News and Events

Conference Focuses on Food Safety Issues

2008-05-13T13:35:27-05:00

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Food safety has come a long way since cook Mary Mallon inadvertently infected dozens of New Yorkers with typhoid fever a century ago, but major challenges to assuring a safe food supply still exist, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln food safety specialist said Monday.

UNL Extension's Harshavardhan Thippareddi used the story of Mallon, better known as Typhoid Mary, to outline the history of food safety during the first day of an international conference on food safety and risk analysis, being held on UNL's East Campus.

The first person confirmed to be a healthy carrier of typhoid fever, Mallon infected more than 40 people, three of whom died. Typhoid fever is spread by ingesting water or food which has been contaminated during handling by a human carrier.

"That's when we started to realize food can be a carrier of illness or death," Thippareddi said. "We have made significant progress from that day ... We have better ways of tracking, better ways of controlling" foodborne illness.

However, that progress is not equally spread, said Ricardo Molins, director of agricultural health and food safety of the Costa Rica-based Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture.

Parts of Latin America "are very behind in food safety," Molins told conference attendees. "We need to make a greater effort."

Molins and Rolando Flores, head of UNL's Department of Food Science and Technology, said they hope this week's conference, which brings together scientists from UNL with influential personnel in agricultural policy making from countries such as Costa Rica, Mexico, Honduras, Argentina and Chile, can help close that gap. Among the attendees are 15 staff members of the Ministry of Agriculture in Costa Rica.

"We want to develop collaborative links that can assist us in the future," Flores said.

One challenge is that the "issues of one country can be completely different from issues of another country," Thippareddi said.

Another challenge is that it's easier to mandate and enforce food safety standards at the processor level than at the producer level.

"You cannot expect the processor to clean up everything that comes through from the farm," Molins said.

Presented in both English and Spanish, the conference, at Chase Hall, is addressing a variety of issues, including food safety requirements placed upon internationally traded food products, assessment of risk in food processing systems, identification of and protection against common contaminants, and good manufacturing practices in the food processing industry.

The conference is sponsored by UNL's Food Processing Center and Department of Food Science and Technology, both part of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture.

Sources:

Rolando Flores, Ph.D., head, food science and technology department

Harshavardhan Thippareddi, Ph.D., associate professor, food science and technology department

Writer:

Dan Moser, IANR News Service

Food Science Sophomore mentioned in CASNR publication

2008-05-13T13:24:48-05:00

Food Science Sophomore Tessa Porter was recently featured in an article in CASNR’s “Class Acts” Newsletter. The article focuses on her work with Beatrice Bakery and the diligence and skill she displayed providing product innovation for that company. The article also gives a short description of The FPC and its capabilities. Beatrice Bakery CEO Rick Curlett gives glowing praise to Tessa and The FPC.

Congratulations Tessa for your recognition.

The Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Research

2008-05-05T09:31:58-05:00

The Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Research awards $25,000 to one talented foreign-born scientist living in the United States. Candidates must have earned a doctoral degree, be under 39 years of age, and be a naturalized citizen or permanent resident with intentions to continue their career in the United States. For more details and for an application, please see http://www.vilcek.org/ Application deadline is July 11, 2008.

Spring Banquet 2008

2008-05-01T10:39:55-05:00

FDA Embarks on Major Hiring Initiative for its Public Health Mission

2008-05-01T08:49:29-05:00

The FDA is hiring hundreds of individuals with science and medical backgrounds to help meet the agency's responsibilities to assure the safety and/or efficacy of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, food, cosmetics and products that emit radiation.

"It takes a large pool of talented people for the FDA to protect and promote the public health," said John Dyer, FDA's Deputy Commissioner for Operations and Chief Operating Officer. "Each month there is a delay in bringing critical staff on board impairs the agency's ability to fulfill this mission."

In fiscal year 2008 alone, the FDA is looking to fill more than 600 new positions and to backfill over 700 others to implement the FDA Amendments Act of 2007, the Food Protection Plan and the Import Safety Action Plan. That's nearly triple the number of people hired from 2005-2007.

The Office of Personnel Management has granted Direct-Hire Authority to the FDA, an operating division of the Department of Health and Human Services. OPM's actions reflect the Administration's commitment to strengthening the agency quickly.

