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Department of Food Science and Technology

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FOOD SCIENCE FACILITIES AT OHIO STATE 

The Department of Food Science and Technology at OSU is housed primarily in the Parker Food Science and Technology Building. Completed in 2002, the 61,000 gross square foot, $17 million facility features research and teaching laboratories in a unique interactive design. The Parker Building also contains class and conference rooms, integrated pilot plants, and a direct connection to research laboratories and the Food Industries Center in Howlett Hall.

Department Facilities

Pilot Plants

Department of Food Science & Technology Facilities

Our department combines a wide range of expertise with a powerful program devoted to new technologies in food safety and processing. Our facilities are described below and demonstrate the tremendous strength of the food science and technology program at The Ohio State University.

Alvarez Analysis Laboratory

This laboratory houses equipment for food processing and analysis of food properties.
Major equipment available in this facility includes:

  • Gas chromatograph (Agilent Tech)
  • Texture profile analysis system: Instron Corp
  • Moisture Analyzer (CEM Corp)
  • Fat analyzer (CEM Corp)
  • Rapid protein analyzer  (CEM Corp)
  • Microwave ashing system: CEM Corp
  • Ultralow freezer (Fisher Scientific)
  • UHPLC system:
  • Concentrator with rotor (Eppendorf)
  • Benchtop homogenizer (Niro Soavi)
Barringer SIFT-MS Laboratory 

The SIFT-MS  Laboratory houses a V200 SIFT-MS instrument (https://syft.com/sift-ms). Selected ion flow tube - mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) is a form of direct mass spectrometry that is capable of real-time analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and permanent gases in air with high sensitivity and high selectivity. This technology is used for the analysis of chemically diverse volatile compounds in food, flavor, breath, and biomedical research.

Carl E. Haas Food Material Science and Engineering Laboratory

The Campanella laboratory is equipped to perform characterization of food materials and their role on food processing research, including rheology and thermal analysis.
Major equipment available in these facilities include:

  • Rheometer (TA Instruments) with attached microscope and chamber to control relative humidity. 
  • Multi-cell DSC system: TA Instruments
  • Protein analyzer (Elementar Americas Inc)
  • Two 48" fume hoods (Plas-Labs, Inc)
  • High speed centrifuge (Eppendorf)
  • UV/Vis Spectrometer (Genesys 150, Thermo Scientific)
  • Moisture analyzer (HE-53, Mettler Toledo)
  • PELICON-3 Ultrafiltration system with Masterflex pump (Three membranes 3, 5, and 10 kDa Mw cutoff)
  • Ph meter
  • Temperature data logger
Dale A. Seiberling Food Engineering Laboratory

The mission of research conducted in the Dale A. Seiberling Food Engineering Laboratory is to improve the efficiency of transforming raw food products and ingredients into high quality, safe consumer food products. Equipment for the Seiberling Food Engineering Labs is housed in multiple locations within the CFAES. Major equipment available in these facilities includes:  

Howlett 59B

  • Mixer (Pope Scientific)
  • Microplate reader (BioTek Instruments Inc.)
  • Network analyzer (Hewlett Packard)
  • Bench-scale Smoke Absorption system: Nikita
  • Microwave Drying system: Mrunmayee/Sam
  • Oven for moisture content analysis
  • Vacuum oven for drying
  • Soxhlet for fat content analysis
  • High-capacity Scale (Mettler Toledo)
  • Water Activity Meter (Mettler Toledo)
  • Water bath
  • pH/EC/DO meters
  • Incubator

Parker 54

  • Controlled Low-Temperature Cabinets
    • Insignia NS-CZ70WH6
    • External thermostats (Johnson Controls A419)
  • Membrane Research system: FO/DCMD
    • Pumps (3) – FH100 115/230 (Cole-Parmer)
    • Forward Osmosis Membrane Cells (2) – CF042A
    • Water bath – (AD)7R-40 (Polyscience)
  • Controlled Temperature Blast Freezing Unit (Tippman)

Howlett 015D

  • Air-jet Impingement Research system: AFRI) (Veeru
  • Analytical balance (Sartorius)

