FAPC Magazine Fall-Winter 2015

The official magazine of the Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center, Oklahoma State University

fapc.biz

Fall/Winter 2015

Improving global FOOD SAFETY from farm to fork

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contents

Fall/Winter 2015 Volume 10 | Issue 2

Managing Editor/Designer Mandy Gross | mandy.gross@okstate.edu Editors Brittany Gilbert | brittany.j.gilbert@okstate.edu Ashley Middleswarth | ashley.middleswarth@okstate.edu Ruth Inman | ruth.inman@okstate.edu Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources 148 FAPC, Stillwater, OK 74078-6055 405-744-6071 | 405-744-6313 FAX www.fapc.biz | fapc@okstate.edu

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12 quality management

Improving global food safety from farm to fork

Photo/Mandy Gross

Oklahoma State University faculty and staff understand the need for proper food handling from farm to fork nationwide and are becoming leaders in global food safety.

FAPC’s Jason Young joined more than 100 experts from around the world in Düsseldorf, Germany, to tackle global issues faced by the food industry.

3 director’s comments Invest in R&D

11 meat processing Perceptions vs. reality

4 leadership 14 client success New members bring decades Meeting ever-changing demands of experience to advisory board 16 food safety 6 industry perspective Food safety for the future Teaching the teacher 17 food microbiology A new era of microbial typing 7 foundation focus Progression through foundation focus 8 business & marketing Millennials change grocery shopping The power of packaging Tracking your products from production to store

18 oilseed processing Another rule for trans fats 20 product development From kitchen to food business 22 food processing A “kitchenless” adventure

Oklahoma State University, in compliance with Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 11246 as amended, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Higher Education Act), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and other federal and state laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, genetic information, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, or status as a veteran, in any of its policies, practices or procedures. This provision includes, but is not limited to admissions, employment, financial aid, and educational services. The Director of Equal Opportunity, 408 Whitehurst, OSU, Stillwater, OK 74078-1035; Phone 405-744-5371; email: eeo@okstate.edu has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Director of Equal Opportunity. Any person (student, faculty, or staff) who believes that discriminatory practices have been engaged in based on gender may discuss his or her concerns and file informal or formal complaints of possible violations of Title IX with OSU’s Title IX Coordinator 405-744-9154. This publication is printed and issued by Oklahoma State University as authorized by the Vice President, Dean, and Director of the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources and has been prepared and distributed at a cost of $2,200 for 700 copies. 1115 MG.

director’s comments

INVEST in R&D

research&development In a recent Fortune business magazine, there was an article describing the top 100 fastest-growing companies doing business in the United States. Three of the top four fastest-growing businesses were engaged in some facet of health and nutrition.

America has developed a focus on health, personal health care, nutrition, food safety and traceability, and food quality. Because of this new consumer focus in America, there is opportunity for business growth in this area.

For some time, there has been a growing demand for organically grown food, and this demand has spilled over into other areas such as bed linens made from organically grown cotton and other products. Today, the demand has broadened into consumers wanting more information about the source of their food – how it was grown, who produced it and how it was handled before they received it. It appears there is growing consumer preference in developing a relationship with those who produce their food.

No doubt health, nutrition and safe food are hot-button issues today. To best participate in these hot-button opportunity areas, the food industry must be aggressively creative and innovative.

One way to do so is to invest in research and development. There are resources being applied to R&D, but as a percent of annual revenue, these resources are quite small.

A June 4, 2015, Business Week article disclosed that U.S. businesses funded R&D at a rate of $316 billion per year. The 15 largest food companies in America engaged in food processing were documented to have spent about $1.8 billion on R&D or about 0.5 percent of the total industry R&D spending and 0.5 percent of their own annual revenue. It is interesting to note as of mid-2015,

only 15 of the Fortune 500 largest U.S. corporations are associated with food processing.

The food industry in Oklahoma has devoted most available cash to those items associated with food safety, both regulatory like Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points and third-party audit programs like Global Food Safety Initiative platform programs.

Both of these essentially are required in the market today, but the food industry in Oklahoma is cautioned to allocate resources to product development and innovation to be a participant in the food-processing industry during the next 20 years and best participate in the growing consumer demands of health and nutrition.

It is quite difficult to support these activities at the manufacturing level because R&D can be expensive and intrusive. But a reasonably easy and cost-effective way to do so is to engage with the Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center and allow FAPC to be your R&D outsourced provider. FAPC has facilities, scientists, technologists and business staff who can assist with almost every facet of product development, innovation and market analysis of the food industry in Oklahoma, the region and the nation.

If you are a food-industry leader, you are urged to contact FAPC and explore use of the resources of the center. You will be pleased when you do.

By Roy Escoubas, director roy.escoubas@okstate.edu

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leadership

New members bring decades of experience to advisory board

oversight

“I’m looking forward to both Mr. Ford and Mr. Vaughan getting involved in the Industry Advisory Committee and having them interact with the other board members.

Their extensive knowledge in the food industry makes them excellent assets to the committee.”

Roy Escoubas, FAPC director

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Two food industry leaders who have been a fixture in the state’s food industry for decades have been appointed to FAPC’s Industry Advisory Committee.

Joe Ford of Shawnee Milling Co. and Mark Vaughan of Vaughan Foods join the 16-member advisory board to help oversee the center’s mission and vision.

Appointed by the highest positions of the Oklahoma state government, the advisory board offers counsel, makes decisions and takes leadership action to ensure FAPC makes sound short- and long-term plans to accomplish its objectives.

Joe Ford, Shawnee Milling Co.

Joe Ford, senior vice president of operations for Shawnee Milling Co. in Shawnee, Oklahoma, was appointed to the committee by Tom Coon, vice president, dean and director of OSU’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.

“I am very excited for how I can help FAPC,” Ford says. “Shawnee Milling Co.

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has worked with the center for the past several years, and being involved with FAPC has helped us have a fresh perspective in the food industry.”

In 1906, J. Lloyd Ford started Shawnee Milling Co. with his family and set standards of excellence that are upheld today by the third and fourth generation of the Ford family, who run the mill.

Despite significant growth over the years, the company has never lost track of its roots. The core values of Shawnee Milling Co. focus on a tradition of family values; an insistence on quality products; a record of dependable, personal service; an offering of consistent value; and a family of friendly, knowledgeable and dedicated employees.

These values have guided the company’s evolution into a large and sophisticated milling and mixing operation, determined to meet the demanding requirements of an equally sophisticated customer base.

“The foundation of the quality of our products is rooted in the grain we buy and the connection we have with farmers around the state,” Ford says. “This relationship allows us to directly source wheat from farmers. That separates us from many in the industry.”

The Food Division of Shawnee Milling Co. creates a variety of flour, cornmeal and baking mix products to meet the baking needs of its customers. The products serve a variety of markets including retail and foodservice.

Although Ford has been a full-time employee with Shawnee Milling Co. since 2005, he has been with the company much longer.

“I started sweeping the floors and sampling grain trucks when I was in high school,” he says. “My dad put me in all the departments to learn the business.”

Ford’s knowledge in the food-processing sector will benefit the center.

