New ARS Food and Nutrition Research Briefs Issued
Contact: Kim Kaplan
Email: Kim.Kaplan@usda.gov
February 2, 2022
ComBase, an online quantitative food microbiology database with more than 65,000 records, helps companies design and implement better food safety programs, document regulatory compliance, and test new model interfaces. It saves the food industry millions of dollars a year in testing and other associated costs, as well as helping to prevent recalls and foodborne illness. This information is part of the latest issue of ARS' Food and Nutrition Research Briefs.
The latest issue, which reports discoveries from researchers at ARS laboratories nationwide, can be found at: https://www.ars.usda.gov/oc/fnrb/2022/fnrb0222/
Among other findings, the current issue reports:
- Shifting to a new food freezing method called isochoric freezing could make for safer and better quality frozen foods while saving energy and reducing carbon emissions. The new freezing method protects foods from ice crystallization, which is the main threat to food quality.
- A new method now allows peanut skins—usually a bitter tasting waste product of producing peanut butter—to be used to fortify milk chocolate with increased antioxidant levels. Peanut skins contain phenolic compounds including procyanidins, which have been shown to reduce inflammation and act as natural antimicrobials, as well as bitter tasting tannins.
ARS Food and Nutrition Research Briefs is available on the web. Readers can subscribe, signing up for either of two email options: They can receive the full text of the newsletter by email or simply an advisory when a new issue has been posted online.
For more information contact Kim Kaplan, ARS Office of Communications.
The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in agricultural research results in $17 of economic impact.