Agricultural Engineering 136

  • NewGen Smokehouse, pilot-scale design to replicate two-wide production scale (HansonTech LLC)
  • Dragon PS27 Water-based smoke generator
  • Vane anemometers (6)
    • Model 5000 Environmental Meter with LiNK (Kestrel Meters)
    • Multi-function environmental meters with capabilities for measurements of air velocity, temperature (dry bulb, wet bulb), pressure, wind chill, density, and heat stress
  • Hot-wire anemometers (7)
    • Model 405i (Testo)
    • Measurement of air velocity, volumetric airflow, and air temperature with Bluetooth connection for transmission to Smart device using Testo Smart Probes App

Parker 340A

  • High-Pressure, High-Temperature Quartz-Crystal Microbalance
    • NanoScience Instruments Model QHPM 401, QE401, LC-AD 20 HPLC Pump, HPC Front Panel
    • An in-situ method for monitoring of adsorption and removal of food species on stainless steel surfaces with a resolution of 5 ng/cm2

Dairy Processing Pilot Plant
The Seiberling Food Engineering Labs include equipment located in our Diary Processing Pilot Plant:

  • CAPPS Pilot-scale Fouling/Cleaning Research System
    • Custom pilot-scale system for real-time study of fouling and cleaning at UHT and HTST process conditions; 20 data logging sensors.
    • Custom-design with construction by Electrol Specialties Company; South Beloit, IL
  • Pilot-scale CIP Research System
    • CIP research/teaching system; programmable for precise cleaning protocols
    • Constructed by Electrol Specialties Company; South Beloit, IL
Giusti Phytochemicals Laboratory

The Giusti Phytochemicals Laboratory is fully equipped to study phytochemicals including their incidence and concentration in plants, stability and interactions with food matrices, novel analytical procedures, and the bioavailability, bio-transformations, and potential bioactivity of plant pigments. The laboratory is ideally equipped for spectrophotometric, colorimetric, chromatographic, and mass spectrometry analyses of chemicals in biological samples. Capabilities include instrumentation for extraction, fractionation, purification, concentration, and isolation of different food components. Additional information can be found at https://u.osu.edu/giustilab/.
Major equipment available in this facility includes:

  • A state-of-the-art ultra-high pressure liquid chromatograph (UHPLC) – PDA – MS / MS Triple-Quadrupole system (Shimadzu Corporation, Columbia, MD) allows for compound separation, identification, and quantification with short analysis times and high resolution.
  • A liquid chromatograph (HPLC) – PDA – Fluorescence (Shimadzu Corporation, Columbia, MD) consisting of an LC-20AD dual pump coupled to a refrigerated autosampler, column oven, a SPD-M20A photodiode array detector, and a RF-10AXL fluorescence detector. Data analysis is performed by LCMS Solutions software Ver3.30 (Shimadzu Corp.). This equipment allows for the study of complex mixtures of analytes using their UV-Vis absorbance or fluorescence.
  • Semi-preparative liquid chromatograph (HPLC) system (Shimadzu Corporation, Columbia, MD) brings additional capabilities being able to work with semi-preparative conditions. This system allows for the purification and isolation of compounds of interest.
  • An SpectraMAX M2 Absorbance and Fluorescence Microplate Reader (Molecular Devices, Sunnyvale, CA) with UV-Visible and fluorescence intensity spectral capabilities, sample shaking, temperature control (up to 45°C), and a reading capacity of up to 384-well plates. This system allows for the high-throughput measurement of absorbance and fluorescence of multiple samples in the same analysis.
  • A bench top Büchi Mini Spray Dryer B-290 (Büchi Laboratories, Postfach, Switzerland), advanced for aqueous and organic solvents that is ideal for research and development, feasibility studies, and analysis of small sample probes on the lab-scale.
  • A ColorQuest XE spectrophotometer (Hunter Labs, Reston, VA) with an integrating sphere is available for color analyses.
  • UV-2450 UV-Vis Double Beam Spectrophotometer (Shimadzu Corporation, Columbia, MD) available for spectrophotometric and kinetic analyses.
  • Nitrogen generator that can extract nitrogen from the air to feed both the MS detector and the spray drier with the flow needed to remove solvents while protecting the integrity of the materials.
  • In addition, the laboratory is equipped with a variety of instrumentation for extraction of food components, fractionation of different classes of chemical compounds and for purification, concentration, or isolation of those compounds, such as rotary evaporator, hot stirring plates, vacuum kit systems for solid phase extraction, incubator, among others.
Hatzakis Analysis Laboratory

