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Reducing Food Waste

杏吧原创 Researchers Help Develop a More Sustainable Food System

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Almost half of all food produced in Canada . That鈥檚 more than 21 million tonnes every year, worth a staggering $58 billion. Around the world, about  are squandered, waste that鈥檚 responsible for 10 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Some of this loss occurs in household fridges and restaurant kitchens. Crops rot or are ravaged by pests. 鈥淏est before鈥� dates send products to the trash bin when they are still safe to consume. One farmer in Nova Scotia reportedly  40 per cent of his cauliflowers because they鈥檙e the wrong size or colour for supermarkets. Factor in the impacts of climate change on agriculture 鈥� drought in some regions, flooding elsewhere 鈥� and it鈥檚 even more difficult to keep grocery prices under control.

杏吧原创 University food science and biochemistry researcher Tyler Avis and  from the  are tackling food insecurity from different directions. But their goals are the same: help prevent hunger, make businesses more efficient and ensure that the resources put into growing, processing and distributing food don鈥檛 go down the drain.

Reducing Spoilage

Reducing spoilage is one the most effective things we can do to improve access to healthy and affordable food, says Avis, whose team is exploring the use of beneficial microorganisms to outcompete the bacteria, viruses and fungi that damage or destroy plants.

This biocontrol method promises to protect crops and extend the shelf life of produce. At the same time, it may reduce our reliance on synthetic chemical pesticides that are common in agriculture but have negative impacts on our health and the environment.

For example, rather than use soil fumigants, which essentially kill everything that might harm crops but leave a void that other harmful pests or pathogens can fill, beneficial microorganisms create a more balanced environment in which plants can prosper.

In his lab, Avis has been looking at different strains of Bacillus bacteria and other microorganisms. They can be put into one side of a Petri dish with a mould on the other; if the mould stops growing, the strain is a good candidate for further investigation.

He also does experiments in farm fields, greenhouses and storage units. Tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, strawberries and other produce can be sprayed with solutions containing non-toxic microorganisms to see if the exposure extends the amount of time they remain edible.

鈥淯sing microorganisms that are already in the environment is a more nuanced approach,鈥� explains Avis. 鈥淲e鈥檙e just potentially adding more of them to create a slightly different system.

Better Measurement, Better Management

The adage 鈥渨hat gets measured, gets managed鈥� is a guiding principle for Keddie. Her research revolves around 鈥渟ustainability accounting,鈥� which encompasses a business鈥檚 many impacts on society and the environment, not just its finances. She鈥檚 also interested in the idea of a , which, according to Canada鈥檚 federal government, repurposes and recycles products and materials as much as possible and is rooted in 鈥渦sing valuable resources wisely [and] thinking about waste as a resource instead of a cost.鈥�

One major contributor to food waste, Keddie explains, is that supermarkets don鈥檛 keep close tabs on their losses. Leading a , she conducted interviews with 60 grocery stores and learned the term 鈥渟hrink,鈥� which covers everything from spoilage, spillage and theft to expiring items that are either donated or thrown out.

There鈥檚 no line item differentiating between discarded and stolen food, and in some cases, it鈥檚 more profitable to throw out aging baked goods than to sell them at a reduced rate because customers get 鈥渢rained鈥� to wait until the end of the day for discounts.

Shrink leads to higher operating costs, which are passed onto the consumer. But without more detailed accounting, stores can鈥檛 identify where to make improvements that could help feed people while improving the bottom line.

Accounting can be used to either hide or expose a problem, says Keddie.

Although their project is still underway, Keddie and her collaborations have started to brainstorm solutions. For example, streamlined access to financing for social enterprises that freeze, dehydrate and redistribute food before it expires. Or adjustable display cases to make cauliflowers of all shapes and sizes attractive to shoppers.

鈥淣ature has a really good circular food system, but humans messed it up,鈥� says Keddie, whose research aims to inform government policy that could incentivize waste reduction and investors motived by more than financial returns. 鈥淚f we can figure out how to reform this system, maybe those learnings can be applied to help other industries transition to a circular economy.鈥�

鈥�

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Congratulations to Hieu Minh Le, who won the prestigious AOAC INTERNATIONAL/Eurofins Foundation “Testing for Life” Student Award (). Hieu will present his honours thesis project on food authentication completed with Prof. Yaxi Hu in the upcoming AOAC annual conference in New Orleans. Hieu will continue this work as an M.Sc. in Chemistry with concentration in Food Science in the Hu lab.

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V茅ronic B茅zaire (Department of Chemistry and Director of the Institute of Biochemistry) has been named a recipient of the 2023 鈥� the highest honour an educator can receive in the province.

Please see the story here: /tls/2023/two-carleton-university-instructors-receive-prestigious-ocufa-teaching-award/

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We are so proud that David鈥檚 dedication to student Teaching and Learning is recognized by the Faculty of Science. David delivers courses and assessments with student employment needs in mind. When David developed Food Safety Risk Assessment in 2018, he filled an important training gap by creating an interdisciplinary course that highlights how scientific data informs evidence-based decision making. In doing so, he combined case studies and authentic assessments to mimic the work of government regulators in evaluating chemical risks.  Similarly, David developed Analysis of Food Contaminants with highly relevant workplace skills in mind. Experiments in this course follow Official Methods of Analysis (OMA from AOAC International). Lab reports are substituted by briefing notes in which students communicate their findings in the context of national and international policies. Through it all, David provides a safe environment with frequent feedback opportunities to guide students in developing transferable skills of analysis, evaluation, and communication.