Direct-Hire Authority is an appointing authority OPM can give to federal agencies for filling vacancies when a critical hiring need or severe shortage of candidates exists. It expedites hiring of qualified candidates by eliminating certain rating and ranking preferences. Qualified candidates could be on the job in as little as three weeks.

The critical need occupations are medical officers, consumer safety officers, chemists, nurse consultants, biologists, microbiologists, health/regulatory/general health scientists, mathematical statisticians, epidemiologists, pharmacologists, pharmacists and veterinary medical officers. Many of these positions are located in the Washington metropolitan area, specifically Rockville, Silver Spring and College Park, Md., as well as across the country in the FDA's five regions, 20 districts, more than 179 resident posts, and the newly created FDA offices overseas.

Positions will be available throughout the agency, including in the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, the Center for Devices and Radiological Health, the Center for Food Safety and Nutrition, the Center for Veterinary Medicine, the National Center for Toxicological Research, the Office of the Commissioner and the Office of Regulatory Affairs.

The FDA will be participating in and holding job fairs throughout the country. To find a job fair near you, visit www.fda.gov/jobs/jobfairs08.html . For general information and to apply for one of the positions listed above, submit your questions and electronic curriculum vitae with a cover letter via email at JOINOURTEAM@FDA.GOV

Milton E. Mohr 2008-09 Awards

2008-04-28T13:39:02-05:00

The 2008/09 Milton E. Mohr Scholarship Awards were recently announced by the UNL Center for Biotechnology. Food Science students Olivia Kunzman and Amanda Walls have won scholarships based on their academic achievements and great potential in their field. Congratulations!

New Course Being Offered

2008-04-25T16:15:00-05:00

This course offers an introduction to the complex microbial ecology of the gastrointestinal tract of humans and non-ruminant animals. It explores how the gut microbiota impact host and non-ruminant animals. It explores how the gut microbiota impact host health and performance. Special emphasis will be given to aspects of gut microbiota research with medical and agricultural applications.

2 credits: Lectures Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:00 – 11:50, 302 Filley Hall

Course prerequisites: BIOS 312

Call number for registration is 9540

This course is designed for student of Food Science, Animal Science, Nutrition, and Biological sciences, but might also be of interest for students in medicine.

Contact: Jens Walter, 333 Filley hall, 472-2615, jwalter2@unl.edu

Erika and The FPC mentioned in local newspaper

2008-04-25T11:00:00-05:00

Hispanos Unidos, a Nebraska Spanish-language newspaper, recently dedicated an article to The Food Processing Center. The article profiled the work of Erika Martinez-Picazo and her work with The Food Processing Center's Recipe to Reality Seminars. The article also advertised the seminar which will be presented on the 31^st of May.

2008-2009 IFT Scholarships

2008-04-25T10:54:06-05:00

The results are in for the 2008-2009 IFT Scholarship Award Competition. Scholarships were won by Susan Hammons, Jamie Eggerss, Lauren Gemar, Bailey Harris, Olivia Kunzman, Robert Lacy, Tessa Porter, Jeffrey Schroeder, and Ang Tze. IFT alternates included Laura Hargarten, Steven Kaiser, Daniela Bautista, Amanda Walls, and Melanie Downs.

Congratulations to you all!

Food Science Seminar for Monday, April 21

2008-04-21T16:00:00-05:00

On Monday, April 21, we will have two speakers for our Food Science Seminar. Graduate student Audrey Wesseling will be presenting "Development of Predictive Models for the Growth of Enterobacter sakazakii in Reconstituted Infant Formula." Also, graduate student Anuja Patnaik will be presenting "Development of Glycoarray Substrates for investigation of Bacteria-host Interaction." Please join them on Monday, April 21 at 4 PM in FIC 42.

A new member of the Subbiah Family

2008-04-21T15:01:14-05:00

Today Dr. Jeyam Subbiah announced that Roja Subbiah was born at 10:19 AM, Monday, April 21 through a Cesarian delivery. Both mother and baby are doing well and are recovering at 305, Bryan LGH East.