“FAPC is integral to our land-grant mission of developing and disseminating research-based knowledge that helps strengthen local communities and improve the quality of life for the people of Oklahoma and beyond,” Coon says. “Mr. Ford’s expertise, experience and insightful knowledge will enable us to better serve food-manufacturing entrepreneurs and businesses.”

leadership

leaders

“I am very excited for how I can help FAPC. Shawnee Milling Co. has worked with the center for the past several years, and being involved with FAPC has helped us have a fresh perspective in the food industry.”

Joe Ford, Shawnee Milling Co.

assets

“The work FAPC does is important for our state. I don’t know how you would start a small food business without the center. There is a need for FAPC to assist not only start-ups, but also larger companies.”

Mark Vaughan, Vaughan Foods

Mark Vaughan, Vaughan Foods The Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives appointed Mark Vaughan, former owner of Vaughan Foods in Moore, Oklahoma, to the committee.

“The work FAPC does is important for our state,” Vaughan says. “I don’t know how you would start a small food business without the center. There is a need for FAPC to assist not only start-ups, but also larger companies.”

Vaughan was born into a family of entrepreneurs in the fresh produce industry.

His parents were owners of Quik Spuds in Oklahoma City.

This 1960 start-up family business focused on fresh-cut french fries, cut and whole tomatoes, fresh head lettuce, onions and vegetables for the local food service/ restaurant market.

Following the death of his mother, Vaughan became more involved in the family business. Soon after, he purchased Sooner Spuds of Stroud, Oklahoma.

Following his father’s death, Vaughan moved the Stroud business to the Oklahoma City home facility and renamed the business Vaughan Foods.

This move allowed the company to provide fresh-cut potato products, processed products such as hash browns, fresh-cut produce and fruit, and a variety of prepared salads to additional foodservice businesses in Tulsa and Oklahoma City.

“I’m very passionate about the food business, especially the produce,” Vaughan says. “My great love is the fruit and vegetable side.”

Mark Vaughan

Joe Ford

Photos/Todd Johnson

Following significant growth in the company, Vaughan purchased a warehouse in Moore, Oklahoma, and opened a newly renovated and expanded facility in 1999.

In 2011, Reser’s Fine Foods based in Beaverton, Oregon, purchased Vaughan Foods.

Today, Vaughan Foods employs 480 full-time employees and ships millions of pounds of fresh-cut produce, refrigerated prepared salads, sauces, dressings and side dishes for the retail and foodservice trades annually.

By Mandy Gross, communications services manager mandy.gross@okstate.edu

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industry perspective

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This is my first contribution to the FAPC’s semi-annual magazine. As an adjunct faculty member of the OSU’s department of animal science and science fellow with DuPont Nutrition and Health, my primary responsibility is to offer an industrial influence through instruction associated with Animal Science 4333: Processed Meat, along with some additional instruction for introductory meat science and animal science courses. This has been a great experience for me, DuPont and I trust for the students as well.

Since our first venture into this college instruction, Jake Nelson, FAPC’s value-added meat processing specialist, and I have been forced to alter our instructional approach. Originally, our goals for teaching ANSI 4333 included packing as much useful and difficult-to-find information related to labeling, manufacturing, quality and safety of most further processed meat products into a single class. The intended result was for this course material to be used as a future resource for anyone working in processed meats. This turned out to be a rather tall order, however, when we stepped back and assessed the situation. There are only 28 class sessions and 15 two-hour lab sessions per semester—less time than we first imagined. It took a while for us to come to grips with the enormity of trying to expose students to so much information and to see that our original goal was unrealistic. We have since focused our instruction on clear understanding of the fundamentals related to processed meats labeling, ingredients, food safety and manufacturing.

I am fortunate to work at DuPont, where collaborating with scientists, customers, local growers, governments and universities around the world to enhance the quality and quantity of food is a strategic priority. This includes engaging and educating youth to transfer knowledge of sustainable food and agriculture and its impact on a growing population. In line with this, DuPont has provided me with the opportunity and resources to devote six to eight weeks per year in teaching capacities with OSU’s department of animal science, FAPC and the Oklahoma-Texas Meat Processors Association.

From a personal perspective, I feel it is important for both trained professionals and corporations to engage with universities beyond research grants and contract research. I believe that more companies should be approached to offer instruction assistance to

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Photo/Mandy Gross

universities. Although there are numerous opinions concerning such an activity, my opinion is that such participation effectively demonstrates to students that there is value in academic training and learning. By bringing best practices and science applications to the classroom, industry can reinforce the importance of further education and demonstrate that learning is an evolutionary process throughout a career.

From a professional aspect, serving as an OSU adjunct teaching professor has made me be a better applied meat products researcher and food products applications specialist for DuPont, as teaching forces one to have greater command of subjects. An additional benefit is much of the class material created for student instruction also has helped me in my professional role. Meat processing requires not only an understanding of biochemistry, biology, anatomy and muscle ultrastructure but also an ability to navigate through government regulations related to ingredients, food safety and labeling. Class preparation has forced me to read and reread regulations from the USDA Food Safety Inspection Services and the U.S. Food and Drug Association frequently, which has improved my ability to assist customers with their questions as well as identify new opportunities for the business.

I must admit, initially, when requested to participate in OSU class instruction, I was not particularly thrilled with the prospect of spending considerable time in Stillwater, Oklahoma; however, this turned out to be a great opportunity. I have been privileged to work with faculty, staff and graduate students at both FAPC and the department of animal science. Additionally, I have been provided opportunities to participate in faculty projects, renew old acquaintances, make many new friends and assist in fostering a relationship among DuPont, FAPC and the department of animal science. Most importantly, through my association with OSU and my travels through Oklahoma, I have come to realize Oklahomans are among the nicest and friendliest people I have ever met. I should have come for long visits sooner. I am proud to have been chosen as an honorary OSU Cowboy –– though one has to admit the orange is just a tad bit bright.

By Mac Orcutt, DuPont Nutrition and Health and OSU adjunct professor mac.w.orcutt@dupont.com

foundation focus

PROGRESSION through FOUNDATION FOCUS

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FAPC takes prides in meeting the needs of the food and agricultural industry. Financial support over the years has helped the center continue to meet its mission of supporting value-added food processing across the state.

After opening in 1997, FAPC soon benefitted from equipment donations and a drive to establish the Charles B. Browning Chair in Food Science.

In 2003, FAPC Director Roy Escoubas worked with the OSU Foundation to establish the FAPC Product Innovation Fund, which garners support in the areas of product and process development, industry employee training, food safety and security, industry waste and biofuels, and general support for FAPC. Since that time, funds supporting FAPC’s Global Food Safety System program and endowments in food product development have been established.

In April 2014, FAPC’s Industry Advisory Committee led the charge to establish a $3.4 million endowment to fund a food safety option to Oklahoma State University’s food science degree program. The Oklahoma State Board of Regents approved the new degree option at its April 2015 meeting.

Financial support from these donors has enhanced FAPC’s capabilities of meeting its mission beyond what state allocations can provide. Further, it highlights FAPC as a national leader in food safety.

FAPC has experienced great success in its first 18 years by assisting more than 1,000 Oklahoma clients through more than 3,000 technical and business projects.

