Ohio State

Garden-to-Plate Video Series

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G2P

Food Innovation Center member and Ohio State Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Educator Shari L. Gallup has created a wonderful garden-to-plate video series. This project is a series of five separate videos, taking the consumer from “garden-to-plate.” The videos were developed to empower those who want to know more about how to take vegetables from local garden, farmers market or grocery producer aisle, and turn them into healthy, simple foods that fight or prevent disease.

Gallup said the project started when a Master Gardener volunteer in Licking County attended Gallup’s Dining with Diabetes program. Dining with Diabetes is a series of classes led by OSU Extension and community health partners. It includes diabetes education and cooking demonstrations for people with diabetes and their spouses and partners. The participant suggested that the Dining with Diabetes and the Master Gardener programs in Licking County team up, and so the story began–in the hearts and minds of those wanting to garden for the greater good.

The 2- to 4-minute videos include nutrition information and demonstrate how to make:

Salsa
Cucumber dill dip
Green beans with nuts and cranberries
Pesto and herbs
Spaghetti squash

The videos feature Gallup and Linda James, Master Gardener volunteer and former home economics teacher at Newark High School.

The project was a cooperative effort between Licking County’s OSU Extension Family and Consumer Sciences and Master Gardener programs. Licking County Senior Levy funds earmarked for diabetes education provided support. The videos were filmed at the Licking County Master Gardener Demonstration Gardens and the Bryn Du Mansion in Licking County.

 

Meet the Author

GallupSShari L. Gallup is a Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Educator for the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University. She is the State Program Co-Leader for the Dining with Diabetes program conducted by Ohio State University Extension.

2014 International Nonthermal Processing Workshop and Short course

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The Ohio State University Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Food Ag Env Sciences is hosting the 2014 International Nonthermal Processing Workshop and Short course  at Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center from October 21-24, 2014 with the theme “Nonthermal Processing Systems for Healthy and Sustainable Foods”.  This international annual workshop series is co-sponsored by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Nonthermal Processing Division, European Federation of Food Science and Technology (EFFoST) and the food industry.

What is Nonthermal Food Processing?

Increasing consumer awareness on the role foods play on health and wellness prompted consumer emphasis on microbiologically safe, minimally processed nutritious foods with minimal preservatives. Most of the foods we buy in the supermarket have been heat processed. While thermal processing of foods makes it microbiologically safe, prolonged thermal exposure destroys various nutrients and phytochemicals as well as sensorial characteristics of the food.  To meet consumer demand, the food industry is interested in the use of various innovative alternative (to heat)  lethal agents such as high pressure, electric field, ultra sound, and UV to kill the harmful pathogens and spoilage organisms commonly found in the food without impacting nutritional and sensory characteristics. As a result of coordinated worldwide research, US consumers enjoy pressure treated juices (from Starbucks), deli meat (Hormel, Kraft Food), seafood, salads, and variety of other value-added products. European consumers enjoy variety of juices preserved by pulsed electric field processing. Nonthermal technology products are also being commercialized worldwide including USA, Europe, Australia, Asia and South America.

What are the benefits of attending the event?

The international workshop and short course serves as a forum for food processors, equipment manufacturers, academic researchers, students and state and federal regulators who are interested in learning about the cutting-edge development in various nonthermal processing technologies. It is worth noting that OSU hosted one of the very first workshops in 2002. In addition, the workshop is also hosted by Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Netherlands, Spain and USA (Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Illinois).

Workshop organizers are putting together an exciting slate of speakers who will share recent advances, future research and commercialization opportunities of different nonthermal-processing technologies including high pressure processing, pulsed electric field processing, UV, cold plasma, and food irradiation. Participants will also have an excellent opportunity to network with experts from industry, government and academia.  Of special interest are technical sessions that focus on the “pathway to commercialization” for selected emerging technologies where a pathway exists or is clearly identified. These sessions provide examples and case studies of how new and nonthermal processing technologies may be commercialized.

A one-day Nonthermal Processing Short Course is being organized prior to the workshop for new users of the nonthermal technologies.  An optional tour of Ohio Avure Technology facility is arranged on October 24.

Click HERE to Register!
Register on or before August 15 to take advantage of early bird discount!

 

Bala

 

Contact workshop organizer Prof. Bala Balasubramaniam at (614) 292-1732 or email balasubramaniam.1@osu.edu for more information about the workshop.

 

FIC Member Spotlight: Richard Bruno

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BrunoDoes green tea ward off weight gain? Dr. Richard Bruno, Ph.D., R.D. and Associate Professor of Human Nutrition, hopes to find out. Green tea has always been touted to have medicinal properties, but can it be proved? Bruno’s preliminary lab tests in mice showed lower weights, lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and less signs of fatty liver disease. Currently, Dr. Bruno, along with Drs. Yael Vodovotz and Mark Failla, is working on a new study called “Green tea confections for managing postprandial hyperglycemia-induced vascular endothelial dysfunction,” funded by a 2013 Food Innovation Center seed grant. The study is the first of its type in humans and it aims to confirm what has been observed in rodents.

Another area of research for Dr. Bruno is the bioavailability of vitamin E. He is specifically looking at how much dietary fat is needed to optimize vitamin E absorption. Vitamin E needs dietary fat to be absorbed; Without fat, there is only ~10% absorption. The form of vitamin E looked at in the study is known as gamma-tocopherol, which is not as common as alpha-tocopherol—the type of vitamin E required by humans. Gamma-tocopherol is found in soybean and canola oils, as well as in pistachios, cashews and peanuts.

Bruno has a long history of working on green tea and vitamin E; he has expertise in the areas of phytochemical and antioxidant utilization and metabolism in relation to free radical-mediated toxicology. The research conducted in his laboratory aims to define the mechanisms regulating the bioavailability of phytochemicals, particularly vitamin E and polyphenols, and the mechanisms by which these dietary agents protect against oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory responses that otherwise contribute to vascular endothelial dysfunction and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

Richard Bruno is an Ohio State alumnus. Prior to joining the Ohio State faculty in 2012, Bruno served on the faculty at the University of Connecticut, completed a prestigious post-doctoral training at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, and earned his PhD in Human Nutrition from The Ohio State University nutrition program. When asked about his decision to return to Ohio State, Bruno said, “I was thrilled by the opportunity to come back to my Alma Mater. There are rich opportunities here. The presence of groups like the Food Innovation Center to open doors to new collaborations wouldn’t be available elsewhere.”