Food Quality

Our faculty view food quality from a broad perspective and believe that it unites much of the research we do.  The quality of a food is defined by its chemical, physical, and microbiological characteristics, and these factors combined determine that particular food’s safety, acceptability, and economic value. 

Given this very broad and holistic definition, we believe that a multidisciplinary approach to understanding and controlling food quality is the most effective one.  This demands that our faculty, who represent diverse fields, work together and across the traditional food science disciplines (i.e., food chemistry and biochemistry, food microbiology, food engineering, consumer and sensory science), to solve problems in this area.  Our department prides itself in our strong record of cross-disciplinary collaboration in the area of food quality.