Donation helps train graduates for food industry

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Dr. Dennis Ferris, Dr. Carter Clary and Kimberly Greathouse of FMC Corporation discuss the new $120,000 retort (pressure cooker) in the Food Processing Research Lab.

by Mary Lisa Russell

It won't be just jams and jellies anymore but a whole new line of foods processed at California State University, Fresno, thanks to a gift of a large, eight-foot pressure cooker called a retort.

The retort will allow researchers and students in the Food Processing Research Laboratory to process low-acid and high-acid foods, like salsa, canned peas, corn and meats.

Valued at $120,000, the retort was donated by the FMC Corporation in Madera, which manufactures and services food processing equipment as one of its divisions.

Not only does the retort mean new foods being processed at the university, but it allows students to gain hands-on experience with state-of-the-art equipment that is used by industry.

Food processing companies sometimes convince Fresno State students to accept positions before they have had a chance to finish their education, according to Dr. Dennis Ferris, assistant professor of enology, food science and nutrition. "Starting pay on the West Coast for an entry-level position is probably more than $34,000 per year," he said.

Fresno State graduates are recruited for positions like food plant managers, quality assurance directors, food chemists, food microbiologists and product development directors.

Ferris said food processing is a big business and that nearly 93 percent of all the tomato processing in the nation is done in the Valley.

Ferris also noted that food processing is the number one manufacturing industry in the U. S. in total value of shipments.

"With such a growing business, industry needs a qualified work force," Ferris said.

With the addition of the retort, Ferris said the lab can now do the thermal processing of low-acid foods like canned corn, beans, peas, meats and other foods grown on campus.

The lab currently processes jams, jellies, salsa, salad dressing, cranberry sauces, biscotti and a variety of acid foods - all of which are available at the university's Farm Market located on Chestnut and Barstow Avenues.

Ferris said that private gifts, like the retort from FMC, will accelerate current technology into the program. "We need the equipment to employ the techniques, and the private funds help us keep up with industry methodology," he said.

So what's next for the Food Processing Research Lab? Pizza - according to Ferris - with all the toppings supplied by Fresno State farm products. For more information call ext. 8-2164.