists developed a rapid, automated procedure for nondestructively identifying scab-damaged wheat based on NIR reflectance. Using hundreds of hard red spring wheat samples, they identified a broad absorption band whose slope can be used as a classifier at 95 percent or better accuracy. This technology has potential for application by plant breeders and Federal grain inspectors and the potential for development of high speed commercial sorting.

Process for improved leather quality. For automobile applications, leather needs an environmentally friendly treatment process to counteract UV and heat degradation; and such a process must produce minimum effluents. Researchers at Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, applied tocopherol (Vitamin E) and its derivatives to the grain layer of leather. Leather treated with tocopherol showed significant improvement in mechanical strength and softness and, more importantly, increased strength retention and color fading resistance against UV radiation and heat. The research results may benefit the leather industry in the production of high quality, durable upholstery leather, thereby contributing to the viability of the domestic tanning industry and its markets.

Reducing postharvest decay of apples without fungicides. There is a need to reduce postharvest fungicide use by the apple industry. In cooperation with an ARS scientist at the Appalachian Fruit Research Station, Kearneysville, West Virginia, scientists at Beltsville Maryland, developed a new strategy for controlling postharvest decay without the use of fungicides. The results showed that a combination of heat treatment and various biocontrol agents significantly reduced postharvest fungal decay of apples. This control strategy could potentially be used commercially to reduce the use of postharvest fungicides by the apple industry.

Reducing poultry processing costs. Cost associated with holding thousands of chilled broiler carcasses for 6 to 12 hours prior to breast muscle removal is estimated to be five million dollars per plant per year. In the continuing effort to shorten or eliminate this holding time, scientists at Athens, Georgia, in cooperation with engineers from Stork-Gamco Equipment Company, conducted studies using a European style electric stimulator designed to deplete energy from the muscle fiber and allow earlier breast muscle removal while optimizing texture of the cooked meat. The European style stimulator was successfully tested on the pilot plant processing line at the Russell Research Center. The Stork-Gamco stimulator can be used in either the European or U.S. processing plants to significantly reduce processing costs while optimizing textural characteristics of the ready-to-eat breast meat.

Improved test for soft wheat baking quality. Alkaline water retention capacity (AWRC) test has been applied at the Soft Wheat Quality Laboratory (SWQL) in Wooster, Ohio, to predict the pastry baking quality of soft wheat test lines for 50 years, and selection pressure over that time has reduced the response of contemporary soft wheat test lines to the test. The SWQL studied the effect on pastry prediction of replacing the AWRC with a regression of protein content, kernel softness, and (50 percent) sucrose retention capacity, and has implemented the new prediction into the Laboratory's developmental test line evaluation program. The new pastry quality prediction has proven to be considerably superior to the previous procedure. Soft wheat breeders now have more confidence in the Lab’s soft wheat pastry baking score at up to three generations earlier than previously possible and millers and bakers can rely on this prediction of baking quality by employing the same principle without having to perform as much costly test baking.

Improved prune pitting. The prune industry, as well as inspection agencies, are in need of a reliable method to detect pits that have been missed in the pitting process. Working with the Dried Fruit Association (DFA) of California, researchers at the Western Regional Research Center (WRRC) have developed a method to detect the pits and remove them from the process stream. During FY 2003, a prototype device was assembled implementing the method. Once adapted for a processing plant environment, this device could reduce the number of pits in the final product, increasing product quality.

Nondestructive method of detecting cracked rice kernels. Rice breeders are in need of a non-destructive method to identify unshelled rice kernels that contain fissures (cracks) that are undesirable in the milling process. Working with the California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation, researchers at WRRC developed a method to detect the fissures without removing the shell. During FY 2003, this method was adapted to form the basis for an automated sorting device. Once completed, this device could assist rice breeders to develop new strains of rice that are resistant to fissuring.

Detecting insects in wheat kernels. Internal insect infestation of wheat kernels degrades quality, costs the wheat industry millions of dollars in lost domestic and export markets, and is one of the most difficult defects to detect. Engineers at Manhattan, Kansas, found that the data generated by the Perten SKCS 4100, an instrument developed by ARS and used by many grain millers and handlers, can be processed for detecting live and dead internal insects in whole wheat kernels. This technology provides the wheat milling and handling industries, as well as FGIS, a rapid and automated method for detecting internal insects in wheat kernels. The software has been transferred to a commercial miller for field testing. Other grain processors throughout the country have expressed interest in this technology.

Effects of processing on peanut allergens. ARS scientists postulated that the allergenic properties of peanuts may be affected by a sequence of processes such as maturation, curing, and roasting. Scientists at the Southern Regional Research Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, and National Peanut Research Laboratory, Dawson, Georgia, compared the allergenic properties of peanuts from each of the above processes and found that the allergenic properties of peanuts increased in each process (i.e., maturation, curing and roasting). The finding that the processes of peanut maturation, curing, and roasting have an impact on the allergenic properties of peanuts will lead to the development of better processes to reduce allergenicity and, ultimately, the production of peanuts and/or peanut products with reduced allergenic properties.

