A Little Bit of Everything

Since I don't know very much about food microbiology, or microbiology in general, Dr. Newman is trying to have me work with several different people so I can develop my interests and get an idea of all the different possibilities there are in research. Today was actually the last day I'm going to work with Jen, and next week I'm going to be working with Jamie, who is also working on her PhD, except her research involves protein chemistry.

I guess now's a good time to mention one of Dr. Newman's favorite things about this project: the fact that these alternative antimicrobials can be used in so many different capacities. In a liquid form the extracts can be added to soups, salsas, milk/dairy products, etc. without any major changes. With the new grant money, the meat lab downstairs was able to purchase a machine that allowed researchers in the meat science department to use a technique called Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP), meaning that the different extracts could be vaporized and added to meat and fish in order to prevent and minimize contamination. For processed foods such as cheese and sausage that have a protein casing, modified (and still edible!) casings could be created that would include one or more of the natural antimicrobials (this is what I'll be working on with Jamie). Most important, of course, is that all of these processes can be adapted by commercial food producers and the benefits for consumers are major.

I also found out that there is another graduate student who is doing research similar to Jen's, with just one key difference. While both are testing various generally recognized as safe (GRAS)* compounds, one is using whole substances (such as garlic) and the other is using compounds that help make up these GRAS certified substances (such as allicin, an organosulfur compound that is extracted from garlic). It'll be interesting to see if there is any difference between the results. For now, the only benefit I can potentially see is that using just the effective compound from within a GRAS certified substance might minimize any change in flavor and/or texture because a smaller total amount of extract is used. At the same time I can also see how it might be less time-consuming to use the whole substance versus the individual extract.

*GRAS is an FDA designation that exempts a chemical or substance from being subjected to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act because it is generally considered safe by experts.