Articles by Marcia Wood Agricultural Research Service

French fries typically soak up a lot of oil while they're in the deep-fat fryer. But U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientist Zhongli Pan and his colleagues have shown that prepping the raw fries for three minutes with infrared (IR) heat, before the fries are dunked in the fryer, can reduce oil uptake by about one-third, as compared to raw fries not treated with IR.

In ongoing investigations, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and university researchers are taking a fresh look at the ability of olive powder and other plant compounds to combat foodborne pathogens and keep food safe to eat.

For every gallon of olive oil that's pressed from the ripe fruit, about 38 pounds of olive skins, pulp and pits are left behind. Known as pomace, these leftovers typically have low-value uses. But U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agricultural engineer Rebecca R. Milczarek and her colleagues are working with olive growers and olive-oil processors in California—where most of the nation's commercial olives are grown—to find new, environmentally friendly, and profitable uses for pomace.

A team of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists led by research chemist John W. Newman has developed and tested an improved method for measuring an indicator of the body's stores of B12 in blood.

Amino acids in orange juice might reveal secrets to the successful attack strategy of the plant pathogen that causes citrus greening disease, also known as Huanglongbing or HLB.