The Hatzakis Laboratory houses equipment for compound identification and analysis of foods and other complex matrices, such as biofluids and plant extracts.
Major equipment available in this facility includes:

  • Bench-top freeze dryer (Labconco Corp)
  • Multi-application centrifuge (Thermo Fisher Scientific)
  • Benchtop spectrometer (Magritek, Inc.)
  • Spectrophotometer (Hewlett Packard)
  • Rotary evaporator (Buchi)
  • Incubator (Thermo Fisher Scientific)
Jiménez-Flores Dairy Biochemistry Laboratory

This laboratory is designed to carry out experiments in the areas of biochemistry, physical chemistry, microbiology, and molecular biology as applied to milk and dairy products.
Major equipment available in this facility includes:

  • Vertical clean bench water purification system: Labconco Corp
  • Laser scanning microscope (3D laser) (Keyence)
  • Bioforce nano chamber Langmuir Trough for surface chemistry (Biolin Scientific)
  • Quartz Crystal Microbalance (Biolin Scientific)
  • Spectrophotometer for single tube or ELISA plate (Fisher Scientific)
  • Centrifuges for Eppendorf tubes up to 500-ml bottles (Sorvall)
  • SDS-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis systems (Bio-Rad Laboratories)
  • Gel imaging system with fluorescence detector and densitometry (Bio-Rad Laboratories)
  • PCR detection system with normal and qcPCR modalities (Bio-Rad Laboratories)
  • Two-dimensional electrophoresis system: Bio-Rad Laboratories
  • Supercritical Fluid Extraction System, 1-L capacity (Waters Corporation)
  • HPLC-CAD (Corona Aerosol Detector) System for lipid and peptide analysis
  • Millipore Membrane Filtration system for milk component fractionation (Millipore-Waters)
Maleky Lipids Laboratory

The Maleky Laboratory offers the ability to use nanotechnology to study the chemistry of major food components, such as lipids and proteins, and to investigate the dynamics of food systems and their components. Additional information on Dr. Maleky’s research can be found https://u.osu.edu/maleky.1/research/.
Major equipment available in this facility includes:

  • miniFlex X-ray Diffractor (Rigaku Innovative Technologies)
  • AXIO polarized light microscope (Carl Zeiss)
  • Q200 Differential Scanning Calorimeter (TA Instruments)
  • MCR 302 rheometer (Anton Paar)
  • accuSpin Micro 17R microcentrifuge (Fisher Scientific)
  • mq20 minicpec NMR Analyzer (Bruker)
  • Mini protean and criterion gel electrophoresis systems (BioRad)
  • Model 40 benchtop lab oven (Quincy Labs)
  • T25 Ultra Turrax dispersion homogenizer (Ika)
  • AP07R-40-A11B water bath (Polyscience)
  • MIR-154-PA controlled incubator (Panasonic)
  • Gas chromatograph (Agilent Technologies)
  • CX 265 analytical balance (Citizon)
  • Isotemp water bath (Fisher Scientific)
  • LSB Aqua Pro Shaking Water bath (Grant Instruments LTD)
  • Stirrer BDC3030 (Caframo)
  • FreeZone 4.5L benchtop freeze dryer (Labconco)
Pascall Packaging Laboratory (1600 sq. ft.)

