Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

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University Appoints New Dean for College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Virginia Tech has named Alan Grant, professor and head of the Department of Animal Sciences at Purdue University , the new dean for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Grant will start his position on October 1. He succeeds L.T. Kok, who has been interim dean since March after Sharron Quisenberry left to become vice president of research and economic development at Iowa State University .

Recognized as a University Faculty Scholar at Purdue University , Grant has received several teaching awards, including the Teaching for Tomorrow Award, an enrichment program for recognizing and fostering teaching. Capital projects under his leadership as department head have included a $2.3 million swine environmental research building; $600,000 Ossabaw swine facility; major investments in manure management systems at the Purdue Research and Education Center ; and renovations of several research laboratories.

“I am committed to Virginia Tech's land-grant mission and believe the college is a natural leader in this area due to its strong assets – quality agricultural and life sciences programs and their integration with Virginia Cooperative Extension and the Agricultural Experiment Station. I am excited about the prospect of working with university colleagues on building the university's future and expanding existing partnerships with internal and external stakeholders. Through these efforts, the college will continue to develop solutions to relevant problems in the agriculture, food, health, and natural resources sectors across its teaching, research, and Extension missions,” Grant said.

Grant's research program has been focused on the study of animal growth that leads to strategies for increasing the efficiency of lean meat production and utilization. His discovery efforts have also been directed at understanding the relationship between muscle development and meat quality. His research program has been supported by more than $5.4 million in competitive funds from organizations like the American Diabetes Association, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program, and the National Pork Producers Council.

Grant is a strong advocate of regionalization and multi-state activities to support land-grant missions and serves as a board member of a new Midwest Dairy Consortium. He has also provided leadership to the U.S. Pork Center of Excellence. A panel member and reviewer for the USDA National Research Initiative's competitive grants program, Grant's expertise has been recognized nationally and internationally. He served as an external referee for the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Grants Program; and ad-hoc reviewer for the U.S.-Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund; and was a participant in the European Association for Animal Production Working Group on Boar Production. He was also a visiting scientist at the Medical Research Council in London .

Grant received his Ph.D. and master's of science from Michigan State University in animal science and his bachelor's of science in animal science from Cornell University .

HOT TOPICS AND DAIRY ISSUES

New Oxygen Scavenging Technology Boosts PET Packing Performance

New oxygen scavenging technology for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) containers that allows for lighter weights and prolongs shelf life has received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. Constar is t he Philadelphia-based company that manufactures DiamondClear. Now the company plans to begin selling its DiamondClear product for packaging almost all oxygen sensitive food and beverages.

“ The new DiamondClear material exhibits a huge capacity for scavenging oxygen, enabling packaging features such as extreme lightweighting, multi-year product shelf life, robust empty bottle life, and a step change improvement for recycling,” a spokesman told FoodProductionDaily.com.

The company said DiamondClear's clarity, as well as its light weight and robust monolayer structure that eliminates the risk of delamination, makes it an attractive alternative to glass. This toughness allows for faster filling and labeling speeds.

The firm said it had conducted extensive shelf life tests comparing DiamondClear to both glass and competing PET containers. At 24 months, PET containers with the new technology experienced little oxygen ingress—much like glass—while plain PET and many monolayer scavengers demonstrated substantial ingress. The ability to tightly control oxygen ingress enables PET containers with DiamondClear to keep products fresher, more vibrant in color and tasting better longer, said the company.

Company CEO and President Mike Hoffman said the product answers market needs from both environmental and food safety perspectives.

“We have developed a PET technology that can deliver longer shelf life without compromising the clarity of the container. It mirrors the clarity and gloss of glass, and allows for the reduction of packaging weight to as little as one-tenth that of a comparably sized glass container. DiamondClear gives the marketplace a truly sustainable alternative,” he added.

New Process Eliminates 45% of Cholesterol in Cheddar Cheese

Alliance Enterprises has applied a new processing technology to Cheddar cheese and claims to have reduced the cholesterol content by 45 percent, without affecting the original taste or mouth feel.

The results were obtained using the company's Benelact process, introduced in 2007, where milk is mechanically treated to separate the cholesterol from the fat molecules.

The company spokesperson said the process does not affect the flavor or function of finished products because the fat is not adulterated. The cholesterol is disassociated from fat by applying an all-natural mechanical treatment process.

The Benelact process combines mixing and separating operations with the addition of natural oils to the milk, according to the manufacturer. During processing, the group says that these oils work to 'grab' and then separate cholesterol from the actual milk under controlled temperature conditions.

“Because temperatures and other factors are controlled throughout the process, proteins, calcium and vitamins are left undisturbed,” said the company spokesperson. “Since none of the flavor is lost, no [taste-enhancing] additives are required.”

Alliance Enterprises developed the technology to meet growing demand for low cholesterol dairy products, as awareness of the link between cholesterol and heart disease continues to spread.

Following the introduction of the Benelact process two years ago, the company has been applying it to a variety of dairy products including mozzarella cheese, ice cream, butter and milk. The nutritional content and the shelf life of the products also remain in tact.