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Food Engineering/Manufacturing/Questions
| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| Acid food-sauces, dressings | 2/9/2012 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: Clark, In one of your answeres you mention the following: The relevant publications are authored or ... A: Mariana, That data is proprietary to the client who paid for the challenge study that generated it. ... | ||
| bottling | 2/6/2012 | Jim Pfister |
| Q: yes i have some bbq sauce recipies I've beeen working on for the past year and have many good ... A: Jonathan, Good Monday Morning. Your question is by far the #1 request that I get. So, let me first ... | ||
| Coconut Ice | 1/31/2012 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: I am having the very same problems with coconut ice moulding. my recipe is to mix the following ... A: I have not heard of such a product previously. You do not say what concentration the potassium ... | ||
| Food spoilage rates in high-acid cooking sauces | 1/23/2012 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: First, congratulations (and thank you) for a great site - I've lost count of how many answers I've ... A: Ian, A general rule of thumb for shelf stable foods treated to "commercial sterility" is that they ... | ||
| commercial dry mixes | 1/22/2012 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: You have been very helpful in answering questions in the past.I am exploring various inexpensive ... A: If you are literally talking about 20 lb batches, and 8 - 16 ox packages for sampling, I would ... | ||
| Bottling Tea at Home | 1/17/2012 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: Mr. Clark, I'm fascinated by small shiny objects. I've enjoyed reading some of your answers. You are ... A: Tommy, One key element, otherwise you've got it. The pH of your tea needs to be 4.6 or less. pH is ... | ||
| tea bottling | 1/6/2012 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: I'm trying to bottle a tea beverage and have several questions regarding the production and bottling ... A: 1. You can let the bottles sit in air to cool if you like. Some plants use a tunnel with cold water ... | ||
| tea bottling | 1/5/2012 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: I'm trying to bottle a tea beverage and have several questions regarding the production and bottling ... A: 1. I think you can add ascorbic acid after the tea is brewed. You want to get pH below 4.6, ... | ||
| Cookies dough is sticky most of the time | 1/4/2012 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: I am into commercial baking making cookies of butter and salt. I use a planetary mixture, Wire cut ... A: I do not know the word "maida", but I'm guessing it is what we call dough or batter. Cookies usually ... | ||
| Mould Inhibitor for Coconut Ice | 12/9/2011 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: Good Morning, I have recently started manufacturing coconut ice, the product seems to only have a ... A: I've been presuming your product is frozen, which should inhibit any chemical or biological ... | ||
| Mould Inhibitor for Coconut Ice | 12/8/2011 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: Good Morning, I have recently started manufacturing coconut ice, the product seems to only have a ... A: Potassium sorbate is a good mold inhibitor. In the US, it is used at no more than 0.1 %, which means ... | ||
| Tin Can | 12/3/2011 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: I have recently bought canned corned beef from the local grocery store. Upon removing the label (I ... A: I can't say for sure what causes the discoloration, but so long as the can is not penetrated by a ... | ||
| Salmonella in Peanuts | 11/15/2011 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: My name is Afsana and I am in seventh grade. For school, we need to find an expert on how peanuts ... A: Afsana, To make peanut butter, peanuts are roasted, typically at temperatures high enough to ... | ||
| improving manufacturing of dressings | 11/15/2011 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: i work in a small company that makes salad dressings, i've been there doing this for 6 yrs, i make ... A: Robert, First, I hope your shoulder heals soon. Your present scheme is marginal by US occupational ... | ||
| salad dressing | 11/14/2011 | Jim Pfister |
| Q: i am going to make a selection of salad dressings for my daughters school christmas fete, i am a ... A: Ed, You have already hit the key, i.e., the container and closure need to be a clean as the product ... | ||
| Carbonation | 11/11/2011 | Jim Pfister |