Respondents to a recent 5-year impact study directly attributed increases in annual payroll of $2.1 million and an-

Photos/Mandy Gross

nual sales of $5.7 million to the assistance received from FAPC. Even during an economic recession and the highest statewide unemployment rates in decades, the total (direct, indirect and induced) annual statewide impacts of FAPC assistance were 367.8 jobs, $8.9 million in payroll and $18.7 million in total economic activity.

These results affirm FAPC is successfully meeting its mission of “Adding Value to Oklahoma.” Looking forward, the FAPC Foundation Focus Team, faculty and staff are dedicated and driven to continue providing invaluable service to Oklahoma and its value-added agricultural industry.

FAPC has received nearly $2.9 million in contributions from the Oklahoma value-added industry and from private individuals.

Photo/Todd Johnson

FAPC’s advisory board contributed more than $1 million to support the new food safety option. The second largest area of support consisted of equipment donations and other gifts-in-kind, valuing more than $850,000. Donations to the Product Innovation Fund have reached nearly $500,000, while program-support funding for student research stipends has reached nearly $100,000. Support of FAPC’s Global Food Safety System program has reached $75,500 in just three years.

To learn more about the Product Innovation Fund and how you can help plant seeds of success, visit fapc.biz/productinnovation-fund.

thefund

By Chuck Willoughby, business and marketing relations manager chuck.willoughby@okstate.edu

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business & marketing

Millennials change grocery shopping

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It was not that long ago when shopping for food at a local neighborhood grocery store was a weekly routine for families. Most stores were similar in their store structure, and items were in the same location of the store week-to-week.

That has since changed.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, millennials now out number the baby boomer generation. It is estimated the number of millennials, who are characterized as being 18 to 34 years old, has

Photo/BigStock

reached 75.3 million versus baby boomers, ages 51 to 69 years old, at 74.9 million.

Millennial shopping habits are more diverse than baby boomers. They have used technology from an early age and are adept at using mobile apps and the Internet to find the items they want to purchase. Large grocers are learning that millennials are different from the traditional grocery shoppers they have served for so many years. These shoppers prefer other options including online shopping.

This is not good news for the retail grocers who have invested decades of building a business model that served the needs of baby boomers, who generally buy the same brands from the same stores every week.

Millennials are not as loyal to specific brands or retailers, and according to a survey conducted by AlixPartners, millennials only make 41 percent of their food purchases at traditional grocery stores.

Traditional grocers are starting to understand in order to maintain their market share of the millennial generation, they must create a new

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model and provide a greater variety of items that attract them back to their stores.

Today’s grocer has to be aware and focused on where millennials shop, as well as what they purchase to compete with their choices in shopping habits.

Millennials spend as much time using their smart phone apps for researching prices as they do looking at products on the shelves. For them, shopping for food has more to do with the experience of visiting local farmers markets, specialty food stores or mass retailers like Target.

Research also indicates millennials are savvy shoppers and use coupons and shopper loyalty discounts when deciding where they elect to shop, and by using smartphone apps, they make choices before they leave home.

Traditional grocers are taking an aggressive approach in attracting the millennial shopper with instant in-store coupons, developing smartphone apps for weekly specials, self-checkout stations, providing locally grown fruits and vegetables, adding dietitians to assist in making healthy choices and in-store full-service restaurants. Grocers also are reviewing the products preferred by millennials and making those items available on a regular basis.

In order to maintain a strong customer base at the local neighborhood grocery store, traditional grocers must constantly monitor millennials’ shopping habits and be willing to compete in product selections and price.

By Jim Brooks, business and marketing services manager jim.brooks@okstate.edu

business & marketing Photo/BigStock

The power of

PACKAGING

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Anyone in the food-processing business understands the time and effort it takes to research and develop a new food product.

But sometimes that same level of commitment is not always spent on the packaging of a food product.

Packaging is more than a container that allows for the safe transfer of a processed good to the end user. It has many more functions and can almost be just as important and powerful as the product itself. Because some food products cannot be touched, smelled or even seen at the end-user level, packaging must fill the role of helping a consumer decide whether or not to purchase the product.

According to Market Research World, studies suggest around two-thirds of purchases at a retail grocery outlet take place in “default” mode, where the shopper gives little serious consideration to choosing between brands. This often is because shoppers already know which brand they want to buy before they walk into a store.

Because of this, it is important for a consumer to be able to find your brand. While in “default” mode, consumers are more likely to get distracted and choose another brand that catches their eye.

The other third of purchases made at grocery outlets is “considered,” when a shopper thinks about his or her options and then decides what brand of item to purchase. Considered purchases are those in which a consumer does not have a brand in mind or perhaps the product they need is not one they purchase often.

In order to compete, packaging must be functional, have a great design, be different from the competition and promote added value.

In April 2014, The J.M. Smucker Co., owner of Hungry Jack brands, announced the company would be updating and changing the packaging of its well-known pancake syrup line. For reasons unknown to the public, Hungry Jack also would no longer offer the syrup in a short, squat microwaveable bottle option that had been on the market since the late ‘90s. Almost immediately, thousands of Hungry Jack consumers began protesting through social media sites and emails to the company to bring the old bottle back.

The discontinued bottle was shorter than the traditional tall and slimmer-shaped syrup bottles other brands offered. The Hungry Jack bottle fit in most microwaves and had a sensory panel on the side that notified the user when the bottle and its contents were heated to the right temperature for serving. The bottle also fit in most home kitchen pantries easier and for added value, the opening at the mouth of the bottle was shaped like a smiley face.

Smucker’s listened to its customers and brought back the bottle in summer 2015. Instantly, customers went back to social media thanking the company for listening to their needs.

Who knew packaging had such power? You can bet Smucker’s knows.

findyourbrand

By Andrea Graves, business planning and marketing specialist andrea.graves@okstate.edu

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business & marketing

TRACKING YOUR PRODUCTS

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from production to store

Consumers are hearing more and more about products being recalled because of mislabeling or safety issues. With stories of recalls in the news today, it is important for producers to know where their finished products are going after they leave their manufacturing plants.

Your first thought may be, “How do I trace my product from production to store?” You also may be asking, “How do I develop this system?”

One common way is to use a batch code identification system. This is accomplished by either using the date and time of production to identify the product, or the code date or best by date.

Once you have developed a system to use, you must be able to follow your product after it leaves your facility. Let’s look at an example.

You have 300 cases of product produced from three different batches, labeled A, B and C. Each batch produced 100 cases.

You have orders that account for 200 cases with shipment to 5 different locations.

This is where you need to know the product from which batch was shipped to which location. You should be able to track the product that was shipped to the final locations back to the batch it originated.

You still have 100 cases remaining to be shipped from the warehouse. After consulting your coding system, you find the remaining cases in the warehouse are from batch C. Now, you need to determine which locations received product from batch A and B. Shipping records show 50 cases were sent to location 1; of those cases all were produced from batch A. The remaining 50

cases from batch A were sent to location 2.

The final three locations received product from batch B. Now that you know where the product was sent, you can notify the locations that received the product in question and arrange to pick up the product.

Please note not every detail of conducting a recall was included in the above example.

Having a tracking system that you can use to assist in tracing out-going product back to time of production is highly beneficial. It is important to have a plan in place in case a recall is needed.

