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Current Projects

These projects are also accessible through of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

SD00H770-22. Developing Novel and Sustainable Processes and Ingredients for Dairy and Food Products (June 2022 - Sept. 2026) Dr. Maneesha Mohan

Non-Technical Summary: Dairy and food processes and products are complex, with a number of aggregation, separation, fractionation, fermentation, thermal and dehydration treatments applied to systems containing multiple ingredients and components. During processing, several structural and chemical interactions occur between the different ingredients, resulting in development of products with the desired characteristics. There are several novel processes being investigated for application in dairy and food processing, such as high pressure processing, ultrasound and nanobubble technology. Many of these novel technologies could enable more energy efficient, non-thermal processing of dairy and food products. However, commercial application of these novel technologies has been slow due to the lack of scalable studies and commercialization efforts beyond the lab-and pilot- scale work that developed these technologies.
Another important factor in development of novel and sustainable processes and products is understanding the effects on the individual components and ingredients in the dairy and food products. Processing induces changes in the structure, interaction and functionality of different components. For example, limited understanding about the structure and interaction between milk proteins and other functional and biologically active compounds has led to conflicting findings about the bioavailability and resultant health benefits from these bioactive compounds. Overall, improved understanding regarding the structural and chemical interactions between different components is required to achieve the goal of producing health promoting products that have desirable techno-functionality characteristics. In our research program, we will also delve in to understanding biomolecular interactions in multi-component systems in dairy and food products, during processing and in the human body.
Dairy farming and processing have been associated with about 4% of all human-associated greenhouse gas emissions. The increasing awareness of the impacts of dairy and food processing on the environment, and the need for sustainable processes, highlight the need for further research into these aspects. However, evaluating the environmental impacts of dairy and food processes and industries is complex, due to the huge diversity in processes, ingredients, products, equipment, and supply chains for these processors. Therefore, the dairy and food industries need environmental impact assessment tools that can measure the energy, carbon, water, and waste footprints of their processes. In addition, these tools must accommodate the variations between industries, processes, ingredients, products and supply chains. Developing the tools to monitor and improve sustainability are essential for these industries to meet environmental targets, standards and regulations set forth by regulatory agencies.

Objectives:

1. To develop and establish novel dairy and food processes, ingredients and products, as well as evaluate and promote the scalability and commercialization of these processes and products.
2. To improve the techno-functionality of products and ingredients.
3. To understand the biomolecular interactions of different components in dairy and food products.
4. Develop tools to evaluate the environmental impacts of dairy and food processing, and collaborate with industry to help them improve sustainability.
    

SD00H759-23. Improving Shelf-Life and Microbial Safety of Milk and Value-Added Dairy Products (Oct. 2022 - Sept. 2027) Dr. Sanjeev K. Anand

Non-Technical Summary: The microbial quality and safety of food products is critical more than ever before. The last couple of years of pandemic led to increased concerns about the quality and safety of food products, and our ability to provide basic nutrition to the population. In addition, significant restrictions have developed in various supply chains, leading to shortages of food products and increasing costs.
The dairy and food industries are trying to respond by developing extended shelf-life products with enhanced nutritional benefits. One of the major challenges in keeping products shelf-stable is the microbial quality of these products. It is critical to understand the complex microbial types in raw materials, how they are affected by processing conditions, and their survival and growth in processed products from the factory to the consumer’s table. Increased demand for door delivery of products is changing the traditional pathway of warehouse to grocery store to consumer. The increased demand for more value-added choices has created a gap in information and processing operations to deliver such products. Modification of microbial detection techniques and interpreting their metabolic activity to estimate storage stability and safety has become a critical area of research.
While maintaining the safety of foods is critical to protect consumer health, newer concepts of resident food pathogens are gaining recent attention.  Persistence of these bacteria in dairy/food processing environment is likely to cause sporadic cross contamination of dairy products, leading to potential food borne outbreaks. Evaluating the ‘resident strains’ from the dairy processing environment for characteristics such as biofilm forming ability and tolerance to disinfectants can help develop strategies for better cleaning and disinfection to avoid their persistence.
There is an increased demand for value-added food products. Attempts are being made improve fermentation processes to optimize product characteristics and shelf-stability. Cheese is an important fermented dairy product. The microbiota of cheese plays a significant role in manufacturing and ripening of cheese and is mainly composed of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) such as mesophilic lactococci, added as starter culture to coagulate milk proteins by acid development. Adventitious Non-Starter Lactic Acid Bacteria (NSLAB) are microbes normally present in milk, and they contribute to the development of typical cheese flavors by amino acid catabolism and production of aroma compounds. It is hypothesized that the growth of LAB and NSLAB could be manipulated by adding soluble dietary fibers to enhance the nutritional value of cheese with greater health benefits.

