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February 2005
Virginia Tech’s high pressure processing laboratory has several projects underway that deal with improving the safety of oysters as well as increasing their shelf life. High pressure processing treatments (HPP) have the capacity to disrupt the function of bacteria, viruses, parasites, enzymes, and other common contributors to food spoilage, while leaving the food in an essentially raw state. more... Starting with the fall 2004 semester, Dr. Alia Bano Munshi began a Fulbright Scholarship at Virginia Tech, with Drs. Greg Boardman and George Flick as advisors. Dr. Munshi’s project involves analyzing the persistent activity of endocrine disruptors, such as pesticides, PCBs, alkylphenols, steroids, and phthalates in growing waters and in wild-caught fish, clams, and crabs from various locations in Virginia. more... Five years after its inception, the International Journal of Recirculating Aquaculture is on a very positive development track. Papers from the journal are now listed with CAB Abstracts as well as the National Agricultural Library’s AGRICOLA database, and the National Sea Grant Library. The journal’s editorial board has grown, as well as its subscriber base, and the number of manuscripts submitted are increasing steadily. more... Dr. Jim Berkson, known for his groundbreaking work with population dynamics in horseshoe crabs, has been appointed the acting Unit Leader for the new Recruiting, Training, and Research Unit (RTR) at Virginia Tech. In cooperation with the Sustainable Fisheries Division of the NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center, and the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences at Virginia Tech, the RTR will serve three principal functions: more... David Lindsay, a parasitologist on the faculty of the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine (VMRCVM) at Virginia Tech, was honored during December’s annual meeting of the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists in Philadelphia. Dr. David S. Lindsay, who is widely recognized for his expertise in veterinary and human parasitology, was honored with the AAVP’s prestigious 2004 “Distinguished Veterinary Parasitologist Award.” The award was sponsored by the Bayer Animal Health Corporation. more... 
Left: Dr. Marina Collins Recent research by Drs. Marina Collins and David Lindsay has expanded the understanding of the interaction between Toxoplasma gondii and oysters in the marine environment. T. gondii is prevalent in the marine environment, and it has previously been determined that Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) can remove sporulated T. gondii oocysts from seawater and that the oocysts retain their infectivity for some time. This study examined the long term survival of T. gondii oocysts in oysters and examined how efficient oysters were at removing oocysts from seawater. more... The recent earthquake in the Indian Ocean and the subsequent tsunami had devastating effects on the fisheries and aquaculture sectors of the affected countries, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). FAO noted that in Sri Lanka alone, ten of the 12 most important ports in the country have been destroyed. more... The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a qualified health claim for the use of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), commonly known as omega-3 fatty acids. Previously, labels could state that a food contained omega-3’s, but could not make any claims regarding the benefits of consuming them. This ruling allows seafood processors to use the following statement on their omega-3 containing foods, as well as on shelf labels, brochures and marketing materials: “supportive but not conclusive research shows that consumption of EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.” more... President Bush proposed a cut of 12% to university agricultural research and extension programs in his 2006 budget. The administration suggests that this cut can be largely offset by a large increase for the National Research Initiative (NRI), the government’s main program of competitive grants for agriculture research. However, cutting so called ‘formula funds’ decreases the capacity of extension agents to work directly with industry, because agents will be required to spend increasing amounts of time preparing and submitting grants just to support basic operations. more... In August of 2004, new Virginia Tech Food Science Ph.D. recipient Fletcher Arritt presented his findings at the conclusion of his doctoral research. Dr. Arritt’s work was focused on the prevention of toxin production by Clostridium botulinum in fishery products. In his research, Arritt investigated the effects of different types of packaging for breaded and battered Alaskan Pollock fillets and raw flounder fillets. more... Dr. Michael Rasmussen, from Aalborg University’s Hydraulics and Coastal Engineering Laboratory (Denmark), is presently spending a 6 month sabbatical at Virginia Tech’s Aquaculture Center. Dr. Rasmussen’s area of specialization is in numerical modeling, with a focus on computational fluid dynamic modeling of waste water treatment centers. While at the Blacksburg Campus however, he will turn his attention to examining the hydrodynamics of aquaculture tanks, with a particular eye at unraveling the impact of fish upon the tank mixing process. more... Virginia Tech’s Aquaculture Center (VTAC) has maintained a hectic schedule over the last 6 months in terms of its research, extension activities and renovation. The most important development of the Center has been the addition of new staff and graduate students to the group. These include two new technicians, Bradley French and Amy Hahn, who will be responsible for holding and laboratory facilities respectively. more... Over the last two years Virginia Tech researchers have completed a broad range of successful studies with the candidate aquaculture species cobia. Together with larval rearing projects undertaken by Michael Schwarz at the VSAREC in Hampton, Virginia Tech’s Aquaculture Center has completed a number of nutritional trials with juvenile animals under the leadership of Dr. Steven Craig. These have included studies upon dietary protein to energy ratios and carbohydrate utilization experiments. more... Four VT Papers Presented at Aquaculture America Meeting In recent years, Dr. Kumar Mallikarjunan, associate professor of Biological Systems Engineering, has acquired some highly specialized equipment that makes it possible to detect and identify the chemical signatures of tens of thousands of different airborne compounds. These electronic ‘noses’ are more sensitive than the most discriminating human or dog noses, and can provide hard evidence where previously only conjecture could be offered. more... 
Left: Dr. Dan Taylor Dr. Dan Taylor, a professor in the department of Agricultural and Applied Economics recently joined the faculty of CFAST, filling the shoes of Dr. Charles Coale, Jr., who retired in 2002. Dr. Taylor is a specialist in mathematical programming models, and the majority of his research has blended production and resource economics as part of an interdisciplinary research team. more... Brendan Delbos was recently hired as the marine hatchery manager for the Virginia Seafood AREC in Hampton, Virginia. He is moving to the area from western Massachusetts and is joined by his wife, Rachel, and daughter, Rebecca. more... |
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Right: High Pressure Processed oysters are easy to shuck!