Food Quality

Food Quality research includes a broad range of studies involving sensory appeal, convenience, safety, and nutrition of food and beverages. The sensory aspects of food quality emphasize taste, texture, aroma, and appearance. The convenience aspects of food quality include shelf life, ease of preparation, and improved functional properties.  Food safety is concerned with acute and chronic responses of consumers to microorganisms and chemicals that occur naturally or are added to foods. Nutritional aspects of food quality are related to the nutrient content of foods and the role of nutrients in human health. Students will acquire skills appropriate for laboratory, industrial, or regulatory positions. 

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Examples of thesis titles:

• The Storage of Grain and Aging of Flour, and Their Effects on Flour Functionality. Omar Miranda-Garcia. Mentor: Andrew Ross, Crop and Soil Science and Food Science and Technology.
• Development of a colorimetric field test kit for the determination of pyruvic acid as a measure of pungency in onions. Dawn Merrill. Mentor: Dr. Kim Anderson, Environmental and Molecular Toxicology.
• The effects of nitrogen, tillage, and irrigation on the color of Willamette Valley Pinot noir wine. Kelly Helms. Mentor: Dr. Mina McDaniel, Food Science and Technology.
• Anthocyanin and antioxidant analysis of sweet and tart cherry varieties of the Pacific Northwest. Sonny Simonian. Mentor: Dr. Ron Wrolstad, Food Science and Technology.
• Effects of gluten composition and molecular weight distribution on the noodle making potential of hard white wheat. Caryn Ong. Mentor: Dr. Andrew Ross, Food Science and Technology.
• Lexicon development of appearance and texture descriptors for melted cheddar cheese using microwave and oven heating. Karisa Asato. Mentor: Dr. Mina McDaniel, Food Science and Technology.