Source: Cornell ChronicleThe National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), a federal agency within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), has approved $1.8 million in grants to Cornell University for two of their food science research projects.

The first project addresses the commercial viability of food packaging materials that reduce the need for preservatives while maintaining expected shelf life. There has been a market shift away from synthetic preservatives, like nitrates, which pose health concerns. The team at Cornell is researching packaging materials that provide preservative functionality without the use of food additives. The team is investigating what is being termed “active packaging” materials.

Cornell researchers will be collaborating with consumers and producers. The goal is to ensure that active packaging materials address supply chain requirements without migrating into food products and if they will gain consumer acceptance.

The second project awarded grant money from NIFA will focus on reverse and forward osmosis filtration and other cold processes to create juice concentrate. This project introduces alternative methods of producing beverage concentrates without the use of heat, as heat is known to alter nutritional and sensory profiles. They also aim to improve operational efficiency as cold process technologies operate at a fraction of the cost of conventional thermal evaporation methods.