ARS Posts Latest Food and Nutrition Research Briefs

By Kim Kaplan
August 4, 2016

The discovery of a cranberry component that might control urinary tract infections is among the new nutrition and food safety findings in the latest issue of the Agricultural Research Service's (ARS) Food and Nutrition Research Briefs.

The July 2016 issue is now available at /is/np/fnrb/fnrb0716.htm.

This popular online newsletter reports discoveries from researchers at ARS laboratories nationwide.

In total, 12 findings are highlighted in the latest issue, including —

• An antimicrobial wash that reduces the risk of foodborne pathogens in fresh produce. Commercial food distributors are expected to use "First Step+ 10"—a combination of lactic acid, fruit acids and hydrogen peroxide—in the commercial flumes and rinse tanks in which fresh produce is washed.
  
  
• The discovery of a sap from frost grapes, a native U.S. vine, that is similar to the imported gum Arabic. The sap might become a domestic replacement for this common thickening agent used in products from cake frosting to paints to cosmetics.

ARS offers Food and Nutrition Research Briefs online with color photos and illustrations. Simply subscribe after following the appropriate link on the newsletter's home page and select between two e-mail delivery options.