The Pascall Laboratory houses equipment for measuring the physical, mechanical, and barrier properties of different food packaging materials. The following is a list of the analytical equipment available in this laboratory:

  • Light microscope fitted with a camera
  • Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer
  • Universal Testing Machine (Instron)
  • Ox-Tran 2/21 Oxygen Permeation Tester (Ametek Mocon)
  • 5-point Mettler analytical balances
  • Water Vapor Permeability Tester (Illinois Instruments)
  • UV spectrophotometer
  • Tension Compression Tester (Dillon)
  • Humidity chamber (Lunaire) 
  • Digital can double seam testing equipment
Peterson Flavor Chemistry Laboratory

The Flavor Chemistry Laboratory houses equipment for the identification and quantification of flavor compounds (aroma, taste, somatosensory) or flavors with modifying properties in different food matrixes, identification of off-flavors, and characterization of flavor interactions. Additional information on our lab, specific equipment, and the services we offer can be found at https://frec.osu.edu/services.

Rodriguez-Saona Spectroscopy Laboratory

This laboratory houses equipment to develop and apply vibrational spectroscopic techniques for chemical analysis, material characterization, and understanding of chemical interactions for better functionality and detection of food contaminants.
Major equipment available in this facility includes:

  • Volumetic titrator (Metrohm)
  • Potassium bromide beamsplitter (Agilent Tech)
  • FTIR spectrometer (Agilent Tech)
  • KF homogenizer 1300D pkg (Polytron)
  • Fluorescence spectrophotometer (Varian)
  • DNA S vacuum concentrator (Savant Instruments Inc)
  • Spectrometer (Varian)
  • HPLC analysis machine (Agilent Tech)
  • FT-IR purge gas generator (Parker Balston)
  • GC/MS detector and autosampler (Agilent Tech)
  • FFA titrator (Metrohm)
  • Raman laser w/ 1064nm laser (Jasco Inc)
  • Raman spectrometer/laser (Wasatch Photonics)
  • Instant Raman analyzer (Metrohm)
  • Digital benchtop refractometer (Atago)
  • Multi-reflection spectrometer (Agilent Tech)
  • Handheld progeny analytical instrument (Rigaku USA Inc)
  • Handheld spectroscopy instrument (Rigaku USA Inc)
  • Infrared microscope (Analytical Solutions and Providers)
  • Water activity meter (Decagon Devices Inc)
  • Analyzer unit with digester bloc (Kjeldahl)
  • Gas chromatograph  (Hewlett Packard)
  • Liquid chromatograph  (Agilent Tech)
  • 1100 series autosampler (Agilent Tech)
  • Diode array detector
  • Excalibur system: Pike Technologies
  • NIR integrating sphere probe (Pike Technologies)
  • Binary pump (Agilent Tech)
  • Autosampler (1200) (Agilent Tech)
Sensory Evaluation Center

The Sensory Evaluation Center provides comprehensive sensory and consumer testing services including descriptive analysis as well as discrimination and acceptance testing to support product innovation and renovation efforts within the food and beverage industry. More information on the center and services offered can be found at https://sensorytesting.osu.edu/home.
Equipment available in this facility includes:

  • Panelist database of 5000+ participants living in and around the Columbus area
  • Ten sensory testing booths equipped with white (cool and warm) lighting; red lighting is also available as needed
  • Sample preparation area with separate refrigerator and freezer units
  • Variety of food preparation equipment for preparing and serving hot and cold products
  • Trained panel leader with experience in conducting descriptive analysis studies on various food and beverage categories
  • Compusense data collection software routinely used; however, other web-based data collection software can be utilized upon request
  • Access to additional spaces for larger product preparation needs or focus groups
Simons Food Perception and Liking Laboratory

The Food Perception and Liking Laboratory uses a multidisciplinary approach to understand the perception of foods and how they are processed to influence reward and, ultimately, behavior. Unique testing approaches are utilized including immersive technologies, eye tracking, facial recognition, and psychophysiological monitoring. More information on the laboratory can be found at https://u.osu.edu/simonslab/.
Equipment available in this facility includes:

  • Multisensory Immersive Technologies Laboratory
  • Wearable eye-tracking glasses available to acquire eye tracking and pupillometry data
  • Facial expression recognition software
  • Psychophysiological monitoring including galvanic skin response, electromyography, impedance cardiography, and respiration
  • Quantitative somatosensory testing battery to assess mechano-, thermal-, and nociceptive sensitivity
Vodovotz Material Characterization Laboratory