Measuring cotton stickiness. Stickiness in cotton is one of the two highest priority problems facing the cotton industry today that can literally stop a gin or spinning mill, and there currently is no good way to detect it. Scientists at the ARS Quality Assessment Research Unit in Athens, Georgia, worked cooperatively with MEDCO in St. Louis, Missouri, to field test a previously developed model for identifying cotton stickiness before cotton reaches critical fiber processing steps with a detection procedure known as near infra red spectroscopy and to develop remediation strategies for harvesters and in the gin. An instrument was developed that uses the hear-infra-red region to measure stickiness in cotton in the gin and spinning plant. This impact will affect the industry at every level and provide gins and spinning plants with the information to identify sticky bales and implement measures to remediate the problem.

Flavorful, high lycopene tomato. Poor flavor of tomato is a major complaint of consumers. Years of cooperative work between the Citrus and Subtropical Products Laboratory, Winter Haven, Florida, and the University of Florida Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, Bradenton, Florida, have resulted in the planned release of a premium high lycopene tomato selection with superior flavor. This was accomplished though many seasons of analytical flavor and sensory analyses of tomato lines, including those with high lycopene, resulting in a final selection this year. This new line should boost Florida's struggling tomato industry by giving growers a horticulturally acceptable, flavorful tomato with added health benefits that should compete well in the domestic market.

Tests confirm less damage and foreign material in U.S. peanuts. To make U.S. peanuts more competitive in the world market with foreign origin peanuts, The Peanut Foundation requested a comparison of the percent damage, percent foreign material, and aflatoxin levels in imported peanut to domestic peanuts. Using grading records provided by the USDA, AMS and Georgia Federal State Inspection Service, the percent damage and foreign material were compared in both domestic and imported peanuts and sorted by grade and type peanut in the USDA, ARS, Market Quality and Handling Research Unit Laboratory at Raleigh, North Carolina, in cooperation with industry. Results showed that percent damage and foreign material were in much smaller amounts in domestic peanuts than in foreign origins. Results were presented to a USDA, Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and American Peanut Council trade workshop with European buyers.

Component II. New Processes, New Uses and Value-Added Foods and Biobased Products

Structured lipid products. Nutraceutical lipids (a class of structured lipids) are one of the fastest growing segments in the food ingredient market, but new technology is needed to produce structured lipid products from commodity-type fats and oils. Researchers at Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, in collaboration with a university partner (Chungnam University, Republic of Korea), conceived a new route to produce structured lipids. To accomplish this, they developed a process that uses a combination of physical fractionation and enzymatic steps; and a patent was granted on this technology. Successful adoption of this technology will provide hypercholesterolemic subjects with products that have been shown to have beneficial cholesterol-lowering effects.

Less toxic hide dehairing method. Most tanneries use toxic sodium sulfide to remove hair from hides. Researchers at Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, proposed a sulfide-free dehairing protocol that utilizes oxidative chemicals, which are safer to handle. The researchers developed oxidative dehairing protocols for use in a tannery and a packing plant (i.e., rapid unhairing) and demonstrated that the quality of the leather obtained is not compromised. These investigations will benefit the tanning and packing industries by eliminating the use of toxic sulfide and its presence in waste effluent streams.

New market for Fantesk. Jet cooking apparatus was used in the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR), Peoria, Illinois, pilot plant to produce fifty gallons of an antibiotic barrier cream lotion for test marketing by a licensee and Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) partner. Based upon successful tests and evaluations of antibacterial lotion products prepared at NCAUR, this licensee has installed large-scale jet cooking equipment at a facility in Ohio for production of commercial quantities of Fantesk (TM) for marketing to health care workers, workers in the food service industry, and law enforcement personnel. Fantesk (TM) is a patented technology developed at the NCAUR that uses cornstarch and soybean oil, surplus products of U.S. agricultural production.

High fiber food ingredient. The research was done to create value-added cereal products containing soluble fiber, particularly beta-glucan and a highly functional cellulosic gel. New food ingredients were prepared at the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR), Peoria, Illinois, that have useful textural qualities related to food calorie replacement properties. Technology transfer was completed with the creation of a new company, Fibergel Technologies. Specific food products were prepared having increased nutritional qualities. The impact for products developed by ARS from this accomplishment has opportunities for worldwide dietary improvements and increasing foreign markets.

Soy fortified bread. Breads containing high levels of soy flour were studied in order to find new markets for soybeans and to create a low-cost, palatable, high-protein food. Breads containing wheat, soy flours, and other ingredients were prepared at the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR), Peoria, Illinois, and evaluated by a trained taste panel to measure the level of undesirable "beany" flavor of soy versus good grain flavors. Whole wheat breads containing up to 30-40 percent soy flour having very little beany flavor were prepared by adding highly active yeast, ascorbic acid and sugar. The U.S. baking industry, food pantries, and American public in general should benefit from such an inexpensive, nutritious, heart-healthy bread.

