Our research group focuses on applied and fundamental study of food engineering and food safety. In the food engineering area: 1) food processing, especially fisheries processing, including development of value-add products and usage of by-products is explored; 2) nanostructures of fish gelatins are determined and relationships between the nanostructures and physical properties are established; 3) surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) coupled with novel gold nanotextured substrates for rapidly detecting and discriminating among some bacterial spores is being explored; and 4) design and development of a new portable SERS device is currently in progress. In the food safety aspect: 1) emphasis is placed on food supply chain management, traceability systems using RFID technology, and risk assessment; and 2) continued application and development of classic food safety programs such as good manufacturing practices (GMPs) and hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP).
