Location: Fruit and Tree Nut Research
Project Number: 6042-41000-001-000-D
Project Type: In-House Appropriated
Start Date: May 8, 2023
End Date: Sep 30, 2026
Objective:
Determine factors and approaches that impact pecan safety, quality, and marketability of pecans. This includes developing new and improved pecan processing technologies, such as pasteurization and cracking/shelling, for improved storage and safety, while maintaining nutmeat quality and nutrition.
Approach:
Developing novel nut shelling and associated processing techniques to minimize physical nutmeat damage, contamination, and loss of quality postharvest; and improving understanding of pre-harvest and postharvest environmental factors that impact pecan color, texture, oil quality, and phytochemical content to identify conditions that maximize duration of quality. To better understand food safety risks associated with pecans, the project will address factors that influence the survival and persistence of foodborne pathogens and identify effective mitigation strategies while maintaining nut quality. In order to maximize marketability, the project will explore means to cost-effectively increase intact pecan meat extraction by modifying parametrized process variables on existing processing equipment.