By Erin Johnson, business and marketing client coordinator erin.joy.early@okstate.edu

Photo/Brittany Gilbert

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traceability

meat processing

perceptions VS. reality Photo/BigStock

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I attended the 2015 Tulsa State Fair to check out the competitive 4-H exhibits for a certain family member. While perusing the hand-made exhibits and lamenting a not-so-blue ribbon, a familiar voice said, “Jake Nelson,” and I turned to see a former Oklahoma State student and former FAPC student employee.

Like most students under my direction at the time, he often worked on the slaughter floor. His nickname was Danger-Zone.

The origins of that name will perhaps be saved for another article about personnel safety. We smiled, shook hands and began to visit.

Danger-Zone is an agricultural education teacher and FFA advisor for an Oklahoma school district, and I knew he liked hogs.

Naturally, I asked how the hog-showing religion was treating him, and he explained the latest exhibits and awards acquired by his students and his 4-H daughter.

Then, he said something peculiar, and I was glad to hear it.

He said, and I’m paraphrasing, “But Jake, one thing I learned from FAPC … none of this live hog evaluation really matters once you get down to the carcass and see what a hog is made of.”

Danger-Zone saw a lot of hog carcasses while at FAPC. It is no secret that livestock evaluation can be difficult, especially when one’s evaluation is judged against the subsequent carcass, which reveals many of the important attributes in a much clearer light. Many livestock show exhibitions have a carcass evaluation component tied to the overall rank or value of the animal, and often the initial live rankings are inverted once the carcass parameters are observed.

It reminds me of a time I was an intern at a major beefpacking facility, and the cattle buyers were paying too much of a premium for animals on a live basis. The cattle buyers were

brought out of their pickup trucks and into the plant. They were placed firmly on the grading chain. The purpose was to observe how poorly the high-priced animals performed as a carcass. The hide hides a lot of stuff. They called it a correlation, but the atmosphere had a feeling of something more intense. Losing money is bad business.

This frustration continues beyond the carcass.

The American Meat Science Association has hosted intercollegiate meat judging contests for many years. Like a lot of things we do, the intent is to develop more than vocational meat-judging skills, such as critical thinking, but the model used is still meat judging – which beef rib, fresh pork loin or beef round is better, and why?

Like livestock evaluation, it often makes for spirited debate because until one eats each of those four specimens, do you really know which one is the best? And recently, the AMSA Meat Judging scope has been broadened to include processed meats judging contests.

The OSU Meat Judging Team was fortunate to finish second in the processed meats judging contest in Austin, Minnesota, hosted by AMSA, Hormel Foods and the National Barrow Show.

The criteria used for ranking gets more broad as you move further away from the live animal.

As part of the contest, the students and I had the opportunity to tour the Hormel facility. We learned about SPAM, which is probably one of the simplest, yet most complex meat items in the market. Fortunately, canned meat was not one of the judging classes.

I’ve eaten more SPAM since that visit than I ever had before.

To date, each can of SPAM has tasted exactly like the previous can.

The SPAM process seems to equalize all the differences among live hogs. I don’t think I could tell if a can of SPAM was made from a Grand Champion barrow or a first-round sift. Either way, it’s best if you fry it.

By Jake Nelson, meat processing specialist jacob.nelson@okstate.edu

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quality management

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Roughly one out of six Americans, or 48 million people, will get sick each year because of foodborne illness. In addition, 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die from foodborne diseases annually.

Oklahoma State University faculty and staff understand the need for proper food handling from farm to fork nationwide and is becoming a leader in global food safety.

With the sponsorship of Unitherm Food Systems in Bristow, Oklahoma, Jason Young, FAPC quality management specialist, joined more than 100 experts from around the world in Düsseldorf, Germany, to tackle global issues faced by the food industry in September 2015.

“It was an honor to be able to work with food-safety experts worldwide and discuss how we can make our food even safer than it already is,” Young says.

“Each and every person who attended this conference is dedicated to improving food safety on a global scale.”

Driving Advancement

The Global Food Safety Initiative, which strives for continuous improvement of food-safety management systems to ensure safe food and consumer confidence, drives specialized advancement through its Technical Working Groups.

These groups are composed of experts drawn from retailers, manufacturers, food service operators, service providers, standard owners, certification bodies, accreditation bodies and industry associations.

They provide technical expertise and advice to the GFSI Board, work independently throughout the year on a range of food safety topics, and come together three times a year to share knowledge and discuss their work.

According to www.mygfsi.com, “The work of GFSI would not have moved forward in the way it has over the years without the dedication of GFSI Technical Working Group experts and the support of the companies they represent.”

Young, the only attendee from Oklahoma, is a member of the GFSI Technical Working Group for Regional Outreach.

The purpose of this group is to provide

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advice to the GFSI Board to develop a strategy, action plans and shared tools to support global expansion during the next five years.

Young says this was the first of many meetings and conference calls during the next two years.

“In this first session we learned how the current local groups operate,” he says.

“Part of our objective is to help GFSI establish an application process to form new regional groups. Additionally, we want to construct a method for the groups to be sustainable and directed by a local team with support from GFSI.” Since the creation of the Technical Working Groups, more than 100 companies, consultancies and organizations have collaborated in 25 teams, covering all areas of food safety.

Véronique Discours-Buhot, director of the Global Food Safety Initiative and The Consumer Goods Forum, says food safety is a shared responsibility.

“With the food supply chain growing more and more complex, no one can do it alone,” she says. “We are thrilled to bring together the entire industry spectrum – manufacturers, retailers and service providers and also international organizations, academia and government representatives – to collaborate on key food safety issues.

Above all, the Technical Working Groups are a fantastic example of collaboration.”

Young says what makes GFSI so unique is it engages in a two-way dialogue with the food industry.

Stakeholders bring perceived concerns and issues to the table, and food-industry leaders communicate those challenges to the GFSI Board, who then mandate working groups to collaborate on global issues and find solutions to industry concerns.

Solutions and best practices are made available to the industry to drive continuous improvement.

The next Technical Working Group will take place in Berlin, Germany, in

alignment with GFSI’s Global Food Safety Conference in March 2016. Young will join a network of more than 1,000 food-safety leaders at the conference in support of the GFSI vision of safe food for consumers everywhere.

Serving the Food Industry

With a growing demand for safe quality food products, the need for food-industry companies to engage in food-safety programs is more important than ever.

Professionals within FAPC, a part of OSU’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, recognized this need and embraced this opportunity.

Improving FOOD S from farm

meeti

quality management

With the support of Oklahoma’s foodindustry leaders and FAPC’s Industry Advisory Committee, center faculty and staff implemented a Global Food Safety System program to assist Oklahoma food companies in meeting GFSI needs.

The GFSS program focuses on foodindustry assistance in the areas of training, auditing, pre-third-party audit preparations, education, and in-plant technical assistance for food safety and quality programs.

Young has filled this need to provide food-safety assistance. One of the major ways he helps food companies is by conducting internal audits.

g global SAFETY m to fork

“Globalization of the food industry has significantly affected almost every Oklahoma food processor directly and indirectly with mandated food safety and security regulations and policies that cut across all food-processing sectors,” says Chuck Willoughby, FAPC manager of business and marketing relations. “Our Global Food Safety System program provides services to meet the food-safety and security needs of Oklahoma’s food industry.”

