ARS | Publication request: Functional foods innovations

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: January 21, 2011
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: The aim of the Dairy and Functional Foods Research Unit (DFFRU), ERRC, ARS, USDA, is to improve human health and well being by developing functional food and consumer products that utilize milk and fruit and vegetable processing residues of specialty crops. Major research approaches involve: biotechnology development of food processing microorganisms to produce dairy and other foods with improved safety, nutritional quality, flavor and texture; casein and whey modification for improved thermoplastic extrusion into high-value products; exploring the implications of processing on the bioactivity and bioavailability of milk components; development of new, sustainable processing technologies for milk; development of novel prebiotics that induce the growth of yogurt bacteria, inhibit food-borne pathogen adhesion and invasion, and play a role in the prevention of ulcerative colitis, cancer and obesity; and development of new plant polysaccharide-based products for use in orthopedic tissue regeneration, colon-specific drug delivery, active food packaging and bioplastics composites. Efforts to demonstrate the health and nutritional benefits of milk and dairy products obtained from organic or grass-fed farms will also be presented.