Congratulations to April (Peterson) Shaw (MS Food Science ’20) for winning first place in the Student Poster Competition at the 2020 Pacific Fisheries Technologists Conference! April is a graduate student in the Food Protection Lab. She presented her research on labeling compliance and species authentication of frozen fish fillets. The conference was held March 1-4 at the Queen Mary in Long Beach.
News
Forbes Highlights Food Protection Lab Research on Shark Cartilage Pills
Research conducted at the Food Protection Lab on shark cartilage pills was mentioned in a Forbes article titled “The Truths and Myths of Shark Cartilage Pills”. Check it out below to learn more:
Food Fraud 101: Whats on your Plate Event Recap
Imagine you go to the grocery store and you buy an item, yet you may actually not be buying that product at all? This is a real life scenario that can happen with a variety of specific foods sold at your local grocery store. At the Orange Public Library, Dr. Rosalee Hellberg and college volunteers educated teens and tweens about the real life scenarios that happen in relation to food fraud. Dr.Hellberg introduced the topic of food fraud with seafood, in which filets of two different fish were displayed with similar morphological traits, yet were actually significantly different in price! Students were then advised on other foods commonly adulterated, including milk, juice, olive oil, and honey. Overall, this event was a great success and we look forward to a continued partnership with the Orange Public Library STEAM Teens and Tweens Program!
Surfee Program Spotlight: Gabby McBride
SURFEE Gabby Mcbride is working this summer focusing on DNA Barcoding of Fish in correlation with Food Fraud. She has been working with Chapman graduate student April Peterson on the mislabeling of frozen fish sold in the average grocery store. More information about her background and future directions can be found at:
“Although summer research is short, I will never forget this experience.”
Congrats to IFT Research Finalists!
Congratulations to Priscilla Liou and Rachel Isaacs for being selected to the graduate research competition at the Institute of Food Technologists 2019 meeting in New Orleans, LA! Rachel and Priscilla both competed under the Aquatic Food Protection category and were one of six participants selected! Priscilla Liou and Rachel Isaacs both recently completed their thesis projects in the Food Protection Lab as part of the M.S. in Food Science Program at Chapman University.
Study on the Microplate Immunocapture of Listeria Published
This study was carried out as part of Steven Rogers’ thesis research and involved a collaboration with Food Microbiological Laboratories in Cypress, CA. Steven studied the use of microplate immunocapture for the detection of Listeria monocytogenes in skim milk and soft cheese. The article was published in the Journal of Microbiological Methods and can be accessed here.
Another Win for Rowena Zahn!
Rowena Zahn took first place in the Aquatic Food Products Division Graduate Poster Competition at IFT 2018 in Chicago. She presented her research on the optimization of DNA-based methods for the detection of elasmobranch species in shark cartilage pills. Way to go, Rowena!
Catfish Mislabeling Study Published in Aquaculture
This study was carried out as part of Shayna Bosko’s thesis project and involved a collaboration with Santiago Canyon College. In this project, a total of 80 catfish samples were collected from restaurants, grocery stores, and fish markets in Orange County, CA. The samples were examined for Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) compliance and for species substitution. The details of the study can be found here: “Species substitution and country of origin mislabeling of catfish products on the U.S. commercial market.“
Rowena Zahn Wins First Place in the Three-Minute Thesis Presentation
Congratulations to Rowena Zahn (MBA, Food Science ’18) for winning first place in the Three-Minute Thesis Competition! Zahn is a graduate student in the Food Protection Lab. The competition was part of the Graduate Research Salon held at Chapman University. One of 15 competitors, Zahn presented her thesis research, entitled “Optimization of DNA-based methods to identify elasmobranch species in shark cartilage pills.” Additional information can be found here.
Pictured: Rowena Zahn with Three Minute Thesis judges Tom Piechota, Lisa Sparks and Richard Redding.
Mycotoxins in Pet Food Study Published
Congratulations to thesis student Tara Okuma for her recent publication “Use of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to screen for aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, and deoxynivalenol in dry pet foods.” Tara used a combination of ELISA and LC-MS to survey over 50 pet food products for the presence of several mycotoxins. The study was published in November in the journal Mycotoxin Research.