Wood adhesives from forage. Biologically-derived adhesive materials based on soy protein display poor stability when wetted and their use diverts soy from the protein market. In collaboration with scientists at the USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, ARS scientists at the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center in Madison, Wisconsin, examined the adhesive properties of the residues of biomass fermentations produced by bacteria that produce a sticky cell coating during fermentation. They showed that the fermentation residues produced by several Ruminococcus bacterial strains could partially replace phenol-formaldehyde resins (at up to 73 percent on a dry weight basis) as an adhesive for plywood construction; they also demonstrated adhesive properties of the fermentation residue of alfalfa fiber, a more industrially relevant substrate. These residues have potential as adhesive or adhesive extenders in wood construction applications.

Wheat-based industrial packaging materials. In response to the need to utilize surplus commodity starches and to add value to underutilized agricultural fibers, researchers at the Western Regional Research Center developed novel wheat starch- and straw-based industrial packaging materials. Wheat starch was incorporated into starch-based single-use food wraps, plates and trays, allowing CRADA partner, EarthShell, Inc. to create industrial packaging products that are less expensive and more flexible than their present starch-based industrial materials. More specifically, basic knowledge of the structure/ properties relationship of wheat starch and its associated trace proteins was applied to allow EarthShell to cut material costs by more than 50 percent. This breakthrough will enable starch-based packaging to take a more competitive position in the $8 billion single-use packaging market and will potentially improve the rural economy by expanding the non-food markets for wheat starch and fiber.

Improved cotton lint cleaner. Fiber quality and bale weight are both reduced by a commonly used cleaning machine known as a saw-type lint cleaner, thus a better machine is needed. Field-testing of a USDA-patented, improved lint cleaner that reduces fiber loss about 50 percent was completed. The cleaner was licensed to Continental Eagle Gin Company, tested in conjunction with the Cotton Ginning Research Unit in a commercial gin, and 23 units are now in commercial gins worldwide. These improved units will increase bale weight by 8 pounds or $6 per bale. A second new, patented lint cleaner was successfully field-tested with 5,000 bales at a commercial gin in Arkansas. The new lint cleaner increased bale weight by 10 pounds per bale and produced even cleaner cotton. The new lint cleaner is currently available for licensing by private industry.

Process for rice straw sterilization. Japan desires to import rice straw from the United States for cattle feed and demands that the straw be free of disease causing agents. A scientist at the Southern Regional Research Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, has invented a process for sterilizing rice straw and is entering into a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with an industry partner to pursue commercialization. Research is underway to make the process continuous and scale it up for a commercial operation. This process will allow the United States to export rice straw to Japan, which currently imports 2 million tons of forage other than that from rice.

Rice bread. Economical rice bread products are needed for consumers with celiac sprue disease and other disorders that prevent consumption of gluten-containing grain (e.g. wheat) products. A scientist at the Southern Regional Research Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, has developed formulations for rice bread using a home bread machine. A prototype rice bread was developed with desirable flavor and texture. The developed process will benefit those with celiac sprue and other intestinal diseases by allowing the consumer to readily and economically (ingredient cost $0.30) prepare a gluten-free bread.

Activated carbon from animal waste. Activated carbon production from broiler litter and broiler cake was undertaken to develop a value-added product from animal waste and to develop an efficient and cost effective metal ion adsorbent that could compete with commercial carbons in the marketplace. Broiler litter and broiler cake were dried, milled, pelletized, steam activated and evaluated for adsorption of several different metal ions by scientists at the Southern Regional Research Center (SRRC), New Orleans, Louisiana in cooperation with scientists at Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana. These activated carbons adsorbed more metal ions than any commercial activated carbon or most commercial cation exchange resins examined. A patent application on this technology is currently being written and interest has been generated from several poultry containment facility operators, a fertilizer company, AgriRecycle in Delaware, and Resource Conservation and Development Coordinators in Southern Mississippi.

New cotton-based wound dressings. One aspect of research targets meeting major unmet needs with cotton wound dressings in nursing homes, bed ridden and burn patients with non-healing and burn wounds. This is done by developing new cotton-based wound dressings that will selectively interact with either chronic wounds or burn wounds. Two types of modified cotton gauze were designed, prepared, and assayed by scientists at the SRRC in New Orleans, Louisiana, in collaboration with The Wound Healing Institute, Medical College of Virginia. A Phase I Small Business Innovation Research/National Institute of Health (SBIR/NIH) grant was funded for work with Tissue Technologies to place the two types of gauze in development. Subsequent success of this work has resulted in filing a grant proposal for a Phase II SBIR/NIH grant which would create funding to place the gauzes in manufacturing and clinical trials. This grant proposal has recently received a high score and is likely to be funded. The impact of this work will benefit the consumer who has need of high-tech wound dressings and the cotton farmer and American textile industry by increasing the volume of value-added cotton product sales in the United States.