U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 close



Research
                Research Home
                            National Programs
                            Research Projects
                            Scientific Manuscripts
                            International Engagement
                            Scientific Software/Models
                            Databases and Datasets
                            Office of Scientific Quality Review
            Media
                News & Features
                            Multimedia
                            Briefing Room
                            Down on the Farm
                            Press Room
                            Science in Your Shopping Cart
                            Scientific Discoveries
                            Tellus
                            Under the Microscope
            About ARS
                About ARS Home
                            Staff Directory
                            Labs and Research Centers (Map)
                            Headquarter Offices
                            Organizational Chart
                            Employee Services (REE Employees Only)
                            Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
            Work With Us
                Work With Us Home
                            ARS Vacancies at USAJOBS
                            Careers at ARS Information
                            Scientific Collaborations
                            Extramural Agreements
                            1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical ProgramSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Office of Communications FNRB 2020





- Human Nutrition Research
- Nutrient Data tools
- Food Composition and Nutrition Links
- BHNRC Seminar Series

Table place setting with apple. Title: Food and Nutrition Research Briefs. Link to FNRB home page July 2020  FNRB Index | Search | CommentsContentsBrown Rice Variety Packs Vitamin E Punch
Researchers Identify Romaine Lettuces That Last LongerFreeze-Dried Strawberries and Ice Cream Make for a Very Stable Relationship
Three Joy Peaches ReleasedNew Test Identifies Poisonous Mushrooms
Microbe with Taste for Stale Bread Finds Its Calling**New Freeze-Resistant *Trichinella* Species Discovered**
**2020 Agricultural Research Service W.O. Atwater Memorial Lecturer**  Brown Rice Variety Packs Vitamin E Punch
The brown rice GEDrew has an odd kernel trait that sidelined its commercial prospects. Now, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists' re-examination of this trait and its link to increased antioxidant levels could give the rice variety a new commercial lease on life. GEDrew is the result of a mutagenesis rice breeding program conducted more than a decade ago. The GEDrew investigation focused on a single gene mutation that results in kernels with enlarged, or "giant," embryos. In addition to a higher proportion of bran to whole-kernel weight, the researchers observed that the giant embryo trait also correlated to a three-fold increase in alpha-tocopherol and a 20- and 29-percent increase in total tocotrienols and gamma-oryzanol, respectively. Even though GEDrew produced slightly smaller grains, it was unmatched in terms of its yield of bran, lipids and the three antioxidants. All are high-value ingredients for specialty uses ranging from edible oil for cooking and salad dressings, to breakfast cereals, nutrition bars, beverages and skin-care products.
Details
*Scientific contact: Anna M. McClung, (870) 672-9300 ext. 275, Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center, Stuttgart, Arkansas*.
New specialty uses could be in store for GEDrew, a variety of "giant embryo" brown rice. Back to Contents  Freeze-Dried Strawberries and Ice Cream Make for a Very Stable Relationship
ARS researchers have shown some freeze-dried berry powders—especially freeze-dried strawberry powder—can act as outstanding stabilizers in ice cream and other frozen dairy desserts. Freeze-dried strawberry powder is so effective a stabilizer that frozen dairy desserts with it included will maintain their shape even after reaching room temperature. Freeze-dried berry powder will absorb moisture from the premix base, improving its stability and texture to the point where the frozen dessert will keep its shape even after "melting" to room temperature. Strawberry powder was the best stabilizer, completely preventing melt‐down, followed closely by raspberry. While blackberry powder prevented the frozen dessert from wheying off (leaking of a clear watery serum), the foam structure still collapsed so it lost its original shape. Blueberry powder, on the other hand, did not prevent melt-down or ice crystal formation during refreezing, and the frozen dessert showed a little wheying off.
Details
*Scientific contact: Cristina Bilbao-Sainz, (510)559-5864, Healthy Processed Foods Research Unit, Western Regional Research Center, Albany, California*.
Freeze-dried berry powders can act as excellent stabilizers for ice cream and other dairy desserts. Back to Contents  New Test Identifies Poisonous Mushrooms
A simple, portable test that can detect the deadliest of the mushroom poisons in minutes has been developed by ARS scientists and their colleagues. Eating toxic mushrooms causes more than 100 deaths a year, globally, and leaves thousands of people in need of urgent medical assistance. Amanitin is the class of mushroom toxins that cause the most serious issues. The new test can identify the presence of as little as 10 parts per billion (equivalent to 10 cents out of $10 million) of amanitin in about 10 minutes from a rice grain size sample of a mushroom or in the urine of someone who has eaten a poisonous amanitin-containing mushroom. No definitive point-of-care clinical diagnostic test currently exists for amatoxin poisoning. Early detection of amanitin in a patient's urine would help doctors trying to make a diagnosis.
Details
*Scientific contact: Candace Bever, 510) 559-5833, Foodborne Toxin Detection and Prevention Research Unit, Western Regional Research Center, Albany, California*.
Edible and toxic mushrooms gathered from the wild can be hard to tell apart. Back to Contents  New Freeze-Resistant *Trichinella* Species Discovered
