Source: OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY submitted to
EVALUATING THE PROCESSING POTENTIAL OF SPECIALTY CROPS AND ENHANCING THE FOOD SAFETY OF OKLAHOMA PRODUCED AND/OR PROCESSED HORTICULTURAL PRODUCTS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
HATCH
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1001744
Grant No.
(N/A)
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Nov 6, 2013
Project End Date
Sep 30, 2018
Grant Year
(N/A)
Program Code
[(N/A)]- (N/A)
Project Director
Mcglynn, W.
Recipient Organization
OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
STILLWATER,OK 74078
Performing Department
Food And Agriculture Products Center
Non Technical Summary
This project will Identify and investigate the winemaking potential of grape and other fruit crops in Oklahoma. This will create new markets and expand existing markets for high-value horticultural crops such as grapes, small fruits, and pecans. This in turn will improve the economic viability of small to medium-sized farming operations in the state and the region. This project will also improve the nutraceutical content and/or quality of value-added horticultural crop products and capture value from horticulturalcrop processing waste streams in the form of high-value, health-promoting nutraceutical compounds. This will create new products and thus new income streams for small-scale fruit and vegetable processors such as fresh-cut operations, wineries, and so on. Finally, this project will improve the safety of minimally-processed fruits and vegetables by developing and testing new processing practices and treatments to reduce the risk of contamination of produce by disease-causing microorganisms.
Animal Health Component
70%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
0%
Applied
70%
Developmental
30%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
5021131100030%
5021129100010%
5021211100010%
5011131100020%
5011129100010%
7121430110020%
Knowledge Area
501 - New and Improved Food Processing Technologies; 712 - Protect Food from Contamination by Pathogenic Microorganisms, Parasites, and Naturally Occurring Toxins; 502 - New and Improved Food Products;

Subject Of Investigation
1131 - Wine grapes; 1129 - Berries and cane fruits, general/other; 1430 - Greens and leafy vegetables; 1211 - Pecan;