Objectives: 

1. To develop extended shelf-life (ESL) milk and dairy beverages by using unique thermal treatments to influence population dynamics of thermoduric bacteria.
2. Understanding the role of ‘resident’ environmental pathogens in dairy processing environment and their influence on product safety.
3. Develop value added cheeses containing soluble fibers and study their influence on the metabolic behavior of NSLAB during cheese ripening.
    

SD00H751-22. Evaluation of Cattle Diets and Feed Additives on Efficiency, Rumen Microbial Dynamics, Enteric Methane and Whole-Farm Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Dairy Production System (Nov. 2021 - Sept. 2026) Dr. Elias Uddin

Non-Technical Summary: Dairy cows have the unique capability of converting non-edible fiber into a high quality product, milk. However, this conversion process is not highly efficient (i.e., inputs into the dairy production system or nutrients fed to the animal can be lost at different stages of the production system). Some of the losses include loss of carbon as enteric methane and manure methane, excretion of nitrogen via manure, and loss of manure nitrogen as ammonia, nitrate, and nitrous oxide. These losses not only make dairy production inefficient, but they also affect air and water quality negatively through leached nitrate, emitted ammonia and greenhouse gases. About 70% of the total livestock greenhouse gas emission is comprised of enteric methane, which is not only the loss of energy fed to the animals but also is a potent greenhouse gas responsible for climate change. Thus, mitigation of methane emission has been emphasized to improve environmental sustainability, as well as energy utilization efficiency of dairy production.
Among enteric methane mitigation strategies, dietary manipulation (e.g., replacement of forages with grains, feeding high quality forages) and supplementation with feed additives (e.g., nitrate, 3-ntrooxypropanol and seaweed) have shown potential to reduce enteric methane emissions substantially. Recent studies have shown that addition of seaweed to ruminant diets could reduce methane emissions up to 80%, depending on animal type (e.g., dairy vs. beef), dose and species of seaweed fed to the animals. Some studies also reported a substantial reduction of feed intake of the animals, but improvement of efficiency was reported with high doses of seaweed. Researchers do not yet understand the mechanisms by which seaweed negatively impacts intake. Thus, it is important to understand the impacts of dietary fiber level and source on inclusion of seaweed in rations and how seaweed might affect nutrient digestibility and rumen microbial dynamics in dairy cows.
Recent studies also indicate an interaction between enteric methane and manure methane emissions (i.e., the benefits of mitigation strategies for enteric methane might be offset due to increased emission from manure management of the system). Manure ammonia emissions and water limitations (particularly in drier regions of the U.S.) are two major concerns for the dairy industry. Thus, recent studies recommended that overall water consumption in the dairy production system be reduced either by incorporating crop by-products or adding feed ingredients that require less irrigation water. This is important since irrigation for feed production accounts for more than 90% of the water in dairy production. Our recent study also indicated that these losses of nutrients or greenhouse gas emissions may vary between production systems or between farms due to differential management practices. Thus, mitigation strategies for enteric methane need to be evaluated both at the animal level and the manure management system, as well as at the whole farm-level using a holistic life cycle assessment approach to capture tradeoffs and avoid misleading conclusions.
Thus, our overarching goal is to determine the impacts of forage fiber (level and source of fiber) and different doses of seaweed (Asparagopsis species) on intake, nutrient utilization efficiency, nutrient digestibility, enteric methane, and subsequent manure composition and manure greenhouse gas emissions in lactating dairy cows. To achieve this goal, we will conduct two animal studies, where one study will focus on seaweed and another study will focus on level and source of fiber in the dairy cattle diets. To do the holistic evaluations of mitigation strategies, our approach will include the collection of data on farm size, herd structure, dietary ingredients, and chemical composition, milk production, milk composition, manure yield and composition, collection, processing, storage and application of manure, feed ingredients produced and purchased, use of electricity, fossil fuels and fertilizers for farm operations and forage production, quantity of water needed for farm operations and animal consumption, etc. Then, we will calculate animal- and farm-level efficiencies and build cradle-to-farmgate life cycle assessment model with SimaPro software to determine carbon footprint, water footprint and eutrophication potentials for milk production within and across farms or production systems in the North Central region.
Studies included in this project will provide additional understanding of how seaweed and forage fiber source affect animal intake, performance, efficiency, and greenhouse gas emissions to scientific readers and researchers in the discipline, while undergraduate and graduate students involved in this project will learn the approach to evaluate mitigation strategies using empirical study and a life cycle assessment modeling approach. These studies will also help to identify the major avenues for nutrient losses and good practices to mitigate or reduce these losses which will help producers to improve efficiency and mitigate negative effects of dairy production to the environment.

