Food scientist Devin Peterson uses a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer in his research on how specific bioactive flavonoids alter the chemical pathways responsible for Maillard-type (browning) reactions important for flavor generation in food products and commodities.

Another nutrient found in mushrooms is the organic compound ergothioneine, a potent antioxidant that is produced only by fungi and a few bacteria. As a young food scientist, Beelman found that mushrooms contained ten times the levels of the compound found in the sources previously thought best—chicken liver and wheat germ.

“Our bodies accumulate ergothioneine in the areas under the most oxidative stress: the liver, red blood cells, and the maculum of eye,” he says. “Macular degeneration is caused by oxidation, so the eyes accumulate ergothioneine to fight it off . No recommended daily allowance has been established for ergothioneine, but as time goes on, we’ll probably find it’s important to our bodies and again begin to promote mushrooms as a good source. Mushrooms are rich in selenium, ergothioneine, and polyphenols, so all together, that makes them a strong antioxidant food.”

Yet another “new” nutritional trend focuses on vitamin D, which has been strongly linked to the prevention of cancer. Many nutritionists think American diets are deficient in vitamin D and suggest that raising the vitamin’s intake could cut risk of cancer death by 40 percent.

“Sailors used to take vitamin D to prevent rickets,” he says. “A former doctoral student of mine showed that irradiating mushrooms with ultraviolet light can make them produce vitamin D. A colleague and I ran experiments replacing fluorescent plant lights with UV light. After one hour, the mushrooms went from providing almost 4 percent of the recommended daily allowance in a three-ounce serving to 233 percent. Within three hours, it went up to 390 percent.”

Many of Beelman’s advances—including postharvest handling and packaging technologies to reduce spoilage and extend shelf life—have been adopted by Pennsylvania growers, who produce roughly half of all the mushrooms grown in the United States.

While mushrooms may be perceived as nutritious, most people would not believe that ice cream could be a health food. Indeed, there is something “fishy” about food scientist Robert Roberts’ efforts to impart health benefits to frozen confections. In the five years since taking over the famed Penn State Ice Cream Short Course, Roberts has been entrenched as the university’s Mr. Ice Cream. But his far-flung students may be surprised to learn that his favorite ice cream additive for the last four years has been fish oil.

Roberts has been working with John Coupland, Devin Peterson, and other food scientists to add bioactive components to foods, primarily in conjunction with Coupland’s research into omega-3 fatty acids, which scientists believe can help lower LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, in the blood. Working on a USDA Future of Agriculture in Foods grant, they collaborated with the University of Maine, the University of Massachusetts, and the University of Connecticut in what is essentially a race to create a market-ready, functional food.

“Each university’s task was to look at fortification of specific foods with omega-3 fatty acids,” Roberts says. “Penn State was tasked with developing milk, yogurt, and ice cream to deliver omega-3 fatty acid. Can we get the acid into the product? Does it taste good? How stable is the acid in the product? They’re known as fish oil, but omega-3 fatty acids actually taste just fine until they start to oxidize. That’s when they start to taste fishy.”

After sensory evaluation of all the products developed at each participating university, Penn State’s omega-3 fatty acid-fortified yogurt was chosen for the next phase of the project. The fortified yogurt was manufactured at Penn State and shipped to Harvard University, where the product was used in clinical studies to determine if the fortified products resulted in significant physiological response. Roberts says Penn State’s full-service University Creamery and in-house dairy processing plant were great advantages.

“Because of our facilities, we were able to manufacture the product and do sensory and chemical analyses,” he says. “Most universities don’t have the capability of running their product through a licensed food-processing facility. This project allowed us to bring to bear all of our expertise in yogurt and cultured products and other food processing. The evaluators chose our product because it tastes good, because we have a certified food-processing facility, and because adjusting dosages and taste is relatively easy. With our facilities that are about to open [in the new Food Science Building], such adjustments will be even easier.”

Also as a result of Penn State’s expertise and facilities, Roberts was approached by the pediatrics department of Johns Hopkins University for help in developing a yogurt drink containing high dosages of probiotics for children suffering from diarrhea associated with antibiotic treatment.

“They’re looking for a way to reduce the number of days children spend away from day care and cut down on the number of diapers used when a very young child is diagnosed with diarrhea and prescribed an antibiotic,” he says. “They contacted us for our expertise in preparing yogurt drinks. They know that because we have food-processing and sensory-evaluation capabilities here, any product we develop will be tested and safe for consumption. Others can work with probiotic microbes but aren’t prepared to develop end products.”

Faculty referenced in this article are John Floros, professor and head of food science; Ramaswamy Anantheswaran, professor of food science; Robert Beelman, professor of food science; Catherine Cutter, associate professor of food science; Stephen Knabel, associate professor of food science; Devin Peterson, assistant professor of food science; and Robert Roberts, associate professor of food science.