The Material Characterization Laboratory offers the ability to analyze the physico-chemical, mechanical, and molecular properties of foods and bioplastics using techniques borrowed from polymer and material sciences. Additional information on the instrumentation in this lab can be found at https://u.osu.edu/yaelvodovotz/instrumentation/.
Major equipment available in this facility includes:

  • Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC)
  • Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA)
  • Rheometer – AR-2000EX
  • Rheometer – Discovery HR-2
  • Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer (DMA)
  • Instron Universal Testing Machine – Model 5542
  • Dynamic Vapor Sorption (DVS)
  • Portable refractometers, medium- to high-solids (Fisher Scientific)
  • Dissolution Tester VK 7000 (Varian, Inc.)
  • Isotemp Vacuum Oven 281A (Fisher Scientific)
  • Agilent 1100 series HPLC apparatus (Palo Alto, CA, USA) with Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC) Column
  • Carver Press
Yousef Food Microbiology Laboratory

The food microbiology laboratory includes equipment for research on food safety. Some of these facilities are certified for handling pathogens (Biosafety Level II). Facilities and equipment available include two high-performance liquid chromatographic systems (HPLC), two ozone generators (each 1 lb. ozone/day), two biological safety cabinets, three autoclaves, incubators, refrigerators, freezers, shaking and normal water baths, microscopes, high-speed centrifuges, spectrophotometers, liquid nitrogen storage tanks, and a culture collection.
Major equipment available in this facility includes:

  • Two anaerobe chambers
  • Pulsed field gel electrophoresis unit used for genetic typing
  • Horizontal and vertical electrophoresis units for DNA, RNA, and protein separations
  • Thermal cycler for PCR
  • Quantitative Real-time PCR
  • Microarray scanner
  • Bio-Rad Gel Doc 2000 Gel Documentation System 
  • Gene pulser
  • Speedvac
  • Small freeze-driers
  • Two rotary evaporators
  • Fermenters (4-liter and 25-liter)
Pilot Plants

Four distinct pilot plants are available for new product development, process evaluation, research, teaching, and demonstration. Equipment mobility permits rearrangement to desired product flow patterns. OSU has one of the few academic food pilot plants in the U.S. capable of complete end-to-end processing. Raw commodities can be processed to finished packaged goods ready for consumption. The pilot plants can be utilized one day as a teaching and demonstration area utilizing current processing technologies and procedures, and the next day, with minor modifications, can function as a research facility probing new concepts and procedures. Our facilities include the Advanced Processing Technologies Pilot Plant, Dairy Processing Pilot Plant, the Food Processing Pilot Plant, and the Meat Technology Pilot Plant.

Advanced Processing Technologies Pilot Plant (3,144 sq. ft.)

The Advanced Technologies Pilot Plant houses equipment for research, teaching, and process development, as well as demonstration of new processing technologies for improving food safety, nutrition, and quality. Major equipment includes:

Batch high pressure processing

  • 5-liter pilot scale Stansted high-pressure food processor to investigate the effects of high pressure on food
  • Custom-fabricated mini high-pressure tester (PT1, Avure Technologies) for conducting combined pressure-thermal kinetics of destruction of vegetative bacteria, spores, nutrients, and allergens under controlled pressure-thermal conditions
  • Custom-made high-pressure system: Harwood Inc., a unique tool for estimating properties of food and biological materials under pressure

Continuous high-pressure processing for liquid beverages

  • Laboratory-scale and pilot-scale ultra-shear technology equipment (Pressure BioSciences, Inc.) to investigate pasteurization or sterilization of variety beverages under controlled pressure, thermal, and shear conditions

Super-heated steam

  • Laboratory-scale superheated equipment (MHI) that can be used to evaluate the efficacy of superheated steam in sanitizing/inactivating various microorganisms attached to different model surfaces used in food processing plants

Ozone processing

  • Ozone processing equipment for fresh produce and egg pasteurization

Supporting facilities include a kitchen for preparing food onsite, package sealing equipment, and analytical instrumentation for chemical, biochemical, and microbiological analyses. Additional details about various advanced food processing technologies can be found at https://u.osu.edu/foodsafetyeng/.