Objectives:

1. Effect of dairy cattle diets on performance, efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions from animals and manure.
2. Evaluating dietary supplementation of a feed additive (seaweed) on dairy cows performances, efficiency, rumen microbial dynamics and enteric methane emissions.
3. Holistic evaluation of greenhouse gas mitigation strategies in a dairy production system using life cycle assessment approach.

SD00R714-22. Management and Environmental Factors Affecting Nitrogen Cycling and Use of Efficiency in Forage-Based Livestock Production Systems (November 2021 - September 2024) Dr. Elias Uddin

Non-Technical Summary: Dairy cows have the unique capability of converting non-edible fiber into a high quality product, milk. However, this conversion process is not highly efficient (i.e., inputs into the dairy production system or nutrients fed to the animal can be lost at different stages of the production system). Some of the losses include loss of carbon as enteric methane and manure methane, excretion of nitrogen via manure, and loss of manure nitrogen as ammonia, nitrate, and nitrous oxide. These losses not only make dairy production inefficient, but they also affect air and water quality negatively through leached nitrate, emitted ammonia and greenhouse gases. About 70% of the total livestock greenhouse gas emission is comprised of enteric methane, which is not only the loss of energy fed to the animals but also is a potent greenhouse gas responsible for climate change. Thus, mitigation of methane emission has been emphasized to improve environmental sustainability, as well as energy utilization efficiency of dairy production.
Among enteric methane mitigation strategies, dietary manipulation (e.g., replacement of forages with grains, feeding high quality forages) and supplementation with feed additives (e.g., nitrate, 3-ntrooxypropanol, and seaweed) have shown potential to reduce enteric methane emissions substantially. Recent studies have shown that addition of seaweed to ruminant diets could reduce methane emissions up to 80%, depending on animal type (e.g., dairy vs. beef), dose, and species of seaweed fed to the animals. Some studies also reported a substantial reduction of feed intake of the animals, but improvement of efficiency was reported with high doses of seaweed. Researchers do not yet understand the mechanisms by which seaweed negatively impacts intake. Thus, it is important to understand the impacts of dietary fiber level and source on inclusion of seaweed in rations and how seaweed might affect nutrient digestibility and rumen microbial dynamics in dairy cows.
Recent studies also indicate an interaction between enteric methane and manure methane emissions (i.e., the benefits of mitigation strategies for enteric methane might be offset due to increased emission from manure management of the system). Manure ammonia emissions and water limitations (particularly in drier regions of the U.S.) are two major concerns for the dairy industry. Thus, recent studies recommended that overall water consumption in the dairy production system be reduced either by incorporating crop by-products or adding feed ingredients that require less irrigation water. This is important since irrigation for feed production accounts for more than 90% of the water in dairy production. Our recent study also indicated that these losses of nutrients or greenhouse gas emissions may vary between production systems or between farms due to differential management practices. Thus, mitigation strategies for enteric methane need to be evaluated both at the animal level and the manure management system, as well as at the whole farm-level using a holistic life cycle assessment approach to capture tradeoffs and avoid misleading conclusions.
Thus, our overarching goal is to determine the impacts of forage fiber (level and source of fiber) and different doses of seaweed (Asparagopsis species) on intake, nutrient utilization efficiency, nutrient digestibility, enteric methane, and subsequent manure composition and manure greenhouse gas emissions in lactating dairy cows. To achieve this goal, we will conduct two animal studies, where one study will focus on seaweed and another study will focus on level and source of fiber in the dairy cattle diets. To do the holistic evaluations of mitigation strategies, our approach will include the collection of data on farm size, herd structure, dietary ingredients, and chemical composition, milk production, milk composition, manure yield and composition, collection, processing, storage and application of manure, feed ingredients produced and purchased, use of electricity, fossil fuels and fertilizers for farm operations and forage production, quantity of water needed for farm operations and animal consumption, etc. Then, we will calculate animal- and farm-level efficiencies and build cradle-to-farmgate life cycle assessment model with SimaPro software to determine carbon footprint, water footprint and eutrophication potentials for milk production within and across farms or production systems in the North Central region.
Studies included in this project will provide additional understanding of how seaweed and forage fiber source affect animal intake, performance, efficiency, and greenhouse gas emissions to scientific readers and researchers in the discipline, while undergraduate and graduate students involved in this project will learn the approach to evaluate mitigation strategies using empirical study and a life cycle assessment modeling approach. These studies will also help to identify the major avenues for nutrient losses and good practices to mitigate or reduce these losses which will help producers to improve efficiency and mitigate negative effects of dairy production to the environment.