Since the establishment of the program in 2011, Young has assisted 12 companies, providing more than 600 hours of GFSI services. With Young’s help, nine of these companies have passed GFSI audits.

“There are several audit schemes such as Safe Quality Food and BRC Global, which are designed to meet GFSI,” Young says. “I am able to meet with the company and conduct an internal audit. We work to identify any gaps within the company’s food-safety and quality system, and these gaps are further discussed to identify ways to meet the criteria.”

FAPC’s program is continually growing, leading to fewer food-safety incidents with the implementation of these schemes.

By Mandy Gross, communications services manager mandy.gross@okstate.edu Photo/Todd Johnson

FAPC’s Jason Young works with members of Triple S Farms in Hydro, Oklahoma, to meet GFSI certification.

ingfoodindustryneeds

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client success

Meeting ever-changing demands

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In a small family kitchen in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, in 1922, Field’s Pies was born. Deeply rooted in tradition and Oklahomans’ love for pecan pie, the Field’s family has been bringing its recipe into homes across the country for decades.

“A lot of tradition goes into every one,” says Libby Griffith, quality assurance manager at Field’s. “It all started when two brothers, Julian Jr. and Lee Field, opened a small restaurant, Field’s Tavern, near the corner of Paul and Walnut in Pauls Valley. After World War I, the brothers bought the corner cafe, which became one of the busiest places in town when U.S. 77 was constructed. The brothers began with a filling station, then added cottages and in 1925, the restaurant became a one-stop service center for travelers.”

The company’s pecan pie is what put Field’s on the map and currently accounts for 85 percent of total sales. The company offers three pie varieties: pecan, German chocolate and lemon chess.

All are frozen fresh from the oven and only have to be thawed to serve.

By 1953, demand – particularly for pecan pies and red-devil cakes – became so great that a bakery was added to the restaurant. Hazelle and Zora Field, grandmas of Lee and Julian Jr., trained women to bake their specialties and then retired.

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Julian Jr. is quoted on Field’s Pies website, saying, “When dad closed at night, two or three women were locked in to bake for the next day.”

As the years passed, Field’s have continued to expand, pass on the family business to new generations and adapt to meet the ever-changing demands of the consumer.

FAPC has become a crucial part of assisting the business.

Through a partnership that began in 1999, FAPC has assisted Field’s with equipment selection, process development and food safety education, including implementing Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point, BRC food safety and quality plans. FAPC also assisted the company in updating product photos and packaging designs.

“FAPC has a great relationship with the Field’s family,” says Tim Bowser, FAPC food process engineer. “We have provided oven performance checks since 2001 and provide any additional assistance with operations on an as-needed basis.”

The most recent change for the Field’s operation was the purchase of a new pie cooler.

“Our previous cooler was in operation for more than 30 years,” Griffith says. “Customer signals and sanitation concerns lead us to move toward a new cooling system for our pies.”

Field'sPiesP

client success

Photo/Todd Johnson

Field’s previous pie cooler utilized an open air-cooling technique. The pies came directly from the oven onto a conveyor belt that held the pies until cooled to the desired temperature.

However, customer-buying signals moved the company toward looking at more modern, alternative cooling systems.

“I helped identify alternatives and suppliers, develop bid sheets and identify immediate needs for Field’s,” Bowser says. “It was important to the company that we adhere to the customer’s needs but also keep in line with family tradition.”

After reviewing recent industry trends, Field’s purchased a cooler manufactured by I.J. White. The cooling system features two ambient coolers. The larger of the two takes pies up to the ceiling and the other brings the pies back down to table height. The two spiral coolers measure 40 feet long by 23 feet wide and holds up to 5,000 pies at a time. Greater air pressure and particle control allows Field’s to not only cool the pies more quickly, but also have greater control of the environment in which the pies are cooled.

“FAPC helped determine the best option for us: cryogenic versus ambient, capacities needed and options as to possibilities that will best fit our needs,” Griffith says.

This system allows Field’s to keep with the time-honored traditions of cooling pies in open air while also providing a more

controlled air environment and easier cleaning system to meet the new customer demands.

Griffith says the initial purchase and installation experienced a potential disaster when the original manufacturer was unable to make the cooler as promised.

“When the original manufacturer didn’t come through, FAPC helped us determine a way to continue production,” she says.

The new cooler was installed in May 2015.

“Since then, our productivity has increased due to decreased rejects,” Griffith says. “It is a much cleaner operation and easier to clean than the previous cooler.”

Bowser says it’s exciting and inspiring to be able to work with a multi-generational family business.

“Field’s has a progressive and increasingly diverse outlook on the business,” he says. “Unlike any generation previous, they are facing different challenges and a different consumer; yet, they are improving operations and meeting those demands with ease.

FAPC is lucky to be able to work with such an organization.”

PaulsValley

By Ashley Middleswarth, communications graduate assistant ashley.middleswarth@okstate.edu

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food safety

FOOD SAFETY

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Photo/Todd Johnson

We have been fortunate to have an abundant food supply that is provided by a network of food producers, processor and retailers. Despite technological advancements with the food chain, the Centers for Disease Control estimates foodborne illnesses affect one in six Americans annually.

The U.S. food industry has undergone many changes during the last several decades that have significantly improved the microbiological safety of its products.

Generally, food producers and processors comply with regulatory food standards and recommended food-safety practices, but their degree of commitment to promoting a strong food-safety culture varies. Compliance often depends on a company’s culture and the willingness of the senior management to absorb the additional costs.

Currently, the first two approaches are used to gauge the progress of the industry’s food-safety programs. Approach one is monitoring the occurrence of foodborne diseases in the population, and the second approach is product testing. Both of these current food-safety measures are reactive in nature and are not effective in preventing foodborne illnesses.

In order to effectively control foodborne illnesses, a foodsafety system that utilizes a proactive approach to predict where problems might arise, rather than detecting them after they have occurred, is required. As part of these continuous improvement efforts, the Food Safety Modernization Act was signed into law in January 2011, but implementation currently awaits adoption of specific regulations.

When fully implemented, the food industry will be required to apply science- and risk-based preventive measures at all appropriate points across the farm-to-table spectrum to ensure the safety of foods. This new food-safety system will undoubtedly have some unanticipated weak links during its early stages of implementation. However, over the long term, this new and improved food-safety system should lead to a safer food supply and, in turn, to a reduced burden of foodborne illnesses.

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icrobiologicalsafety

for the future

Inherent to the implementation of FSMA and its science-based food-safety programs is the acknowledgment there will still be some level of risk of acquiring foodborne illness from eating food because zero risk is not practical.

Quantitative microbial risk assessment can help define the level of acceptable risk and the associated performance and microbiological standards. Using QMRA, the actual risk to public health is related to the levels of a microbiological hazard ingested through food at consumption, and those levels are in turn dependent on the initial contamination levels and modifying influences during processing and distribution.

However, the data needed for QMRA is not always available or in the correct format. Therefore, there is a need for epidemiologic studies and surveillance programs to fill the gap where data for these models are not available, as well as to provide an independent assessment of the sources of illnesses.

