Online Master of Agricultural and Life Sciences

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https://hdl.handle.net/10919/51287

The Online Master of Agricultural and Life Sciences (OMALS), http://www.cals.vt.edu/online/, is uniquely positioned to meet the evolving and dynamic needs of today’s agricultural professionals. The program offers concentrations in the areas of agribusiness, applied animal behavior and welfare, applied nutrition and physical activity, education, environmental science, food safety and biosecurity, and leadership studies, as well as plant science and pest management. In addition to engaging classes, students benefit from the opportunity to work on-on-one with well-respected faculty in Virginia Tech's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to complete a rigorous final project, using what they've learned and developing real-world research and communication skills. This collection showcases final projects completed by current and former OMALS students.

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Now showing 1 - 20 of 49

An awareness guideline on consumer food safety in Suriname
Zweevel, Mayra C. (Virginia Tech, 2021-12-01)
The Nationaal Instituut voor Voedselveiligheid Suriname (NIVS) which is established in the context of general food safety and protecting consumers from dangers associated with all foods sold in Suriname, gives the opportunity to develop food safety rules, regulation and raise awareness on topics regarding food safety. One opportunity of this Institute is to create awareness among the consumers who are part of the food supply chain (known as the farm to fork continuum). Historical data show that Suriname is not excluded from foodborne illness. The goal of this project and report was to educate consumers in Suriname on food safety best practices. To the authors knowledge, no reports were found on consumers food safety behavior and knowledge in Suriname. Therefore, these guidelines were developed to educate consumers on food safety behavior, and also food safety best practices based on different international prior studies. These food safety best practices are described under several different topics related to consumer behavior and food handling.
Beef Quality Assurance - Adding Value with E. coli Food Safety Focus
Flowers, Charles Webb (Virginia Tech, 2011-12)
“Doing the right thing” as recommended by cumulative results of successive National Beef Quality Audits 1990–2010 is demonstrating positive end product quality, wholesomeness and food safety progress. As producers continued to utilize BQA practices over a 10-20 year period during the 1990s and 2000s, and included additional value added practices, they began to realize premiums for BQA practices. The focus of this publication is the importance of minimizing opportunities for foodborne illness pathogen to occur throughout the life of beef cattle for young calves through harvest.
“Campus Cuisine: Reservations Anyone?”: Development of a Curriculum on Food Safety Best Practices for a University Dining Services Workforce
Southerland, Anita M. (Virginia Tech, 2022-11-28)
Food for thought, every year in the United States, foodborne illness accounts for notable losses of healthy life years. Given that food and water supplies are the basis for human survival, it seems likely that institutions of higher learning would be a logical place for a robust educational platform to be interjected. College students may not thrive securely as healthy, productive adults without foundational food safety skills and knowledge. Therefore, a short, interactive, engaging food safety curriculum was developed for college students working in Dining Services at Pensacola Christian College. The emphasis on collegiate dining services may exponentially mitigate the toll of foodborne illness as college campuses being one of the latter points of preparatory insertion of knowledge for building life skills and seeking advancement in education. The ultimate goal of this training is to provide a basis for food safety practices through strategic and cohesive training within the collegiate arena (in this case one university dining service team of 600-800 students).
Cold Chain Management at Farmers’ Markets
Acosta, Ernesto L. (Virginia Tech, 2023-01-16)
Small farms are exempt from the Food Safety Modernization Act. Thus, educational materials are necessary to remind small farmers about safe food handling practices. The cold chain (refrigeration) is an important part of the farm to fork process. A guide about cold chain management is a useful reminder that can help reduce the risk of foodborne illness.
Considerations for Creating a Food Business Incubator in Virginia
Pasquarelli, Ian (Virginia Tech, 2016-04-22)
Due to overwhelming current demand for affordable rental commercial kitchen space in Virginia, this report was compiled in order to assess a viable Virginia model for small food business support. The incubator business model is gaining in popularity across the country, and increasing the capacity for small food business operations in many metropolitan areas. Multiple in-person interviews were conducted with food producers, food retailers, shared-use kitchen owners, city/county officials, and food business incubator managers in Virginia and along the Eastern shore of the United States in order to gain more information pertaining to the elements required for success in food business incubation. It was discovered that most successful food business incubators are located in urban areas, with access to support from existing business development infrastructure such as local universities, hospitals, and business development service centers. Each existing facility has received significant funding from philanthropic donors, or investment capitalists who were able to supply the heavy up-front costs associated with facility establishment. The needs of the interested community will be essential in determining the type of food business incubator facility, and the equipment and services that it will provide. The main limiting factors among unsuccessful operations were shortage of dry and refrigerated storage space, and lack of adequate distribution networks, both factors of which are essential for growth and aggregation of small food businesses, and ultimate success of food business incubators.
Control of Listeria monocytogenes in Cheese Brines: A Literature Review
Hoffman, Mary (Virginia Tech, 2018-05-03)
Listeria monocytogenes (L. mono.) is a top pathogen of concern in the cheese industry. The organism is prevalent in the environment and has been known to inhabit dairy manufacturing facilities, including long-term survival in brine tanks. Along with good hygiene and sanitation practices, validated L. mono. control methods must be employed to ensure extended-use brine tanks do not become reservoirs for Listeria monocytogenes, potentially leading to serious health issues in cheese consumers. Control methods considerations include L. mono. cells in suspension, cells attached to protective biofilms, and effectiveness in the presence of organic matter. This literature review investigated the availability of scientific research on effective control methods for Listeria monocytogenes in cheese brines. Research on L. mono. control in other applicable areas was considered where information related specifically to cheese brine environments was not found. Potential effective control methods were identified, including membrane filtration and oxidizing agents such as peroxyacetic acid and hydrogen peroxide. Further research is needed to fill knowledge gaps related to successful implementation of these controls in cheese brines.
Cooling Oysters to Within the New 10 Hour Required Time Frame from the Environment to 50 Fahrenheit or Below in a Refrigerated Storage Area
Lane, Robert (Virginia Tech, 2011-07)
A first encounter with the ruling that required Virginia original dealers of shellstock oysters destined for the half shell market to reduce the internal temperature to below 50 ⁰F within 10 hour of harvest was in reviewing a thermal model of a pallet of oysters bound for shipment. (Figure 1) The model was of a pallet of oyster boxes 48 x 40 x 60 inches tall, wrapped in plastic, as is the practice in shipment and placed in a blast freezer at -40⁰F. The model provided for temperature probes placed within the boxes at different parts of the pallet stack showed that the oyster internal temperatures did not achieve temperature below 50 ⁰F within the 10 hour time frame. (Figure 2) The model was then broken down into 48x40 x12 inches or equivalent of 1layer on a pallet, wrapped in plastic and placed in a blast freezer at – 40 ⁰F. The model again provided for temperature probes placed within the boxes however oyster internal temperature again did not achieve temperature below 50 ⁰F within the 10 hour time frame (Figure 3) (Conversation with Mike Jahncke Ph.D. Virginia Seafood AREC Director, June 1, 2010). A data logging apparatus was employed to test the capabilities of three major seafood companies to meet the new standard.
Cyberbiosecurity Importance in Relation to Small Fermentation Businesses and How to Integrate it into Known Hazard Planning Tools
Knapp, Jordan; Strawn, Laura K.; Wiersema, Brian D.; Eifert, Joseph D.; Hamilton, Alexis M. (Virginia Tech, 2024-08-07)
Cyberbiosecurity threats are on the rise in many various industries (Drape et al., 2021). With attacks on water treatment plants, medical facilities and more, awareness for what cyberbiosecurity is, what it looks like, and how to implement countermeasures into known hazard planning tools is dire. This project set out to address these issues in the context of small fermentation businesses. A survey was conducted but, due to low response rate, there was no statistical nor quantitative analysis performed on the survey results. The information gleaned from the survey was used to better guide how a factsheet would be created and used to gauge, what the fermentation community in North Carolina and Virginia was aware of in relation to food safety, the Food Safety and Modernization Act, and cyberbiosecurity. A factsheet was designed to guide small fermentation businesses on how to identify cyberbiosecurity is, what hazards exist, how to implement control measures into known hazard planning tools, and what methods exist to better protect their businesses.
Developing Hygienic Practices Training for Meat Processing Industry
Cappaletti, Chiara (Virginia Tech, 2011-04-15)
This final project focuses on safe handling and risk management in meat production. Deliverables include Hygienic Practices Manual, Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point Procedures, and Employee Training Plan for Fiorucci Foods, Inc.
Developing resources to help Virginia food producers sell and distribute products through the farm to school program
Haynes, Brenda Carol (Virginia Tech, 2019-05-15)
Encouraging procurement of food via Farm to School programs has become an emphasis of many schools throughout our nation and state. Farm to school produce/products benefits children and communities in many different ways. Contact between farmers and school management needs to be fostered and nurtured to be successful and provide the students with the freshest and safest product possible. School divisions often need a starting point to begin the process of procurement between the local farmer and the school nutrition department. Development of a checklist and other tools for farmers and school division nutrition managers/cafeteria managers to use when gaining access to fresh local produce may be beneficial for school nutrition departments trying to start a farm to school program. This project developed a checklist and fact sheets to lead and guide school nutrition directors and producers seeking to increase purchases and consumption throughout the state of Virginia. Farm to school is a vital program and allows farmers to reach markets that may have been untouched in the past. We are excited to share our resources and information with educators, farmers, and nutrition directors as well as our colleagues in extension.
Development of an On-line Food Safety Training Course for Food Distributors.
Barker-Smith, Anne (Virginia Tech, 2010-05)
Food Distribution is integral to the food supply system in the United States. Our food comes from many sources and must be shipped to many more before the consumer is able to take control. Product handling and storage conditions during this phase are critical to the overall quality and safety of the food. Having worked for a major foodservice distribution organization in the area of quality assurance, for 25 years, it became apparent that food quality and food safety was becoming more and more important to the consumer. Distributors needed to provide documentation as evidence of proper food safety practices because not only was it becoming critical to regulators but to customers as well. Working with Virginia Tech’s food science department and others, I developed and delivered distributor appropriate training for over 250 managers. The positive result was that customer complaints caused by product mishandling were significantly reduced. Unfortunately over that same period, it became apparent that these managers needed assistance in training their teams after they went home and began building their programs. The request for a simplified, job appropriate training program for staff became a consistent theme.
Dog Food Production from Farm to Food Bowl: Evaluating FDA’s Regulatory Oversight and the Impact on Food Safety
Schertz, Olivia N. (Virginia Tech, 2021-05-06)
With the introduction of the Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) regulatory oversight of dog food production is becoming clearer, and it is important for consumers and manufacturers to understand the effect of regulatory oversight on the safety of their pet’s food. This review of guidance documents, laws and regulations, news articles and scholarly research aims to educate the consumer on how their dog’s food is regulated at each stage of its production. Additionally, this review aims to assist manufacturers in understanding the regulations and/or authorities the finished products and ingredients may be subject to thus providing the manufacturers with the tools to perform a more complete and accurate review of their food safety procedures. To convey this information three educational fact sheets were developed that focused on explaining how dog food is produced, educating on the regulatory oversight of dog food production, and illustrating how consumers can protect both themselves and their pets from contaminated pet food. It is recommended that additional materials aimed at consumers be developed to cover trends in dog food diets, pet food labelling including medical claims, and tips on safely creating home-made pet food.
Effects of High-Water Vapor Transmission Rate (HWVTR) package films on the shelf life of Strawberry (Fragaria ananassa)
Mejia Montalvan, Carlos A. (Virginia Tech, 2021-12-07)
This study investigates the effect of two different types of packing films, OLAF and D1050, with different water vapor transmission rates, MAP with 15% carbon dioxide (CO2) and 85% nitrogen (N), variations in the number of micro perforations (11/18) in films, variations in weight (400 or 650 grams) and package size (1.5 or 2 lb.) to evaluate the effect on strawberry shelf life. All package combination were Compared to the typical clamshell packing with 650 grams of strawberry (control) to measure the effect of different variations on the shelf life of strawberries, and at the same time obtain new information that helps to optimize the engineering packing design.
Enhancing the Safety of Value Added Foods at Farmers’ Markets
Pomfrey Wells, Emily (Virginia Tech, 2018-05-02)
Farmers’ markets are increasing in popularity and becoming central community focal points, providing produce, baked goods, and value-added foods items such as hummus and guacamole, as well as jams and jellies. Farmers’ markets often have an eclectic mix of consumers; toddlers to senior citizens. For both public health and economic reasons, food safety at farmers’ markets is a central issue to be researched and addressed. A foodborne illness or outbreak traced back to a farmers’ market and or a particular vendor could have huge financial implications, and potential health consequences. As part of a larger education outreach, Enhancing the Safety of Value Added Foods at Farmers’ Markets and research initiative four additional fact sheets were created on high moisture refrigerated foods, jams and jellies, maple syrup and fermented vegetables. These sheets are designed for use by Extension professionals, farmers’ market managers and vendors, consumers or the interested entrepreneur. It is our hope that combining these fact sheets with other educational tools and programs, food safety knowledge will increase followed by adoption of food safety best practices. Vendors, as well as market managers, will feel equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to create and continue to build a successful farmers’ market.
Evaluation of Food Recalls and Withdrawals Trends Between 2014 and 2018 and Risk Management Tools to Reduce the Financial Impact of a Recall
Capaldo, Samantha (Virginia Tech, 2020-08)
Food products are regulated by both the USDA and the FDA. Food recalls are voluntary and can be classified as class I, class II, or class III, depending on the risk to the public. In this project, food recall and withdrawal trends were evaluated between 2014 and 2018. During this timeframe, approximately 1,700 food recalls occurred in the United States. The majority of food recalls were caused by undeclared allergens and pathogen contamination. Risk management and loss control tools are used to prevent recalls or minimize the effects of recalls. Recall insurance is a risk management tool that minimizes a company’s financial burden due to a recall event. Recall insurance is widely available but does not cover all of the costs associated with a recall. Risk management tools on-farm or in processing facilities and recall insurance should be used in conjunction with each other to provide the best protection.
Extending Shelf Life of Romaine Lettuce Through Modified Atmosphere Packaging and the Effects for Food Safety and Quality
Arnold, Janice L. (Virginia Tech, 2020-05-04)
Foodborne related disease outbreaks have been on the rise since 1998. For example, in 2019, approximately 75,233 pounds of salad products were recalled due to contamination with E. coli O157:H7. Investigations concluded there was a single grower that supplied romaine lettuce. Outbreaks in 2019 associated with romaine lettuce caused were over 167 people sick with 85 hospitalizations. Moving forward to prevent future outbreaks, control strategies need to be developed for romaine lettuce. The U.S. FDA has put together a plan, but it will also depend on the work of the farmers to follow guidelines. Additionally, studies by scientists will also be needed to fully understand how certain pathogens, like E. coli O157:H7, can remain on the produce. E. coli O157:H7 deals with different stresses along the supply chain; for example, E. coli O157:H7 can survive on the edible portion of the harvested lettuce for extended periods and adapt to different stresses like temperature changes. Modifying the atmosphere is one control strategy that does help with food quality, but other measures need to be taken to prevent future outbreaks and protect food safety. Romaine lettuce is a widely consumed product in the US. Consumers are looking for a product that is fresh, convenient, retains its nutrients and, has good sensory qualities. Romaine lettuce is also a highly perishable product resulting in flavor loss, discoloration, decay, softening, shrinkage, and vitamin loss. The use of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) can extend shelf-life and limit these effects, to provide a fresh product to the consumer. Romaine lettuce is typically packaged with passive MAP. Passive MAP is generated by relying on the natural process of product respiration and the film permeability by relying on the natural respiration rates to attain the desired gas composition over time. Thus, the objective of the study reported here was to conduct a review of MAP and to understand how MAP can help the quality and safety of romaine lettuce.
Food Allergen Awareness Training for the Food Service Industry
Stoneman, Sandra C. (Virginia Tech, 2018-03-27)
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of people in the US with food allergies has doubled in the past twenty years. This rise in food allergies has had a growing impact on food service operations. The need for food allergen training for food service workers is evident and now a requirement in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The main purpose of this study was to determine if an instructor-led food allergy training program specifically designed for food service workers could produce an increase in knowledge and potentially a change in behavior that could help to minimize the risk of food allergy reactions in food service establishments. This food allergen training was developed using the Food Hygiene Training Model and the study was based on the Theory of Reasoned Action. The training was conducted January – March, 2018 at multiple food service establishments in southwest Virginia. In addition, a training session was held at the 2018 Virginia Cooperative Extension Winter Conference for Extension Agents that prepare and serve food as part of their programming. Pre- and post-training questionnaires were developed and compared to identify if there was an increase in knowledge, and a program evaluation was completed by all 93 participants. Results revealed that 97% of the participants had an increase in knowledge, 98% felt the training provided them with new ideas they could implement to minimize the risk of food allergy reactions, and 100% indicated that they would recommend this in-person food allergen training to others in the food service industry.
Food Follies: Food Safety for College Students
Osborne, Michelle (Virginia Tech, 2010-12)
This project involves the production and dissemination of a basic food storage and safety course geared toward college students. The course covers basic preparation, sanitation, proper cooking temperatures, chilling and storage, as well as common pathogens to be aware of.
Food Manufacturing Environmental Air Quality Monitoring Programs: A Literature Review and Best Practice Recommendations
Murphy, Benjamin (Virginia Tech, 2024-04-29)
Poor air quality in food production environments can pose food safety and quality risks if not properly monitored and managed. With little regulatory guidance, it is up to manufacturers and processors to define if air will be tested, organisms to test for, how sampling will be performed and how often. There is a variety of testing equipment and methods available, and it is difficult to find an unbiased guide to help set up a new program or improve current air quality monitoring practices. This literature review investigated the availability of easy to understand guidance materials and sought to create unbiased guidance to food industry professionals seeking to understand the key components of microbiological air quality monitoring programs and some of the options currently available. Relevant research is presented to help readers understand why it is important to monitor microbiological air quality, testing equipment available, organisms to monitor for, sampling location considerations, budget and staffing considerations and more. Furthermore, the project referenced throughout this paper provides additional insight into how these best practices may be applied as food safety and quality professionals seek to create or improve the microbiological air quality portion of an environmental monitoring plan.
Food Safety and Globalization: Mexican Produce in the United States
Martinez Vergara, Brenda Esthela (Virginia Tech, 2017-02-03)
This paper analyzes the growth of the US demand for imported fresh produce, in spite of a negative consumer perception regarding food imports; as well as the actions undertaken by the government of Mexico to help the United States ensure the safety of its food supply and help American consumers recognize its commitment to food safety. To do this, data from the United States Department of Agriculture was used to look at how produce imports have increased in the last 35 years and how Mexico has established itself as the US largest supplier of fresh fruits and vegetables. Then, it looks at consumer perceptions and how American consumers are still wary about imported food, followed by a discussion about the Mexican Food Safety System, highlighting actions that showcase the Mexican government and industry’s commitment to food safety. Finally, there will be a brief discussion of the meaning of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) for the produce industry, the challenges it represents and the opportunities for those who have invested in food safety. All these elements will help to recognize that, in today’s globalized world, no single agency or country can ensure food safety on its own. The safety of the US food supply is the responsibility of all the players along the production and distribution chain no matter where they are located.

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Browsing Online Master of Agricultural and Life Sciences by Department "Food Science and Technology"

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