Objectives:

1. Effect of dairy cattle diets on performance, efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions from animals and manure.
2. Holistic evaluation of greenhouse gas mitigation strategies in a dairy production system using life cycle assessment approach.
3. Evaluating dietary supplementation of a feed additive (seaweed) on dairy cows performances, efficiency, rumen microbial dynamics and enteric methane emissions.
    

SD00H749-22. Development of Dairy-Based Ingredients (November 2021 - September 2026) Dr. Prafulla Salunke

Non-Technical Summary: Milk is a complex food made up of various ingredients of interest, such as fat, protein, lactose and minerals. With the advent of new separation technologies like membrane separation, it is possible to separate and fractionate each component. Because of certain benefits like reduced allergenicity, the market for non-bovine milk and milk products, especially from goat's milk, is gaining popularity. Global demand for new dairy-based ingredients with specific functionality is increasing and the demand exceeds the supply. The dairy ingredients market is projected to grow to reach a value of USD 81.4 billion by 2025 at a compound annual growth rate of 7.1%. With the increase in market for functional foods, the demand for dairy based ingredients is increasing as they provide clean label, natural, healthy and nutritional options along with providing required sensory attributes (texture and flavor) and functionality in a variety of dairy foods.
It is well known that the functionality of various components of milk can be harnessed and used effectively when they are available separately. These ingredients are available in liquid, concentrated, and dried form, and the COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity to market more dried dairy ingredients because of long shelf life and shipping advantages. Dried dairy ingredients, in small and concentrated forms, can be used in a range of healthy, nutritional, and functional foods. Developing tailor-made ingredients from various dairy constituents will increase demand for and add value to dairy products, bringing improved profitability to dairy farmers and dairy processors. This will also boost US dairy exports, with most of the growth in the ingredients market projected to happen in Asia and the Middle East. Over the last 25 years, many ingredients have been developed. However, the demand is ever increasing as more and more dairy and food products are being introduced. This requires good and detailed understanding of composition, structure, function, interaction and functionality of ingredients to be successful in usage. With new processing equipment and technologies being introduced rapidly, the demand to adjust functional ingredients to perform in such an environment will continue to expand. The proposed research will take a multidimensional approach by understanding basic chemistry, physical properties, engineering and technological aspects of dairy ingredients. 
Milk proteins are versatile, and are the most studied class of proteins, with caseins being the most important and valuable component of milk. The major dairy products of liquid milk, cheese and yogurt derive their textural, sensory and nutritional properties from casein. Casein exists in a micelle form and there is an uneven distribution of casein (CN) fractions throughout the micelle. In this project the casein micelle in milk proteins will be modified using enzymes and chemicals to make new ingredients with desired functionalities. These proteins have excellent surfactant properties in emulsions and foams, gelling properties, and thermal resistance to denaturation because of their lack of complex secondary and tertiary structure. By changing the casein micelle surface, new products with desired functionality can be created. Most casein micelle properties depend on surface properties rather than interior makeup. The new ingredients created either in liquid, concentrated, or dried form will need to be characterized for full use of their functionality. This research program will include developing fast and quick tests to characterize the ingredients. 
The amount of intact casein influences the functional characteristics (both melted and unmelted) of cheese, especially process cheese product (PCP). The intact casein is the unhydrolyzed portion of the casein. A variety of ingredients have been used to provide intact casein in PCP formulation including cheese, rennet casein, non-fat dry milk, milk protein concentrate, etc. Rennet casein is the preferred ingredient to provide intact casein, however there are very few plants making rennet casein powder in the US. Most rennet casein is imported at a higher cost.
Because of economics of operation and high drying costs, rennet cheese curds are not dried. However, when there are post manufacturing and packaging issues or when the cheese market is interrupted by pandemic-like situations, cheese curds are packed as reject material or cheese manufacturing is slowed down, which leads to huge losses to milk producers and manufacturers. The rennet cheese curd can be collected, packed, frozen, and used later. This will keep plants running and farmers may not suffer. Using rennet cheese curd in PCP applications will provide an additional ingredient to companies which can provide intact casein and reduce the dependency on imported rennet casein powder. One of our research objectives is to collect and freeze cheese curds made using rennet, make PCP using these rennet cheese curds, and compare this product to PCP made using rennet casein powder. Additionally, the functionality of the PCP made using frozen cheese curds by different methods will be compared to the control PCP made using rennet casein powder.
Another objective of our research will be to manufacture dairy based ingredients from goat milk, since the popularity of this product is increasing in the US. This research will benefit small farmers by diversifying their markets, as there is a lot to be learned from goat milk and ingredients, particularly protein and its functionality. 
We anticipate that this research will provide new ingredients to the dairy industry and add to the knowledge regarding ingredient functionality. These tailor-made, value-added dairy ingredients will not only provide sensory, functionality, nutritional, and health-related benefits, but will generate products with a clean and more natural label. The proposed research will also help expand our knowledge of ingredients in the areas of food structure, function, and nutrition. Furthermore, the scientific and technical knowledge gained through this research and innovation will help create new ingredients that are healthy, nutritious, and have desired functionality. This will open new domestic and global opportunities in dairy, food, pharmacy and other non-dairy or food applications. It will also increase competitiveness of the U.S. dairy for the export, which ultimately will help US dairy farmers and processors.

Objectives: 

1. Enzymatic modification of ingredients.
2. Surface modification of the casein micelle to produce new ingredients.
3. Utilizing cheese curds for process cheese manufacture and 4) Non-bovine milk cheese and products.
    

SD00H722-22. Carbohydrate-Based, Value-Added Functional Products (August 2022 - September 2026) Dr. Srinivas Janaswamy

Non-Technical Summary: The health of a society depends heavily on each individual’s health. Ongoing efforts to reduce mortality and promote health have gained significant importance over the years. There has been an emphasis on reducing risk factors, both at the individual and societal levels. Several conscious efforts have helped to improve health, and in the US the average life expectancy has increased from about 47 years in 1900 to 78.7 years in 2018. The shift by the current generation to healthy eating and living habits is also encouraging from the public health perspective. However, there are still many lingering health issues such as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and cancer that continue to jeopardize human health to a tune of 1.5 million deaths annually. Towards this end, foods enriched with bioactive compounds and fiber can be helpful to prevent and treat these chronic diseases to improve human health.
Microplastics resulting from degradation of plastic wastes are another risk factor for human health. While plastics are versatile and durable and off era variety of functionalities to mankind, they are non-biodegradable and slowly depolymerize into microplastics that are becoming ubiquitous across many environments. Plastics and their byproducts litter our communities, oceans, and waterways leading to unforeseen health problems for a range of organisms. For example, microplastics are linked to oxidative stress, DNA damage, and inflammation in humans. Toxic monomers and oligomers from the degradation of plastics can leach into and contaminate foods. Indeed, health affecting and disease-promoting toxins from multiple sources are negatively affecting a broad range of organisms, and this situation must be remedied to protect current and future generations.
A cost-effective and environmentally sustainable solution that will not only mitigate the perils of plastic, but also increase dietary fiber available inhuman diet is proposed in this project. Lignocellulosic biomass is composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. We proposed to address plastic pollution by creating biodegradable films from cellulose, while using hemicellulose to generate health promoting dietary fiber that can be used in foods.
The research objectives of the project are to: 1) extract cellulose from agriculture biomass and prepare biodegradable and plastic-replacing films, and 2) extract hemicellulose (dietary fiber) from agriculture biomass and prepare functional foods such as bread. Bioactive compounds loaded in carbohydrate networks such as starches and porous starches will also be used, along with dietary fiber to prepare functional foods.
The cellulose-extract films will be tested for biodegradability, water vapor permeability, tensile strength, color, and water solubility. The films will be further characterized through X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy(SEM). The functional properties of hemicellulose as a dietary fiber will be tested via a texture analyzer. Breads made using this dietary fiber will be evaluated for in vitro starch digestion using the Englyst protocol to estimate nutrient properties such as rapidly digestible starch, slowly digestible starch, and resistant starch levels. Overall, the project outcomes off er an elegant opportunity to design and develop value-added products to promote good health and prevent disease in the general public. Moreover, the project will create new technologies that industry will be able to commercialize.