Manjusha Kasinadhuni wins Research Award

2008-04-21T08:27:51-05:00

Food Science graduate student Manjusha Kasinadhuni received the award for Outstanding Poster in the Biological and Agricultural Sciences Division at the 2008 UNL Research Fair Graduate Poster Session. Congratulations!

FST Students move on to Nationals

2008-04-18T14:10:07-05:00

Our students are the North Central Area IFT Quiz Bowl Champions. Team members include: Tim Anderson, Melanie Downs, Suzy Hammons, Bailey Harris, and Ryan Talley. They will be going to the Nationals in New Orleans this summer. The College Bowl Preliminary Round at IFT in New Orleans is on Monday, June 30 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. with the final competition that same day from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Please give them your attendance and support at IFT!

Dr. Rupnow elected IFT Fellow

2008-04-18T11:23:11-05:00

Dr. John Rupnow has been elected as a Fellow of IFT. He will be recognized at the awards ceremony at the annual IFT meeting. This is a great recognition to his dedication to IFT and great visibility for our Department.

Good job John!

Dr. Wehling receives UCARE nomination

2008-04-18T11:21:33-05:00

Randy Wehling has been nominated by their UCARE student to receive a "Certificate of Recognition for Outstanding Contribution to Undergraduate Research" during the UCARE lunch on May 2.

Congratulations Randy!

Food Science Seminar for Monday, April 14

2008-04-14T11:52:21-05:00

The Food Science seminar next week will feature two speakers. Sudheendra Kadkol of Food Science will be presenting "Pulsed Electric Field Processing for Inactivating Microorganisms in Liquid Foods" and V.N.N. Dheeraj Jonnalagadda of Biosystems Engineering will be presenting "Determination of Yolk Contamination in Egg White by Raman Spectroscopy". You can join them on April 14 at 4 PM in FIC Room 42. All are welcome to attend.

Summer 2008 Institute for International Teaching Assistants

2008-04-10T15:43:00-05:00

The Summer 2008 Institute for International Teaching Assistants is scheduled for July 28 through August 12, with final panels scheduled for August 13 and 14.

Prospective graduate teaching assistants who do not speak English as a native language and who are not graduates of a U.S. college or university* must

successfully complete the Institute and demonstrate before a panel of faculty and undergraduate students their ability to comprehend and convey the information necessary to be an effective teacher (unless granted a waiver from the Institute) before
Application to the ITA Institute

Applications to the Institute can be completed and submitted online by a department representative. Applications will not be accepted if submitted by a student. Departments should email Dr. Laurie Bellows (lbellows1@unl.edu) for a password and instructions for completing the online application.

Application deadline is Monday, July 7 2008.

_________

Eligibility

To be eligible for the Institute, applicants must:

have international graduate student status;

be admitted to a UNL graduate program;

have a score of 26 on the speaking section of the iBT TOEFL or score a 45 or higher on the SPEAK Test or the Test of Spoken English (TSE); and

be recommended by their department chair/head, graduate chair, or TA supervisor.

Oral English Assessment

To be eligible for the Institute, students must score a 26 or higher on the speaking section of the iBT TOEFL or

The SPEAK Test
achieve a minimum score of 45 on the TSE or SPEAK Test.
International graduate students with a score of 26 or higher on the speaking section of the iBT TOEFL are not required to take the SPEAK Test and are eligible to enroll in the Institute for International Teaching Assistants.

International graduate students with a score of 25 or lower on the speaking section of the iBT TOEFL must take the SPEAK Test and receive a score of 45 or higher to be eligible to enroll in the Institute for International Teaching Assistants.

The SPEAK test, the institutional form of the Test of Spoken English (TSE), is a taped and timed test developed by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). Registration fee is $40.00. Sample test materials are available at:
www.unl.edu/piesl/testing.shtml
Note: International students applying from abroad to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and who wish to receive a teaching assistantship, may want to take the TSE in their home country. Contact ETS/TOEFL Testing Service for more information.

SPEAK Test Dates for the Summer 2008 ITA Institute

Thursday, April 10, 3:30 or 5:15 p.m.

Thursday, June 5, 3:30 p.m.

Thursday, July 10, 3:30 p.m.

To register for the SPEAK Test, students should go to Nebraska Hall, room E513

_________________________________

Waivers from the Institute

*Prospective graduate teaching assistants who do not speak English as a native language but hold a degree from a U.S. college or university are eligible for a waiver from the Institute for International Teaching Assistants. Students can be considered for teaching assignments if their iBT TOEFL speaking score is a 26 or above and they either (a) graduated from a U.S. college or university; (b) have successful teaching experience in a U.S. college or university (documented by former advisor, TA supervisor or department chair/head); OR (c) is, or will be, enrolled in a college teaching-related, department sponsored course that is equivalent to the ITA Institute. Note: Students who have received a waiver must still complete a final panel and be certified as ready to teach.

For more information about the Institute see their web site at http://www.unl.edu/gradstudies/gsapd/programs/ita/

Pan-American Nutrition, Food Science and Technology Award 2008

2008-04-10T09:01:00-05:00

The Pan-American Nutrition, Food Science and Technology Award 2008 is being offered by baked goods company Grupo Bimbo to improve the quality of processed food and the nutritional standards of the population. Winning proposals in the fields of Food Science and Human Nutrition will be awarded $5000 for professional scholars and $2000 for students. Registration deadline is October 31, 2008. For more information, please see http://premiopanamericano.grupobimbo.com.

Food Science Seminar for Monday, April 7

2008-04-07T04:00:00-05:00

The next Food Science and Technology Seminar will be presented by Dr. Jay Thelen of the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Missouri – Columbia. Dr. Thelen will be presenting “Quantitative Proteomics of Seed Filling in Soybean – Current and Future Approaches”. This seminar will be presented on Monday, April 7 at 4 PM in FIC Room 42. All are welcome to attend.

Food Science Seminar for Monday, March 31

2008-03-31T16:00:00-05:00

The food science seminar for Monday, March 31 will be presented by Dr. Fadi Aramouni, Professor of Food Science at Kansas State University. Dr. Aramouni's presentation will be "Technical Challenges in Formulating Sorghum-Based Foods". The seminar will be held, as always, at 4 PM in FIC room 42.

Student-Faculty College Bowl Challenge

2008-03-31T09:12:00-05:00

Come see the student team challenge the faculty in preparation for the 2008 IFTSA College Bowl. The up and coming student team will try to break the faculty team's multi-decade winning streak. Join in the fun following seminar at 5:00 p.m. in the Food Industry Complex Auditorium, room 42/45. Refreshments will be available and fun will be had.

Ingredients Workshop

2008-03-28T07:54:00-05:00

On May 13-15 2008, the 15th Annual Ingredients and Ingredient Functionality workshop will be conducted by The FPC.

This course introduces participants to major ingredient classes and ingredient functionality challenges in food product formulation. More information is on the course's website at fpc.unl.edu/workshops/ingredients.shtml . UNL students can register at a (very) discounted rate and earn academic credit for taking this course. Number of seats available to students is limited. Contact Nina Murray at nmurray2@unl.edu for details about registration. You should consult with Dr. Jackson if you are not sure if this course is right for your program of studies.

Help spread the word to anyone who you think might benefit from this course!

BPCS in Spanish

2008-03-28T07:49:04-05:00

On May 27-30, 2008, the Better Process Control School will be conducted in Spanish for the first time at UNL.

This course certifies supervisors of canning processing operations. More information is on the course's website at fpc.unl.edu/workshops/spbpcs.shtml . UNL students can register at a (very) discounted rate and possibly earn 1 academic credit for taking this course. Contact Nina Murray at nmurray2@unl.edu for details about registration.

Help spread the word to anyone who you think might benefit from this course!

Will Forbes Travel Grant Applications

2008-03-28T07:40:25-05:00

Just a reminder that applications for travel funds through the Will Forbes fund are due April 15th. This is for the second quarter of the year, i.e. travel to be done between April and July, which includes IFT. To be eligible, you must be presenting a poster or a talk at a meeting or conference -- and it can be a meeting or conference of your choice, even within driving distance.

To apply, submit a sheet with

Your name:

E-mail

Name of the Meeting

Date of the Meeting

Location of the Meeting

Presentation type (talk or poster)

Title of the presentation

Your advisor's name and names of co-authors if any

Bring or email this to Nina in the main office.

