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Food Processing and Engineering

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Food Processing and Engineering is a wide-ranging field that applies engineering, chemistry, nanotechnology, environmental sciences, and microbiology principles through food processing operations to produce safe, nutritious, sustainable, and value-added products. Our faculty’s incredibly varied research in this area includes everything from converting food waste into usable and economically viable products to designing innovative new food packaging to extend product shelf life and quality.

Disciplines

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Food Safety and Preservation

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Extension

Food Science Icon

Food Chemistry

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Engineering

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Food Processing and Packaging

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Food Business

Featured Project

Powered by food (waste): Virginia Tech researchers discover potential method to convert food waste into batteries

More About this Research

Haibo Huang received a $450,000 grant from the USDA to research using agricultural waste like spent grain and apple cores to create sustainable rechargeable batteries in the hopes of alleviating the massive environmental impact that comes with modern society’s use of such batteries.

Faculty

  • Bio Item
    Alexis Hamilton
    Alexis M. Hamilton , bio

    Assistant Professor: Food Processing Microbiology

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    Brett Driver
    Brett Driver , bio

    Project Director

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    Haibo Huang
    Haibo Huang , bio

    Associate Professor: Food Processing, Fermentation Engineering, Process Simulation and Economic Analysis

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    Dr. Joseph D. Eifert
    Joseph Eifert , bio

    Professor and Graduate Program Director: Food Safety, Poultry Processing, HACCP and Risk Assessment, Food Laws and Regulations, Food Safety Education

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    Marlon Ac-Pangan Headshot
    Marlon F. Ac-Pangan , bio

    Postdoctoral Research Associate: Postharvest Processing, Food and Beverage Fermentation, Food and Flavor Chemistry, Gas and Liquid Chromatography

  • Bio Item
    Melissa Wright
    Melissa Wright , bio

    Director, Food Producer Technical Assistance Network

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    Xuanbo Liu
    Xuanbo Liu , bio

    Postdoctoral Research Associate: Food Processing and Engineering, Converting Food Waste into Value-Added Products

  • Bio Item
    Yifan Cheng
    Yifan Cheng , bio

    Assistant Professor: Food Packaging, Food Process Engineering, Food Safety, Antimicrobial Nanostructures for Food Contact Surfaces, Intelligent Packaging

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