Objectives:

1. To extract cellulose from agriculture biomass and prepare biodegradable and plastic-replacing films.
2. To extract hemicellulose (dietary fiber) from agriculture biomass and prepare functional foods such as bread.

SD00H711-20. Quality and Compositional Evaluation of Pea, Lentil and Chickpea and Ensuing Flours and Ingredients. (February 2020 - September 2024)
Drs. Clifford Hall, Padmanaban Krishnan, Srinivas Janaswamy, Brent Turnipseed, Douglas Raine

Non-Technical Summary: The USDA estimates that approximately 1 million hectares of peas, lentils and chickpeas were harvested across 20 U.S. states in 2018. The crop value was estimated to be approximately 600 million dollars. Protein intake is an indicator of food consumption or lack thereof. Currently, and in the predicted future, protein intake will not meet dietary recommendations. Between 20 and 50 million tons of protein will be needed to fill the current production gap and meet the projected need by 2050. If pea protein were to fill just 1% of this increased demand, by 2050 this would require up to 500 million Kg of protein. The average protein content of peas is approximately 22%, thus 2.3 billion Kg of peas from an additional 1 million hectares would be needed. As a result, up to 1,000 million Kg of starch would also be generated. Thus, the utilization of this starch in food and industrial applications will be part of this assessment. The primary stakeholders for this project include pulse growers, pulse grower associations, and food manufacturers such as seed cleaners, millers and ingredient suppliers. The interest in pulses such as pea, lentil and chickpea is due to the nutrient composition, and the fact that these crops can be sustainably produced. The demand world-wide for plant-based protein is growing. To meet this demand, a variety of plant proteins have attracted interest by food manufacturers. Pea, lentil, and chickpea (here after referred to as pulses) will be the pulse crops targeted in this project. Fortification of cereal-based products is an ideal application of pulse ingredients because pulses are rich in folate, minerals and lysine, an amino acid that is limiting in cereals. Furthermore, the cereal amino acids complement the amino acids in pulses, and when used in the correct proportion, produce a complete protein. However, limited data exists on the nutrient composition of dry pulses and even less data exists on the composition of pulse harvested from different locations and from pulses that have been stored under different environmental conditions (relative humidity and temperature). Furthermore, the impact of de-flavoring and other processing on composition has not been adequately address by researchers. The functionality of the stored and processed pulses also requires additional research. Research in this project will address compositional and functional attributes of pulses obtained from different growing locations, pulses stored under different environmental conditions and pulses processed under conditions to remove bitterness and undesirable flavors. The information gained from this research will benefit pulse growers by providing them information about pulse varieties and recommendations for storage. Consumers will benefit by having available to them products that are nutrient dense, and for some individuals this would include gluten free products. Functional attributes and composition information will aid food manufacturers in developing products for consumers.

Objectives: 

1. To assess effects of de-flavoring methods on pulse flour volatile composition, sensory attributes, nutrient composition and functionality.
2. To isolate and modify protein and starch fractions of pulses and assess the effects of modification on the chemical composition, physical properties and functional attributes of pulse flours.
3. To characterize the changes in volatile formation, functionality and nutrient composition of pulses stored under diverse conditions experienced during storage.