Client of The Food Processing Center in N.Y. Taste-off

2008-03-26T07:56:12-05:00

Sorrisos, a client of The FPC, was featured today in a front page news article in the Lincoln Journal-Star. Sorrisos will be competing in a taste-off in New York city today. The Food Processing Center also received a small mention in the article. The article can be read here:

http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2008/03/26/news/local/doc47e989d12d5b1789003492.txt

Food Science Seminar for Monday, March 24

2008-03-24T16:00:00-05:00

The next Food Science Seminar will be held on Monday, March 24. This week's presenter will be graduate student Manjusha Kasinadhuni whose lecture will be "Dry Grind Ethanol Production: Optimization Through Enzyme Pretreatment and Process Modication". As always, the seminar will be presented in Food Industry Complex Rm 42 at 4 PM. All are welcome to attend.

Special Seminar, March 20

2008-03-20T15:30:00-05:00

On Thursday, March 20th there will be a special seminar presented by Dr. Stef Koppelman, Research Consultant for AllerTeQ in The Netherlands. Dr. Koppelman's presentation is titled "Parvalbumin, the Pan-Allergen from Fish - Purification and Detection" This lecture will be given in Filley Hall Rm 302 from 3:30 - 4:30 PM.

Food Science Club Meeting

2008-03-11T10:02:00-05:00

The Food Science Club will have its next meeting on Thursday, March 13th. Food will be served at 5:00 p.m. and the meeting will start at 5:30 p.m. The meeting will be held in the downstairs auditorium (FIC 42/45).

Items on the agenda include the upcoming IFTSA regional meeting and nominations for next year's officers. Come prepared to nominate great leaders for the following positions:

President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Undergraduate Liaison
Graduation Liaison
Ice Cream Managers (3)
Junior Advisor

Food Science Seminar for Monday, March 10

2008-03-10T16:00:00-05:00

We will have two speakers at our regular Food Science seminar this coming Monday, the 10th.

Dr. A. B. Singh comes to us from the Institute of Genomics and Interactive Biology in New Dehli, India and will be presenting "Food Allergy: The Indian Scenario".

Dr. Vasanthi Siruguri is from the National Institute of Nutrition in Hyderabad, India and will be presenting "Guidelines for the Safety Assessment of Genetically Modified Foods in India"

As always, the weekly seminar will be given in FIC 42 at 4 pm. All are welcome to attend.

2008 Gina Finzi Memorial Student Summer Fellowship Program

2008-03-10T08:53:58-05:00

The Lupus Foundation of America, Inc. (LFA) has announced that Gina Finzi Memorial Student Summer Fellowships will be available for the summer of 2008. The purpose of these awards is to foster an interest among young researchers in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) through support of basic, clinical, or psychosocial research under the supervision of an established investigator. Undergraduate, graduate and medical students are eligible to apply, however, preference is given to students with a college degree.

The LFA is the nation’s leading voluntary health organization concerned with lupus. A primary focus of the organization is to encourage research related to the causes, treatments, prevention and cure of lupus and to directly sponsor research to test new approaches and develop experimental prototypes. This research program is supported exclusively through donations from the LFA’s constituent chapters, private foundations or corporations, and the concerned public.

It is the Foundation’s hope that this investment in research will produce new information which may directly lead to much larger projects and increased funding from other sources, particularly the National Institutes of Health.

· Amount of award is $2,000

· Application deadline is April 15, 2008

· Expected notification date is June 13, 2008

Application Guidelines are available here

The Lupus Foundation of America, Inc. utilizes an electronic grants submission process. All interested grant applicants must submit their full application packages through proposalCENTRAL: https://proposalcentral.altum.com/. Applicants are encouraged to register and complete a professional profile at proposalCENTRAL as soon as possible. Applicants should ensure that their grants and contracts office has registered their institution and signing officials with proposalCENTRAL.

A proposalCENTRAL helpline is available for questions from applicants during normal business hours 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday, EST. Call toll-free 1-800-875-2562 x-227 or 301-916-4557 x-227. You can also send an email to pcsupport@altum.com.