As new information becomes available, microbiological and performance standards should change to align with the state of the science knowledge of the food system. Collection of environmental and finished product-testing data should continue and possibly be enhanced to identify weaknesses that may occur post FSMA implementation.

Assessment of progress means fewer illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths, which requires robust human surveillance systems for sporadic illnesses and outbreaks that supply data needed to estimate the incidence of illness caused by each pathogen and the exposures that result from those infections.

With the introduction of the food-safety regulation, FSMA has initiated a transformation that should significantly improve safety of our food in the future. Despite these efforts, factors such as pathogen evolution, an increase in the elderly and immunocompromised populations, and unsafe food-handling practices by consumers could lead to increased foodborne illnesses and offset the progress the food industry continues to make toward mitigating foodborne-pathogen contamination in its products.

Improvements to the microbiological safety of our foods will require the collaborative efforts of the food industry, government and consumers to reduce foodborne illnesses.

By Ravi Jadeja, food safety specialist ravi.jadeja@okstate.edu

food microbiology

A new

Foodborne illness outbreak investigations are generally initiated when someone becomes ill with a notifiable disease requiring public health officials to be notified. Perhaps someone experiences a foodborne illness and sees a physician. Stool samples may be taken, and if a disease is identified, a sample will be sent to the state department of health to identify the specific causative agent.

I call this the “clinical route.”

However, it also is possible food-regulatory agencies are actively involved in sampling food company facilities and/or their products from retail shelves may find isolates of foodborne pathogens and submit them for testing to their own laboratories. In this case, it’s not an open-ended witch-hunt, as there are specifically targeted organisms in certain industries/commodities.

For example, there may be testing for Listeria monocytogenes of ready-to-eat meat products such as hotdogs and luncheon meats or testing for E. coli O157:H7 and/or Salmonella of raw ground beef or beef carcasses at retail markets and manufacturing facilities. I call this the “regulatory route.”

In both the clinical and regulatory routes, there is an attempt to “match up” the organisms to determine a connection with the same strain among different patients and/or regulatory food or environmental samples. This also is completed with the help of epidemiologists interviewing those who are ill with questions about their recent consumption history and/or places where they consumed food.

The laboratory side of the investigation handles the analysis of the organisms isolated from clinical specimens or food samples/facilities, subjecting them to “molecular typing” to determine a correlation.

The current molecular-typing database is called PulseNet because it is based on pulse-field gel electrophoresis analysis of bacterial chromosomal DNA. The process involves isolating DNA from the bacteria, chopping the DNA into fragments and running the fragmented DNA in a special electrophoretic gel with alternating currents of electricity to separate the fragments by size.

After the DNA fragments are separated, the gels are stained with dye, photographed and analyzed by special software and placed into the PulseNet database that allows comparison with other strains obtained anywhere in the world.

Various bacterial isolates of the same organism are either deemed different or similar strains based on the similarity of their

DNA banding patterns. This protocol has been widely adopted globally and there are PulseNet network systems representing the USA, Latin America, Canada, Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa and even China.

The use of PFGE has been globally important in performing epidemiological comparisons of strains isolated from ill patients with isolates from suspect foods and/or manufacturing facilities in which those foods were produced.

As useful as PFGE typing has been, comparisons based on DNA fragments are not completely discriminatory and isolates known to be different often cannot be easily resolved from one another. Ideally, the best comparisons would be expected from analyses comparing the actual DNA sequence of one bacterium strain versus another.

In past years, this was expensive; however, recent advances in sequencing equipment and an increase in the number of DNA sequence analyses have brought whole genome sequencing into the realm of a more affordable solution. Currently, there is an increase of whole genome sequencing being performed in parallel with PFGE analysis on isolates of foodborne pathogens to verify and confirm the greater degree of resolution between isolates.

microbialtyping

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Photo/genengnews.com

ERA

We are heading into a new era of whole genome sequencing of allimportant bacterial isolates from sick patients, food or food-processing environments. Sequence information of the entire genome allows for the greatest degree of differentiation, and this form of data is portable and readily archived and accessed by specialized software to make comparisons. It also allows analysis of the genetic makeup of bacteria to determine if specific isolates are potentially harmful, allowing scientists at regulatory laboratories to make determinations of low versus high risk that cannot be made by other means of detection. I expect the whole genome-sequencing program to someday replace the entire PulseNet program as the basis for microbial comparison and differentiation by food and health regulatory authorities. In my opinion, it is just that good.

Resources: List of notifiable diseases: http://tinyurl.com/notifiablediseases CDC PulseNet: http://www.cdc.gov/pulsenet/ FDA Whole Genome Sequencing program: http://tinyurl.com/fda-wgs

By Peter Muriana, food microbiologist peter.muriana@okstate.edu

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oilseed processing

Photo/BigStock

Another rule for trans fats

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The role of fats and oils in human health has been a controversial topic for many decades. There is no doubt that not only the amount, but also the type of fat or oil, affect consumers’ well being.

However, this effect is not necessarily negative or harmful.

When used as a part of a balanced diet, fats and oils are essential nutrients for human growth and maintenance of good health.

They also provide desirable flavor and textural attributes to foods.

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The challenge is to find the right fat or oil that is healthy and meets the functional properties needed in various food formulations. Considering the extremely diverse consumer identity including gender, age, lifestyle, health history and genetic profile, even just defining the healthy oil or fat becomes very complex.

Some of you might remember the days that animal fats, including lard and butter, were staple foods in our diet. Then, vegetable oils became abundant and inexpensive. They are preferred

humanhealth

oilseed processing

over solid fats because of the low content of saturated fatty acids, which are perceived as the culprits for many chronic diseases such as obesity and cardiovascular disease that have been on the rise.

In general, unsaturated fatty acids are considered healthy, but the problem is they get oxidized very easily producing harmful oxidation products. Hence, they have relatively short shelf life and are not suitable for high temperature applications including frying.

Furthermore, unsaturated fatty acids do not provide the solid content needed for some food formulations such as bakery products. In an effort to produce healthier products, lard and butter in many foods were replaced with vegetable oil-derived margarines over the years.

Margarines often are produced by partial hydrogenation of highly unsaturated fatty acids that are naturally present in oils.

During the partial hydrogenation process, hydrogen molecules are added to the double bonds and unsaturated fatty acids are converted to saturated ones. This process improves functional properties of the unsaturated oils but produces significant amount of trans fats. There have been studies indicating the adverse effects of trans fats on human health.

Since 2006, food manufacturers have been required to include trans fat content information on the nutrition facts label of foods.

Since then, food and beverage companies have voluntarily reduced the amount of trans fat added to food products by more than 86 percent. In 2013, U.S. Food and Drug Administration tentatively identified the significant human health risks associated with the consumption of trans fats.

The determination was based on scientific evidence including results from a number of controlled human trans fatty acid feeding studies, findings from long-term prospective epidemiological studies, and the opinions of expert panels convened by the government agencies, academic institutions and professional societies and associations. Most of the comments FDA received from individuals, industry and trade associations, consumer and advocacy groups, health professional groups and state/local governments supported the tentative determination or supported aspects of it.