A new freeze-resistant *Trichinella* species has been discovered in wolverines by Agricultural Research Service scientists and their colleagues. This is the first species of *Trichinella* discovered since 2012, and the 13th species identified since the genus was discovered in 1835. The new species, now named *Trichinella chanchalensis* (and nicknamed "oddball"), was found in 14 of 338 wolverine samples tested. About 70 percent of the wolverine samples were infected by some *Trichinella* species. The samples were all provided by Canadian authorities that oversee trappers and/or game meat food safety in that country. Wolverines make an excellent sentinel species to help understand the scope of *Trichinella* in the environment. When the researchers first saw the new freeze-resistant *Trichinella*, they sought to understand if there had been interbreeding between *T. nativa* and T6, another freeze-resistant variety that is closely related to *T. nativa*. Evolutionarily, the evidence shows that *Trichinella chanchalensis* split off from the other known *Trichinella* species about 6 million years ago, making it a very old species among *Trichinella.* That brings up the question of how *T. nativa* and T6 got their freeze resistance. Did the trait evolve more than once or is there some other mechanism at work?
Details
*Scientific contact: Benjamin Rosenthal, 301-504-8300, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, Maryland*.
x A new freeze-resistant *Trichinella* has been found in wolverines. Photo courtesy of Getty Images Back to Contents  Researchers Identify Romaine Lettuces That Last Longer
Five Romaine lettuce varieties have been identified that both brown less quickly after fresh-cut processing and are slower to deteriorate postharvest. They also are determining the genetic basis for deterioration. The researchers have identified the location of genes associated with postharvest deterioration of fresh-cut lettuce, and are in the process of identifying genes associated with browning, two economically important traits. This will speed up development of new Romaine varieties with better shelf-life because now lettuce breeders will be able to check that offspring carry these genes without needing to grow out and destructively test for browning and deterioration resistance. Lettuces are the most popular, commercially produced, leafy vegetables in the world. It had a farmgate value of more than $2.5 billion in the United States in 2017, making it one of top ten most valuable crops for the country.
Details
*Scientific contact: Ivan Simko, (831) 755-2862, Crop Improvement and Protection Research Unit, Salinas, California.*
ARS scientists are looking for ways to make Romaine lettuce more resistant to browning and deterioration Back to Contents  Three Joy Peaches Released
The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has released a trio of Joy peaches—Rich Joy, Liberty Joy and Crimson Joy—to enhance the southeastern fresh peach market. Rich Joy is named for its fruit's rich flavor and as a way to honor ARS peach breeder William Richardson Okie, who retired in 2014. Okie is known for having developed the series of "prince" peach varieties, which are still in commercial use. Crimson Joy is named for its almost fully red-blushed skin. Liberty Joy is so called because it ripens near Fourth of July, Independence Day. The three Joy peaches are not genetically related. They are all yellow-fleshed, soften slowly to a smooth buttery texture (a trait called melting), with balanced sugar/acid ratios and pleasant eating quality.
Details
*Scientific contact: Chunxian Chen, (478) 956-6467, Fruit and Tree Nut Research Unit, Byron, Georgia.*
Rich Joy peaches ripening on the tree in a Byron, GA., orchard. Back to Contents  Microbe with Taste for Stale Bread Finds Its Calling
An Agricultural Research Service (ARS) team in Peoria, Illinois, has devised a procedure for using bacteria to convert glucose from bread waste into value-added products such as ascorbic acid (vitamin C), which is used in everything from food and beverages to pharmaceutical and personal-care products, a U.S market valued at over $1 billion in 2018. By one estimate, 12.5 million tons of bread, rolls, croissants and other baked goods go uneaten worldwide each year. Some of this food waste is fed to livestock as a source of carbohydrates and protein; however, the remainder can pose a disposal problem. Fortunately, the adage "One man's trash is another man's treasure" still holds true—with the help of Pseudomonas reptilivora bacteria. Team members devised fermentation procedures that encourage the species to gobble up glucose in bread waste and convert it into 2-keto-D-gluconic acid (2KGA), a so-called "platform chemical" that helps synthesize bulk quantities of erythorbic acid, ascorbic acid, ascorbic acid salts, and other substances with wide-ranging food and industrial applications. 2KGA itself can also be used as a detergent builder, cement plasticizer and precursor chemical for herbicide compounds. The team's hope is that with continued research and scale-up, the glucose-hungry bacteria will offer a biobased alternative to synthetically producing valuable chemicals like vitamin C from 2KGA—and simultaneously help tackle a food-waste issue.
Details
*Scientific contact: Badal C. Saha, (309) 681-6276, Bioenergy Research Unit, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, Peoria, Illinois*.
Researchers are investigating ways to turn bread waste into value-added products. Back to Contents  2020 Agricultural Research Service W.O. Atwater Memorial Lecturer
Richard Mattes, a distinguished professor of nutrition science at Purdue University, was honored as the 2020 W.O. Atwater Memorial Lecturer by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS). The Atwater Lecture was to have been presented at Nutrition 2020, the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition, May 30-June 2, 2020, which was not held this year due to the impacts of COVID-19. Instead, Mattes will present his lecture and be honored at Nutrition 2021 in Boston. His lecture is titled, "Predictive Strength of Atwater Values at the Biology: Behavior Interface."
Details
*Contact: Stephanie Pearl, (202) 692-0356, Administrator's Immediate Office, Washington D.C.*
Richard Mattes Richard Mattes is the 2020 ARS W.O. Atwater Memorial Lecturer Back to Contents


Return to top


Research
                            Media
                            About ARS
                            Work With Us


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov