New Product Development
[-Back to Waiter! There's a Blueberry in my Burger!-]

Illustration by Carol Nichols

Lobster to go
UMaine patented a process that preserves the texture and flavor of frozen seafood, like lobsters. The crustaceans are injected with natural sugar-based compounds and antioxidants before cryogenic freezing (fast-freezing using sprayed liquid gases). The process has opened global markets for Maine's lobster industry by providing a frozen product that tastes as good and as fresh, and has a longer shelf life. Reducing seafood spoilage also protects public health and conserves the natural resource. The patent is based on research by the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, and the Lobster Institute.

Crabby crisps
Post-doctoral food scientist Veronica Obatolu is developing a new seafood-based snack made with crab mince and cornmeal. Crabmeat adds protein and calcium, but not a seafood taste. Obatolu is experimenting with a variety of flavors and textures for the snack food. She uses an extruder that mixes, pressurizes, cooks and shapes the food. Extrusion is used to make such products as cereal and pasta. Obatolu's research is funded by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Product potential
In her research, food scientist Denise Skonberg studies how to use by-products of crustacean processing, like the bits of crabmeat left on the shells. She and the graduate students who work with her have used crab mince to create new products, such as seafood-based pasta and ravioli. Currently in her laboratory, Skonberg is studying the product quality of frozen salmon patties. Over a three-month period, the researchers are conducting lipid oxidation studies on the fish. Undesirable flavors often result from the oxidation of lipid compounds, ultimately shortening shelf life. However, the addition of natural antioxidants like those found in blueberries or spice extracts can protect the flavor of frozen fish. In the near future, Skonberg's product development research will focus on breaded crab nuggets (like chicken nuggets) made with crab mince. This and all the other seafood products are being developed at UMaine in cooperation with the university's Lobster Institute, whose research and educational outreach focuses on protecting, conserving and enhancing lobsters and lobstering as an industry.

Healthy tastes
Graduate student Yean Hoong Teh and Professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition Mary Ellen Camire are studying consumer attitudes to better understand the trade-offs between taste and nutrition. Their strategy is to develop a heart-healthy frozen dessert and conduct consumer taste tests. A sensory panel in UMaine's Consumer Testing Center will rate the new product for flavor and other characteristics; then the taste testers will be told the health benefits before again sampling and ranking the dessert. Teh and Camire have created a frozen product with a soy center covered in pureed blueberries. It is high in heart-healthy nutrition, and low in sugar and fat. The food scientists want to know if consumers' attitudes toward the product will change once they know it may reduce their risk of heart disease. Similar studies by Camire have shown that consumers are willing to tolerate a product that is less sweet if it means the health benefits are greater.

Tater tests
Maine potato farmers have a new variety of spud available for planting this spring as a result of research by the University of Maine and Cornell University.

The new potato called Monticello is particularly useful for farmers who sell to potato chip processors, says Gregory Porter, professor of agronomy at UMaine.

"There are few varieties that can be held in long-term storage and still produce a good quality chipping potato. This variety does that. It also has a good appearance and will do well in the market for fresh potatoes," says Porter.

Monticello was developed by plant breeders at Cornell and has been been field tested in Maine since 1996.

Consumer tests, conducted by the UMaine Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, showed that in addition to having an appealing appearance, Monticello did well when boiled and baked.

Space food
Food scientists graduating from the University of Maine have jobs in Maine businesses and with such national corporations as Kellogg Co., McCormick and Co., Inc., Tyson Foods Inc., Campbell Soup Co., Dannon Co., Inc., and Cabot Creamery Cooperative.

Undergraduates in both food science and human nutrition gain hands-on experience through research in UMaine food science laboratories and through internships. Junior Mark Corey is one of them.

Corey, who is pursuing a career in product development, has an internship this summer at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

The student from Weare, N.H., has been selected to participate in NASA's Undergraduate Student Research Program, which provides college students nationwide mentored research experiences at several NASA Field Centers.

"It will be a lot of work but an incredible opportunity," says Corey. "It's the chance of a lifetime for a college student."

Johnson Space Center focuses on the technology that supports human operations in space. In his 10-week internship, Corey will work on the food product development team that researches products astronauts may one day use.

For the past two years, he has assisted in the laboratory of Associate Professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition Denise Skonberg.

Corey is president of UMaine's Food Science Club; vice president of the university's chapter of Kappa Omicron Nu, the national honor society for family and consumer sciences; and secretary-treasurer of the local chapter of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. When he graduates from UMaine next year, he will be headed to graduate school.