In a recent announcement, FDA acknowledged there is no longer a consensus that partially hydrogenated fats, the primary source of industrially produced trans fat, are generally recognized as safe for use in human food. Since PHOs no longer have the GRAS status they will be classified as food additives. The major provisions of this new FDA order are: - PHO are not GRAS for any use in human food.

- Any interested party may seek food additive approval for one or more specific uses of PHO with data demonstrating a reasonable certainty of no harm of the proposed use(s).

- For the purposes of this declaratory order, FDA is defining PHO as those fats and oils that have been hydroge-

nated, but not to complete or near complete saturation, and with an iodine value greater than 4. Iodine value is often used to indicate the degree of unsaturation in fatty acids. The low iodine value (i.e. 4) indicates the presence of low level of unsaturated and higher concentration of saturated fatty acids in fats and oils.

FDA established a compliance date of June 18, 2018, for the food manufacturers gradually to phase out the trans fat use or seek food additive approval.

The final FDA trans fat rule caused some controversy among the stakeholders. Adequate availability of alternative oils including palm and domestically produced vegetable oils such as higholeic soybean oil to replace PHO is a major concern. But the main confusion is about the level of trans fats in foods other than PHO and the trans fat threshold limits for safety.

All refined edible oils contain some trans fat as an unintentional byproduct of the manufacturing process. Non-hydrogenated refined oils may contain typically less than 2 percent trans fatty acids when they are processed at a high temperature. Even the fully hydrogenated oils may contain low levels of trans fats due to incomplete hydrogenation. Small amounts of trans fats, typically around 3 percent, may be naturally present in the fat component of dairy and meat products from ruminant animals. The new rule does not include these products.

Considering that no trans fat safety threshold level has been determined, the opponents of the new FDA regulation claim that it is not scientifically substantiated. FDA argues the new rule is warranted by the fact that trans fats are an integral component of PHO and are purposely produced in these oils to affect the properties of the oils and the characteristics of the food to which they are added. In addition, the trans fat content of PHO is significantly greater than the amount in other edible oils questioned.

“This action is expected to reduce coronary heart disease and prevent thousands of fatal heart attacks every year,” says Stephen Ostroff, FDA’s acting commissioner in a press release. “It is anticipated that keeping trans fats out of human food will have a significant impact on public health and the benefits will overweigh the cost to industry.”

Resources: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/11/08/2013-26854/tentative-determination-regarding-partially-hydrogenated-oils-request-for-comments-and-for https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/06/17/2015-14883/final-determination-regarding-partially-hydrogenated-oils#h-24

By Nurhan Dunford, oil/oilseed specialist nurhan.dunford@okstate.edu

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product development

from

KITCHEN to FOOD BUSINESS 20

Photo/BigStock

product development

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I would wager that most people are capable of making a hamburger that is just as good, if not better, as the chain burger shack down the street. Yet after work, school, band practice or football game, cars line up at the drive-through.

Why is that? Is it because the burger shack has a top-secret formula guarded by vicious dogs, deadly assassins and a grimfaced litigious lawyer? Probably not, but the shack is capable of meeting a specific set of needs for its customer base, which is a convenient meal that tastes good enough at an affordable price in a reasonably short amount of time and has a cheap toy that comes with the combo meal.

This is often at odds with the dream that many entrepreneurs have when the attempt to enter the world of food manufacturing.

Television shows, websites, media personalities and, surprisingly enough, large food companies offer entrepreneurs an idealized vision of making recipes just like they do in their home kitchens, where as long as everything is done with love and a secret recipe, then you are guaranteed to make safe, consistent and affordable food that makes you rich in the process. No need for pesky chemicals, GMOs or science in our food.

To be fair, it is not surprising that when an entrepreneur enters the world of food manufacturing, their frame of reference often is what they have learned or have done in their own home kitchens. This is where they have spent countless hours honing the technique, temperature and time needed to make their recipe perfect, guaranteed to get smiles and compliments. The recipe can take on a life of its own, becoming not just a recipe, but the recipe because it is a reminder of childhood when the entrepreneur first ate it, the time spent with a loved one during its preparation or a special occasion where it was served. The recipe becomes a representation or even an extension of the entrepreneur, and it needs to be protected because of its significance and cannot be changed because of its uniqueness.

However, chances are that many secret family recipes are not really secret at all because they probably originated between the covers of a cookbook, within the pages of a newspaper or on the back of a product package. This is certainly not to suggest that no family recipe was ever made from scratch, that entrepreneurs should not take reasonable measures to protect their products or

tips for entrepreneurs

No matter how delicious a recipe is you cannot sell it if it is too difficult or too expensive to manufacture. More likely than not, a recipe will have to altered or streamlined, sometimes significantly, to facilitate commercial production.

Acquaintances may be happy to eat free samples of a recipe but not so happy to actually pay for them. Family and friends are an excellent source of encouragement, but the number of strangers who are actually willing to purchase it on a recurring basis determines the ultimate success of a product.

that the emotional ties that people have with family recipes are not important.

In fact, those emotions can be a crucial part in marketing the product to consumers and establishing a connection in a competitive and crowded marketplace. It is important to keep in mind the goal is to move from beyond the home kitchen and out into the wide world of commerce. The odds for success increase when entrepreneurs can adapt to this new paradigm.

The reality is if a large company wants to know what is in a secret recipe, they have teams of highly trained individuals with the latest equipment whose sole job is to create similar if not exactly the same types of products–eight hours a day, five days a week. Of course, a company also could learn what is in the recipe by simply taking a look at the ingredient statement that is required by law to be printed on the package.

There is no doubt that a successful entrepreneur needs to be enthusiastic and protective about their recipe/product, but also they have to be flexible and realistic.

I’ll end where I began. Secret recipes, untouched by chemicals, GMOs or mad food scientists are great for marketing, but in the end they don’t really have much to do with whether a food business succeeds or fails.

The Chipotle Mexican Grill has posted its “secret” recipe for its guacamole on its website for everyone to see, but that has not seemed to have hurt its business. The company hired 4,000 new workers in one day in September 2015.

On the other hand, it may yet suffer from the class action lawsuit it faces over claims in its advertising that is was “GMOfree” when on its website it runs a disclaimer “most animal feed in the U.S. is genetically modified, which means that the meat and dairy served at Chipotle are likely to come from animals given at least some GMO feed.” In addition, many of the beverages sold in restaurants contain genetically modified ingredients, including those containing high fructose corn syrup, which is almost always made from GMO corn. Go figure.

By Darren Scott, sensory specialist darren.scott@okstate.edu

Fresh products currently are popular, but keep in mind that a minimally processed recipe made from all fresh ingredients and no preservatives will have an inherently short shelf life.

Can the product make it through distribution channels with enough shelf life on the backend so it meets your needs, as well as the needs of intermediaries and the end consumer?

It is an exciting time to be in the world of food. There are more and more new items being introduced all the time, but each opportunity for entrepreneurs brings its own challenges so it is important to keep the ultimate goal in mind. Remember, selling product at your own storefront is different than selling product at a grocery store or out of a food truck or at a farmers market.

