Food Science and Human Nutrition
Competitive Agricultural Economy: Integrating Food
Processing and Safety
Dr. Rasco has established a leading program applying fundamental principles to the production of safe, high quality food products with the overarching objective of ensuring that agricultural economies can remain sustainable and viable. She has also integrated technology and law to address a number of important food safety and security issues.
Her research focuses primarily on process development and process control for high-value aquatic foods and other foods important to the Pacific Northwest. Recent efforts in product development have improved the economic viability of regional aquatic food processing and aquaculture operations. Current studies involve the development of improved pasteurization methods and active packaging to extend shelf life of thermally labile high-value foods. Other recent studies include evaluation of how the physical and chemical properties of food are altered by dielectric heating.
Dr. Rasco has designed, constructed, and tested enzyme-based biosensors for dielectric heating applications and electrochemical, ultrasonic, and infrared sensors for food process validation. On a more fundamental level, she develops biochemical and spectrophotometric methods to rapidly identify and quantify chemical constituents in complex food matrices, primarily for fish and aquatic food products.
Dr. Rasco and her colleagues have also developed non-invasive spectral methods to detect tissue damage and to determine the reproductive status of salmon and sturgeon. In the food safety arena, they develop pattern recognition techniques to classify foodborne pathogens and spoilage microbes by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR). They were the first to use FT-IR methods to detect microbial cell injury resulting from environmental stress, and the first to use FT-IR to compare phylogenetic and spectral features of spore forming thermophiles that cause food spoilage.
Contact Information
Barbara Rasco, Ph.D.
Professor/Scientist
Food Science and Human Nutrition
Washington State University
PO Box 6376
Pullman, WA 99164-6376
Telephone: 509-335-1858
E-mail: rasco@wsu.edu
Safety and Security
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is a professor in food science and human nutrition at Washington State University and an internationally recognized expert in food law. Prior to WSU, she was a professor at the University of Washington, and an engineer, research chemist, and quality control manager in the private sector. She received her Ph.D. in food science at the University of Massachusetts in 1983, a BSE at the University of Pennsylvania in 1979, and a J.D. at Seattle University in 1995. She is licensed to practice law in Washington, and federal court advising in several areas. Her research focuses on food processing and non-invasive analytical methods and she has over 100 publications. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists and a recipient of the Elizabeth Fleming Stier Award for humanitarian service. |
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