Dairy Processing Pilot Plant  (3,000 sq. ft., Parker Bldg.)

The dairy pilot plant is equipped to process and package dairy products including fluid milk, ice creams, cheeses and fermented dairy products. Major pieces of equipment include:

    • Heat treatment: 20-, 50-, and 100-gallon vat pasteurizer, HTST/UHT APV pasteurizer (35 GPH), Lab Micro Thermics Mod. 25HV Hybrid (1.0-3.0 L/min)
    • Homogenization: APV variable speed homogenizer (120 L/H); Tetra Alex 150 homogenizer with 30 GPH capacity
    • Separation: Alfa Laval cream separator (300 GPH)
    • Cheese/Yogurt: 6 mini cheese vats (5G) and 2 CVR Zuiveltechnology B.V. 50 gallon cheese vats
    • Ice Cream: 1- and 2.5-G Coldelite freezers, APV Crepaco continuous ice cream freezer (30–60 G/H), and a –40 hardening room
    • Mixing: Breddo Likwifier (18 and 25 G)
    • Packaging: NDS 3-stage ice cream cup filler
    • Refrigeration and Freezing Capabilities:
      • Walk-in temperature-controlled refrigeration and freezing systems are available in the pilot plants for temporal storage, shelf life, quality, and preservation studies of food products
      • Refrigeration: 4 °C (39 °F) and 10 °C (50 °F)
      • Freezing: –10 °C (14 °F) and –40 °C (–40 °F)

Dairy Pilot Plant

Food Processing Pilot Plant (6,600 sq. ft., Howlett Hall)

This research and teaching facility is designed for processing fruits, vegetables, fermented foods, snack foods, baked goods, and formulated specialty products. Processing equipment includes:

  • Peeling equipment: caustic, abrasive, hot water, and husking equipment
  • Size reduction: cutting, slicing, dicing, grinding, pulping, and extracting equipment
  • Blanching: steam and hot water equipment
  • Heat exchange: tube-in-tube, steam jacketed kettles
  • Concentration: freeze dryer (Virtis Company Inc), vacuum concentration (Sipromac), and cabinet dehydration
  • Filling and closing: two- and three-piece metal cans, glass jars, and flexible pouches
  • Thermal processing: static retort with overriding air capability (Dixie), Steritort (Borden Research Center)
  • Extrusion: twin screw extruder (Cextral) for general cereal grain extrusion, single screw extruder
  • Frying: pilot model potato chip fryer, open fryers, and pressurized deep fat fryer
  • Heat penetration: heat penetration equipment with computer data interpretation and process calculation
  • Powder coating: electrostatic coating equipment
  • Ovens: convection, jet air (steam injection), deck oven, and proofing cabinet
  • Storage: several walk-in temperature-controlled cooler and freezer rooms
Meat Technology Pilot Plant (5,000 sq. ft., Animal Science Bldg.)

The meat technology pilot plant, run by the Department of Animal Sciences, includes a slaughter facility, chilling and holding coolers, fresh meat processing equipment, and processed meat capabilities including curing, blending, smoking, and packaging. The facility is fully licensed for slaughter and processing inspection under the Ohio Department of Agriculture's meat and poultry inspection program. Capabilities include:

  • Slaughter of beef, pork, and lamb with electric stimulation capabilities
  • Fresh meat processing for carcass fabrication, boxed meat processing, and HRI or tray-ready meat preparation; equipment for grinding, mixing, forming, slicing, tenderizing, and vacuum packaging for both subprimal cuts and individual serving portions
  • Processed meats processing including injection-curing equipment, meat choppers and emulsifiers, mixers, piston and vacuum stuffers, sausage linker, tumblers, a thermal processing unit capable of applying natural and liquid smoke, impingement oven, convection oven, steam-jacketed kettle, and vacuum packaging equipment