Mission:
This modecode is no longer active; this unit has been moved under our location in Ft. Pierce, FL modecode 6618-05-30. The mission of the U.S. Citrus & Subtropical Products Laboratory is (1) improve flavor, textural and nutritional quality while extending shelf life and microbial stability of subtropical and tropical fruit and fruit products; (2) use chemical and other analytical techniques to obtain fundamental information about mechanisms by which internal compositional profiles of these commodities are changed through genetics, harvest maturity, storage or processing and determine effects of such changes on available nutrients and other quality factors; (3) develop new mechanisms, or modify established mechanisms for converting commodities into more desirable products; (4) develop new approaches for the conversion of polysaccharides in fruit processing wastes to value-added products; and (5) isolate from citrus byproducts, phenols with biological activities targeted towards a number of pharmacological endpoints.