Fermented & Acidified Foods and Sweetpotatoes group from left to right: Mr. Robert Price, Biological Science Technician; Mrs. Sandra Parker, Program Support Assistant; Dr. Suzanne Johanningsmeier, Research Food Technologist; Mrs. Rong Reynolds, Food Technologist; Dr. Ilenys Perez-Diaz, Microbiologist; Dr. Muquarrab Qureshi, Research Leader; Dr. Frederick Breidt, Microbiologist
Peanut group from left to right: Mr. Thien Vu, Dr. Adam Redhead (PostDoc), Dr. Lisa Dean, Mr. Ron Harding, Ms. Amanda Kaufman, Mr. Keith Hendrix, Dr. Ondulla Toomer, Ms. Sabrina Whitley-Ferrill
After ARS’s pickle pasteurization work helped reduce spoilage in the industry, pickles became less expensive, and dill pickle slices became popular on burgers in restaurants everywhere.
Metabolite profiling by GCxGC-ToFMS
Lactobacillus plantarum on the surface of a cucumber
Sweetpotato juice
Peanut plants in the field
Peanuts for harvest
Large scale peanut roasting
Peanut skins
Mission
Our mission is to develop and deliver state-of-the-art, science-based methods that improve the post-harvest processing, preservation, quality, marketing and consumption of safe and nutritious foods. This effort extends to the development of value-added food and feed. A top priority is ensuring the productivity and end-user quality of specific crops, notably cucumber, peanut, sweetpotato, pepper and cabbage. Towards that end, we conduct research on the latest in fermentation procedures, microbiome analyses, product chemistry and safety, as well as nutritional and performance analyses. Throughout, we strive to ensure our research and outreach efforts are responsive to the high-priority needs of a diverse cadre of stakeholders—from farmers and food and allied industries, to regulatory agencies and consumers.