New ARS Food and Nutrition Research Briefs Issued

January 26, 2018

The invention of a new small plastic pouch that releases chlorine dioxide gas to eliminate E. coli and other pathogens from the surfaces of fruits and vegetables is among the new nutrition and health findings in the latest issue of the Agricultural Research Service's (ARS) Food and Nutrition Research Briefs.

The latest issue can be found at https://www.ars.usda.gov/oc/fnrb/2018/fnrb0118/

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

Among other findings, the current issue reports the following:

• A new vaccine developed by ARS scientists can protect food animals such as pigs and turkeys against both human- and animal-disease-causing Salmonella. In experiments, the vaccine protected pigs against two types of Salmonella-Typhimurium and Choleraesuis. It also protected turkeys against Typhimurium and the multidrug-resistant Salmonella type, Heidelberg.
• ARS scientists have developed new infrared technology that can improve commercial food processing, particularly drying of walnuts. Drying walnuts by the current hot-air method is expensive and energy intensive. This infrared method dries walnuts with 25 percent less energy and reduces drying time by 35 percent. It also may be practical for other types of nuts, such as pistachios.
• A heat-tolerant broccoli could be on the horizon since ARS scientists have identified genetic markers associated with heat resistance and characterized the genetic sources of broccoli's ability to tolerate heat stress. Encountering high temperatures is the main factor limiting where and when broccoli is grown. One cup of broccoli provides more than 100 percent of our daily requirement for vitamins C and K and is a good source of fiber, vitamin A, folate, and potassium.

ARS Food and Nutrition Research Briefs is offered with color photos and illustrations on the Web. And by clicking the "subscribe" link on the newsletter's home page, readers can sign up for either of two e-mail options: They can receive the full text of the newsletter by e-mail or simply an advisory when a new issue has been posted online.

For more information contact Kim Kaplan, ARS Office of Communications.

The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in agricultural research results in $20 of economic impact.