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food processing

A “kitchenles

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My adventure in living without a kitchen began shortly after moving into a 37-year-old condo in a new land. One objective of the move was to downsize and get rid of “stuff” with the exception of “foodstuff.” Another objective was to try a new lifestyle. The new land gave freedom from blowing dust and red cedar allergies but added other unknown perils such as wind-born oceans, free range Geckos and a variety of “snowbirds.” The new land is called Florida.

We expected some sort of kitchen adventure because we knew the kitchen needed help when we initially walked through with the real estate agent. On move-in day my expectations for kitchen badness were exceeded. The ‘80s floors had not yet become trendy again, and the ceiling was low and in poor condition.

The cabinets were repositioned several times and held up with an average of one screw per cabinet and an abundance of caulk. The work triangle was more like the Bermuda triangle. However the appliances were fairly new and screamed “save me.”

Thus, I put on a new hat to test my skill at “kitchen planning.” We decided to

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hold off on unpacking kitchen boxes for a while.

We made a trip to Miami to have a meatball lunch at IKEA, and we returned with 71 packages weighing 338.5 kilo containing cabinet parts. Two weeks later we went for a second meatball lunch at IKEA in Tampa and returned with another 55 packages of cabinet parts weighing only 272 .9 kilo. We ordered additional out-of-stock parts online. This completed the pre-cabinet phase of the kitchen plan.

Meatballs and cabinets were almost as important as bringing home some IKEA cinnamon rolls. The cabinet parts remained dormant for the next two months as the old kitchen was not worthy of the new cabinets.

While the new cabinets sat dormant, the old counters, cabinets and plumbing went away, and my wife considered going away as well. The empty kitchen walls remained waiting for the next part of the plan. We decided to get rid of all evidence that the old kitchen ever existed. We hired a contractor to gut the remainder of the kitchen, reconfigure, rewire and drywall to my specifications. Plastic sheeting blocked

openings to the rest of the house, and the result was chronic “kitchenlessness.” Four weeks later, there was a blank slate waiting for me to put back together. The whole ordeal was like an episode on HGTV minus the camera showing surprises every day. “Kitchenlessness” continued as a fact of life as we found alternative sources for edibles. This became a great opportunity to check out various food vendors in our new land.

It soon became apparent that Florida, like other states, contains many places where food can be purchased for consumption by the “kitchenless” as well as people who do not cook, like to cook or need a break from the kitchen. Much of the food proved excellent and of good value if moderation and common sense were part of the selection process.

I do not buy into the perception that all “fast” and “processed” food should be avoided, and this was not a consideration during our “kitchenless” adventure. I posed questions – is it healthier to eat one slice of white bread or five slices of whole grain bread, and when did kale become actual food?

eatingadv

food processing

ss” adventure After several days of breakfast under the “Golden Arches,” we noticed the same couple there every morning eating breakfast. They told us, “We have been eating here every morning for years. We do not like to cook. There is no going back to making breakfast at home.” As they were both in their 80s, we determined if it was good enough for them, it was good enough for us for a few weeks.

One Saturday, we tried a local breakfast place. We were served thick-sliced, great-tasting bacon almost like “dry cured.” The manager told me it was a special foodservice product from Hormel that they cannot always get, and it brings the customers back for more. We made a decision to go back sometime for lunch and try the bacon on a green tomato BLT. However, we went back on a Sunday, where the menu for the after-church crowd consisted of comfort and soul food. It was interesting but not as good as the bacon.

We tried a popular fine dining one Friday night. Upon entering, we noticed the place was packed and had the aroma “off-condition” fish. The food was fine, but the place is off my repeat list.

We noted a truly great idea in a local chicken fast food outlet. There was a handwash station located right in the middle of the restaurant. I did not see a lot of people using it. However, it promotes the quality image they target.

Today’s trend toward “no this,” “no that,” “healthy,” “sustainable,” “fresh” and “natural” food may be partially due to marketing. However, I have noted many of the places making such claims serve “pretty good” food. Even without the claims, the food would still be “pretty good.”

We found some great tasting tacos in a smoothie shop. My new go-to pizza place also fits the criteria noted. The menu states, “First and foremost, we make pizza the best way pizza can be made. We use the best stuff. We use our hands, our heads, our ovens, our hearts and our souls. We create mini masterpieces of tasty goodness that are good for you.” We have been back three times during our “kitchenless” adventure and will gladly leave our new kitchen once it is finished to go back.

We expected great fresh fruits and vegetables would be available in Florida.

We have found some excellent produce but

dventures

not necessarily from local growers. I forgot the growing season here is fall to spring and look forward to the seasonal farmers markets. Our kitchen will be ready in time for the local produce. Publix Markets sums up local in a good way on its Web page.

“Of course not every item in our produce section can be locally sourced. So for such food we choose the region that will produce the best tasting version – and often that version is right in our backyard.” It still seems strange to find tomatoes from Canada, Texas and Mexico as we wait for the Florida version.

The contractor has finally left and so far the kitchen has been painted, lights and other fixtures installed and the cabinet parts assembled into cabinets. Along the way the budget has continued to grow and the cost will be worth it when a kitchen sink becomes available. We have started our transition back to home food preparation, but now it’s time to go check out a shrimp place on the way to order counter tops.

By David Moe, food process consultant david.moe@okstate.edu

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Oklahoma State University Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources 148 FAPC Stillwater, OK 74078-6055

Photo/Todd Johnson

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID STILLWATER, OK PERMIT NO. 191

2015 DASNR CHAMPION JOHN WILLIAMS Chef’s Requested Foods, Inc.

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Oklahoma State University’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources depends greatly on industry leaders who contribute to its mission.

John Williams, resident of Edmond, Oklahoma, recently was recognized as a 2015 DASNR Champion for just that.

A North Dakota State University graduate, Williams launched Chef’s Requested Foods in 1979 in Oklahoma City. The company is for meat-focused food service clients with center-of-the-plate products and retail premium meat products.

Today, as president, he employs nearly 200 Oklahomans, selling more than a million pounds of value-added meat/food products each year to local, regional and national retail outlets and through major foodservice distributors.

“While John is not one of our alumni, we are proud and honored to be able

to call him a friend, and now a DASNR Champion,” says Tom Coon, vice president, dean and director of DASNR. “He’s had tremendous professional success and we are very appreciative of the support and leadership he has shown us over the years.”

Williams was a member of FAPC’s Industry Advisory Committee from 20062015. He chaired the active subcommittee on food safety, which was responsible for the development and launch of the food safety option in the food science curriculum.

“John brought life into a committee that certainly did a wonderful job, but was not as interactive as they needed to be,” says Roy Escoubas, FAPC director. “He was a catalyst for helping that committee become interactive with me and with the university.”

Williams has been instrumental in assisting FAPC create the Global Food Safety Initiative program, allowing FAPC to proactively assist food processors across the state.

“He is a wonderful person for being able to take academic logic and converting it to practicality and making something work,” Escoubas says. “John’s a quick learner, he’s thoughtful, he’s innovative, he’s not one quickly to respond to something, but when he starts talking, he’s got an amazing ability to think while he’s talking.”

Williams is a founding member and past president of the Made in Oklahoma Coalition.

supporter

By Sean Hubbard, agricultural communications specialist sean.hubbard@okstate.edu