Beyond teaching courses in food science, David has been mentoring students in research. David provides strong mentorship for students from chemistry, food science, and biochemistry in research projects on natural products chemistry. David is also involved in student Teaching and Learning through undergraduate curriculum activities. David lead our efforts to develop a specialization in chemical toxicology. He is also heavily involved in undergraduate curriculum work in the Department of Chemistry and the Institute of Biochemistry.

David, thank you for being such an amazing colleague!

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Recently, Associate Vice-President (Teaching and Learning), David Hornsby, announced the outstanding educators who have been named 2022 杏吧原创 University Teaching Award winners. The Department of Chemistry’s very own Trinda Crippin has been awarded the Excellence in Learning Support Award!

Trinda is an extraordinary colleague and lab coordinator who is passionate about student success and positively impacts student experiential learning in the Faculty of Science. Recently (October 2021), Trinda completed the Student Support Certificate, with concentrations in Equity Diversity and Inclusion, and Student Mental Health and Well-Being. Trinda brings a genuine interest in student learning, and is an exceptionally strong contributor to teaching initiatives and learning development in the Department of Chemistry.

As a member of the Departmental Priorities Committee, Trinda aided in the development of the first ever strategic plan in the Department of Chemistry. Trinda conducted environmental scans of Canadian chemistry and food science programs to compare experiential opportunity offerings. She designed and analyzed surveys to capture current departmental teaching practices, and is now working to advance our strategic operational plan.

Trinda has broad expertise in chemistry and food science. She is responsible for four distinct food science and two chemistry laboratories. Her expertise spans aseptic microbiology techniques, food chemistry, chemical and food analysis, and organic chemistry. As such, Trinda played a central role in the development of learning outcomes for the Food Science program and its courses.

In her very first summer with us, Trinda participated in the review of learning outcomes for all Food Science laboratories and was dedicated to implementing the recommended changes. This resulted in a dramatic improvement in our Food Science laboratories and student satisfaction.

Trinda鈥檚 experience with learning outcomes proved to be extremely valuable in May 2020 as we pivoted to online laboratory development for the next 18 months. She emerged as a leader in developing virtual labs in the Department of Chemistry. Trinda developed and has successfully implemented a lab structure consisting of short concept videos as the students鈥� first interaction with content and included low-stakes learning activities for students to learn through applying the knowledge gained. This includes activities such a critiquing lab techniques or lab reports, not only to identify errors, but to predict the consequences or these errors and propose solutions or alternative means to reach the same experimental goals.

Trinda鈥檚 structure focusses therefore not just on 鈥榙oing鈥� experiments, but on understanding and integrating concepts by applying knowledge. Essentially, Trinda encourages students to reflect on their learning in order to draw connections between different concepts both within the lab content and with concepts from other courses. Much like a coach, experimenting with approaches that enable students to arrive at an answer depending on how they best learn is something Trinda excels at and is what helps her students become life-long learners.

Recently, Trinda has embarked on developing or adapting laboratory experiments for two other cohorts: 1) high school students for a brand-new Food Science course in the Mini-Course Enrichment Program, and 2) existing students for a micro-credential aimed at back-filling essential hands-on skills missed by students during the pandemic.

The Department of Chemistry is so thankful for the excellent work that Trinda does, and we are all so proud of her! Congratulations Trinda!

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The Council of Canadian Academies (CCA), at the request of Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency, has formed an expert panel to examine the scientific, bioethical, and regulatory challenges associated with the use of gene-edited organisms and technologies for Pest Control. Professor Miller was asked to join the multidisciplinary group of experts, making an invaluable contribution to evidence-based policy in Canada. The panel is Chaired by Professor Robert Slater of the School of Public Policy and Administration at 杏吧原创 University.

Read more:

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The fourth year students in Chemistry and Food Science 4907/4908 presented their research to a group of judges, supervisors, and committee members on Friday, April 8th. We wish to congratulate all participants on their collaborative research efforts!

2022 Winners

Hania Rajack of the Lai Lab

Title: Synthesis and oxidation properties of ZnO2 nanoparticles

Rana Haddad of the Hosseinian Lab

Title: Antioxidant activity of Polyphenols in Hemp by-products

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2022 Posters

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Professor Tyler Avis, one of the founding members of the Food Science program at 杏吧原创 University was featured in a story by 杏吧原创 Newsroom! Click the link below to read about how the Avis Lab is researching how beneficial microorganisms can outcompete the bacteria, viruses and fungi that damage or destroy plants, as a means of reducing food waste and loss.

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David McMullin was one of the researchers studying Ilyonectria mors-panacis/disappearing root rot. Canada is the 3rd largest ginseng exporter, but this root rot poses a risk to the cultivation of this lucrative crop, with 30% lost annually due to the pathogen. 

Read the study

The post David McMullin studies Ilyonectria mors-panacis (disappearing root rot) in ginseng appeared first on Food Science.