Field Of Science
1100 - Bacteriology; 1000 - Biochemistry and biophysics;
Goals / Objectives
Identify and investigate the winemaking potential of grape and other fruit crops in Oklahoma. Improve the nutraceutical content and/or quality of processed specialty crop products; capture value from specialty crop processing waste streams in the form of nutraceutical compounds. Enhance the safety of processed fruits and vegetables with an emphasis on minimally-processed products; capture value from specialty crop processing waste streams in the form of antimicrobial compounds.
Project Methods
Objective 1 -- Identify and investigate the winemaking potential of grape and other fruit crops in Oklahoma: Oklahoma's grape and wine industry is growing rapidly but still faces a number of challenges, particularly with consistent grape supply and wine quality. A wine grape variety trial vineyard consisting primarily of V. vinifera cultivars was established at the Cimarron Valley Research Station in Perkins, OK in 2001 to help address these issues. The cultivars in the vineyard are both on rootstock and own-rooted. Standard viticultural data (e.g. yield, cluster size, berry size, berry pH, berry titratable acidity, etc.) have been collected since 2004. A research enology laboratory was established at the Robert M. Kerr Food and Agrigculutral Products Center on the campus of Oklahoma State University in Stillwater in 2007 and various winemaking studies have been conducted which involved the evaluation of specific grape and blackberry cultivars, the use of micro-oxygenation to improve wine quality, and the examination of health-promoting compounds in grape and fruit wines. We will continue to conduct similar studies looking at the winemaking quality of grapes from the Perkins Research Station and elsewhere in Oklahoma. The proposed studies will involve examining the effect of various wine-making techniques designed to compensate for some of the challenges typically faced by Oklahoma winemakers such as less than optimal grape chemistry. Research into topics such as evaluation of skin contact time and phenolic compound manipulation during grape fermentation will significantly strengthen Oklahoma's grape and wine industry. This will build upon previous studies evaluating micro-oxygenation and will involve, for example, the direct addition of phenolic and pigment extracts to wines before and after fermentation. We will also study the winemaking potential of lesser-used grape cultivars including American and hybrid grapes. These grapes are better suited to Oklahoma's climate in terms of cold-hardiness and disease resistance. But they face some resistance in the industry due to the perception that they produce wines of lesser quality than do traditional European grape varieties. Objective 2 -- Improve the nutraceutical content and/or quality of processed specialty crop products; capture value from specialty crop processing waste streams in the form of nutraceutical compounds: In recent years, energy bars, beverages, cereals, even margarine and candy have all been fortified with functional ingredients ranging from herbs to probiotic bacterial cultures. Many of these foods contain various natural antioxidants. This trend presents an opportunity for Oklahoma's horticultural product producers and processors to produce crops high in nutraceutical components and to create new processed foods and food ingredients marketed in whole or in part on the basis of their health-functional properties. On-going studies are looking at extracting valuable nutraceutical and/or antimicrobial compounds, mainly phenolic compounds and essential oils, from horticultural product processing waste streams using both solvent extraction and distillation methods. Previous work by others suggests that these waste streams may contain valuable components. We are currently investigating the potential value of winery waste as a source of antioxidant compounds that could be used as food ingredients by screening various extracts using the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) assay. Objective 3 -- Enhance the safety of processed fruits and vegetables with an emphasis on minimally-processed products; capture value from specialty crop processing waste streams in the form of antimicrobial compounds: The public's desire for fresher, more convenient food is driving processors to maximize the quality and shelf-life of the minimally processed food products they produce. Insuring the safety of these minimally processed foods is vital since these foods typically lack traditional "kill steps" such as heating. It is often necessary to develop specific processing treatments for a given product to preserve food quality and maintain food safety. In minimally processed foods, safety and quality can rarely be assured by a single treatment. Therefore, multiple steps that individually constitute barriers to microbial growth are often employed. Often these barriers, taken together, create a greater impediment to microbial growth than might be expected from their individual effects. Several key processing treatments exist within the context of developing multiple barriers to quality loss and microbial growth in minimally processed foods. One of these is chemical and/or physical treatments applied to the product such as a chlorine dip. Treatment with other antimicrobial agents or inoculation with competitive non-pathogenic microorganisms may be employed. Physical treatments such as the application of ultraviolet light, pulsed electric fields, and ultra high pressure have also been tested with varying degrees of effectiveness. We expect to continue work examining possible treatments including novel technologies such as electrostatic spray application to apply natural microbial inhibitors such as essential oils to minimally-processed produce. While it is clear that processing techniques and treatments can help keep foods safe, the 2011 outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections associated with cantaloupe demonstrated that ensuring the safety of minimally processed horticultural products must begin in the field and be continued all along the processing and distribution chain. We expect that continued study of interactions between horticultural practices and processing interventions will be beneficial. Accordingly, we plan to conduct studies investigating intervention strategies, with an emphasis on natural antimicrobial treatments such as essential oils and other plant extracts. This will continue work already conducted on evaluating the antimicrobial effects of winery waste stream extracts via in-vitro bacterial pathogen inhibition studies. The best processing scheme for any given type of minimally processed food will often mandate research into at least several of the areas detailed above. Research into techniques applicable to minimally processed foods may prove especially useful for Oklahoma's small processors, who are typically seeking to find a niche and fill a regional demand.

Progress 11/06/13 to 09/30/18

Outputs
Target Audience:Fruit and vegetable producers; fruit and vegetable processors. Changes/Problems:No major changes in approach were made during the course of this project and no major problems were encountered in conducting the activities associated with this project. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Four graduate students were provided with opportunities for training in research methods and writing up and presenting research results as follows: One graduate student conducted the blackberry wine research described above and incorporated the results into her Ph.D. dissertation. This student had the opportunity to present her research at two in-state and one two national professional meetings. Two graduate students conducted the grape wine quality projects described aboveand incorporated the results into their M.S. theses. Each student had the opportunity to present their research results at one in-state professional meeting. One graduate student is currently conducting the new grape wine pigmentresearch described above and will incorporate the results of the experimentation into an M.S. thesis. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results have been disseminated through producer/processor meetings and educational workshops as well as peer-reviewed publications. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? During the time frame of this project, we completed and disseminated research on a novel method of producing blackberry wine using a modified traditional Korean winemaking technique using Oklahoma-grown blackberry varieties. Results showed thatthe traditional Korean winemaking technique examined in this study provided good production and retention of phenolic compound and volatile aroma compounds in the wines and that the wines produced were high in antioxidant capacity. In addition, we completedand disseminated researchdemonstrating that flash détente and to a lesser extent, thermovinification (methods of using heat and/or vacuum to help break down grape tissue prior to fermentation) have the potential to significantly improve red wine color and reduce undesirable "grassy" aromas in wines made from Oklahoma-grown grapes. We also completed and disseminatedresearchshowing that magnetic agitation of sediment (lees) during grape fermentation and early wine aging has to potential to both improve yeast nutrient content of musts during and to limit color loss in red wine, likely by limiting the wine's exposure to oxygen during agitation. In the final year of this project, we also initiatednew researchto quantify and partially characterize color pigments from a novel grape cultivar -- Rubaiyat -- that shows promise as both a varietal wine grape and as a highly-pigmented, blending wine that can be used by winemakers to improve the color of other red wine varietals. Grapes have been sourced from a research station in Oklahoma and are being processed into wine. The effect of skin contact time on the pigments extracted during early grape fermentation will be examined.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Joh, Y.R., McGlynn, W. 2018. Phenolic profile of blackberry wine produced using Korean winemaking techniques in earthenware jars. Journal of the Institute of Brewing. https://doi.org/10.1002/jib.534


Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/17

Outputs
Target Audience:Fruit and vegetable producers; fruit and vegetable processors. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two graduate students incorporated the wine quality work described above into their M.S. projects and used the data collected to complete and successfully defend their M.S. theses. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Producer/processor meetings and educational workshops. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Work will continue on the grape/wine projects described above. Additional food safety workshops are also planned for 2018, including Good Agricultural Practices workshops and mock on-farm audits designed to help producers and processors comply with the requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We completed one research project demonstrating that flash détente and to a lesser extent thermovinification (methods of using heat and/or vacuum to help break down grape tissue prior to fermentation) have the potential to significantly improve red wine color and reduce undesirable "grassy" aromas in wines made from Oklahoma-grown grapes. We also completed another research project showing that magnetic agitation of sediment (lees) during grape fermentation and early wine aging has to potential to both improve yeast nutrient content of musts during and to limit color loss in red wine, likely by limiting the wine's exposure to oxygen during agitation.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Joh, Y.R., Maness, N., Smith, M. Bowser, T. and McGlynn, W. 2017. Antioxidant properties of Natchez and Triple Crown blackberries using Korean traditional winemaking techniques. International Journal of Food Science, vol. 2017, Article ID 5468149, 9 pages, doi:10.1155/2017/5468149.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Medina, P. 2017. Volatile and colorimetric composition comparison of processing methods of cabernet sauvignon wine grapes. M.S. Thesis. Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK. 79 pages.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Black, K. 2017. Alternative automated sur lie aged red wine. M.S. Thesis. Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK. 54 pages.


Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/16

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences reached during this reporting period included fruit and vegetable producers and processors. In particular the work performed was aimed at grape and small fruit growers and winemakers in the central region of the United States. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two graduate students are incorporating the wine quality work described above into their M.S. projects and will use the data collected for their M.S. theses. These students should complete their research and graduate in 2017. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The information has been disseminated so far by way of producer/processor meetings and educational workshops, for example the annual Oklahoma Wine Industry Conference. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Work will continue on the grape/wine projects described above. The graduate students mentioned above will write and publish their theses based on this research.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We continued a project to examine the quality and processing characteristics of wines made from two novel grape cultivars sourced from the research vineyard on the Cimarron Valley Research Station in Perkins, OK. The first grape was Rubaiyat, a red grape cultivar that was developed at OSU but was never widely available commercially, and the second grape was Frontenac Gris, a hybrid grape variety that is commercially available but has not been previously grown commercially in Oklahoma. Test batches of wines were produced from these grapes and are being evaluated for basic quality attributes such as color, turbidity, total acid content, alcohol content, and sensory characteristics and flavor profile. We also continued a research project examining the effect of a type of thermovinification (flash detente) on the color attributes of red wines produced from Oklahoma grapes. This process involves heating the grapes and then exposing them to a sudden vacuum during the initial grape crushing process. Thus, the extraction of desirable color and flavor compounds from the skin of the grapes may be significantly enhanced and result in a higher quality red wine at the end of the wine making process. This technique may be particularly helpful to Oklahoma wine makers because, compared to more Mediterranean climates, the Oklahoma climate typically does not favor the development of red pigments in many varieties of red wine grapes. Another ongoing project is evaluating the effect of mild agitation during sur lie ageing on the quality of wines made from Oklahoma grapes. This project is evaluating two separate methods -- nitrogen injection and magnetic stirring -- for agitating the sediments that form on the bottom of a fermentation vessel during wine aging. These sediments are known to contribute to the complexity of wine flavors that develop during the aging process and regular agitation of these sediments helps to prevent the occurrence of off-flavors. However, the traditional method of agitating these sediments involved opening the vessel to insert a stirring device. This introduces oxygen into the vessel and the wine, which can itself cause off-flavors and loss of color. The methods of agitation being investigated should allow for better flavor development without causing the introduction of excess oxygen into the wine during aging. We expect that these new wine making techniques will offer Oklahoma wine makers valuable tools for improving the quality of their red wines, thus growing consumer acceptance and expanding the market for these wines.

Publications


    Progress 10/01/14 to 09/30/15

    Outputs
    Target Audience:Fruit and vegetable producers; fruit and vegetable processors. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two graduate students are incorporate the wine quality work described above into their M.S. projects and will use the data collected for their M.S. theses. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Producer/processor meetings and educational workshops. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Work will continue on the grape/wine projects described above. Additional food safety workshops are also planned for 2016.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? We continued a project to examine the quality and processing characteristics of wines made from two novel grape cultivars sourced from the research vineyard on the Cimarron Valley Research Station in Perkins, OK. The first grape was Rubaiyat, a red grape cultivar that was developed at OSU but was never widely available commercially, and the second grape was Frontenac Gris, a hybrid grape variety that is commercially available but has not been previously grown commercially in Oklahoma. In addition, we began a research project examining the effect of a type of thermovinification on the color attributes of red wines produced from Oklahoma grapes and another project designed to evaluate the effect of mild agitation during ageing on the quality of wines made from Oklahoma grapes.

    Publications

    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2015 Citation: Joh, Y.; Maness, N., Smith, M. and McGlynn, W.G. 2015. Pigment and Volatile Aroma Compound Characterization of Blackberry Wine Produced Using Korean Traditional Winemaking Techniques. Annual conference of the Institute of Food Technologists, Chicago, Illinois.
    • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2015 Citation: Joh, Y.; Maness, N., Smith, M. and McGlynn, W.G. 2015. Antioxidant Properties of Blackberry Wine Produced Using Korean Traditional Winemaking Techniques. Annual conference of the American Society of Enology and Viticulture, Portland Oregon.
    • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Joh, Y.; Stafe, E. and McGlynn, W. 2015. Quantification of quality attributes, functional compounds, and antioxidant capacity of blackberry and blackberry wine. Journal of the American Pomological Society 69(3): 148-157.


    Progress 11/06/13 to 09/30/14

    Outputs
    Target Audience: Fruit and vegetable producers; fruit and vegetable processors. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? One graduate student was able to incorporate the blackberry work into her Ph.D. project and use the data for her dissertation. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Producer/processor meetings and educational workshops. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Work will continue on the grape project described above. Additional food safety workshops are also planned for 2015.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? We completed a research project designed to evaluate the winemaking potential of 'Natchez' and 'Triple Crown' blackberries grown in Oklahoma as well as to examine the quality and potential health-beneficial properties of blackberry wines made using traditional Korean winemaking techniques with variations in fermentation temperature (21.6 °C vs. 26.6 °C), and fermentation organisms (yeast inoculation vs. wild-type fermentation). The quality attributes of blackberry juice and wine samples were measured in the form of pH, titratable acidity, soluble solids, and percent alcohol. The Harbertson-Adams assay, the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and gas chromatography (GC) were used to evaluate blackberry juice and wine samples for indicators of health-beneficial properties, primarily antioxidant potential. Total percent fat of whole blackberries and pomace was also analyzed. With respect to measured quality attributes, 'Triple Crown' wines made at the higher fermentation temperature were sweeter and had higher alcohol concentrations than 'Natchez' wines. 'Natchez' berries had higher percent total fat than 'Triple Crown' berries. 'Natchez' juices and wines generally had higher concentrations of total phenolics, tannins, and anthocyanins while 'Triple Crown' juices and wines generally had higher concentrations of polymeric pigments, phenolic acids, and free volatile compounds. 'Triple Crown' wines also generally exhibited higher antioxidant activity. Examining the two fermentation temperatures, 26.6 °C increased the initial concentration of phenolics in the wines. However, wines fermented at 21.6 °C showed less loss of phenolics during aging. Between two fermentation types, wild-type fermentation had higher phenolic concentrations than yeast inoculated wines. Overall, the traditional Korean winemaking technique examined in this study provided good production and retention of phenolic compound and volatile aroma compounds in the wines and that the wines produced were high in antioxidant capacity. In addition, a project was begun to examine the quality and processing characteristics of wines made from two novel grape cultivars sourced from the research vineyard on the Cimarron Valley Research Station in Perkins, OK. The first grape was Rubaiyat, a red grape cultivar that was developed at OSU but was never widely available commercially, and the second grape was Frontenac Gris, a hybrid grape variety that is commercially available but has not been previously grown commercially in Oklahoma

    Publications

    • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Joh, Y. 2014. Antioxidant capacity, phenolic and volatile compound composition of blackberry wines produced using Korean traditional winemaking techniques. Ph.D. Dissertation. Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK. 166 pages.