| Q: I'm wondering if there is a limit is to how carbonated a beverage can be. If more and more pressure ... A: Dale, How much any gas stays dissolved in solution is dictated by the gas and the solution. You can ... | ||
| Pasta Sauce | 11/10/2011 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: I have read in some book that spoilage of pasta sauce is normally because of flat sour ... A: It depends on the composition of the sauce. Most pasta sauces are tomato based. Tomato sauce is ... | ||
| recycling cooking oil | 11/7/2011 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: I am into fried peanut business and I wish to recycle my oil in my deep fryer. Can you pls give me a ... A: Frying oils are routinely filtered to remove suspended particles. If you can remove free fatty ... | ||
| MANGO pulping | 10/27/2011 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: we are seeking small (1T hr) pulping operation for use in Rural haiti. any thoughts?? A: JBT sells a complete mango processing line for 5 T/hr for about $ 1.5 million. Goodnature offers ... | ||
| Fudge Shelf Life | 10/23/2011 | Jim Pfister |
| Q: I have started a home business which involves selling fudge. I am trying to gather information on ... A: Kerry, Good Monday Morning. Every food manufacturer - big and small - does shelf life testing on ... | ||
| aseptic packaging process | 10/14/2011 | Jim Pfister |
| Q: What process is involved in preparing sauces and dressings for aseptic packaging? Do I have to ... A: Jeanette, 1. Go to the IFT website to find food scientists in your area. 2. Go to the contract ... | ||
| aseptic packaging | 10/14/2011 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: What process is involved in preparing sauces and dressings for aseptic packaging? Do I have to ... A: Jeanette, Ken Swartzel at North Carolina State is one of the leading experts on aseptic processing. ... | ||
| make garlic in water | 10/7/2011 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: I want to make dehydrated chopped garlic in water and in oil, and i check few products in the ... A: You can take some guidance from competitive products. Most preservatives have permissible upper ... | ||
| Cookie Manufacturing | 10/7/2011 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: I currently own a small homemade cookie business. I am interested in learning how I can find a ... A: Tina, There are quite a few private label and co-manufacturing bakeries. In Ohio, I think one is ... | ||
| tomato paste | 10/7/2011 | Jim Pfister |
| Q: i am interesting in knowing if tomato paste can be added another substance inside before packing it ... A: Samuel, You haven't given me near enough information to say. What does "other substance" mean? If it ... | ||
| Houmus Production | 10/5/2011 | Jim Pfister |
| Q: Good morning! London calling... I came across your details whilst looking to find out what machinery ... A: Lynne, You can find a lot about small scale cooking and packaging equipment by doing a Google on ... | ||
| preservative sauce | 10/1/2011 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: I am making a sauce for bbq meat and main ingredients are lime juice and vinegar, with a little ... A: Mike, From your description, I think it is likely that your sauce is shelf stable without ... | ||
| how to bottle sauce and sell | 9/23/2011 | Jim Pfister |
| Q: I am a restaurant owner who is dying to know more about manufacturing sauce so I can sell it online ... A: Sam, Good Monday Morning. First off, I will back away from answering any question that contains the ... | ||
| how to bottle sauce and sell | 9/23/2011 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: I am a restaurant owner who is dying to know more about manufacturing sauce so I can sell it online ... A: Sam, First, I assume you have a recipe, and as a restaurant owner, the recipe may be close to an ... | ||
| Sauce | 9/19/2011 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: i am looking into manufacturing sauce on small scale to sell to indian and pakistani market. this ... A: Majid, The pH of your sauce makes a difference. This is a measure of acidity. If pH is below 4.6, ... | ||
| Bottle and marketing tartar sauce | 9/18/2011 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: I an considering bottling and marketing a special tartar sauce recipe. I would rather not used ... A: Tartar sauce is probably an acidified food, meaning its pH is below 4.6 because of added vinegar, ... | ||
| Yogurt Manufacturing | 9/13/2011 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: Clark, I live in the Memphis, TN area and I am interested in manufacturing yogurt on a small scale ... A: There are two approaches to making yogurt commercially: bulk fermentation in tanks and cup ... | ||
| Branding a chicken wing sauce | 9/1/2011 | Jim Pfister |
| Q: Jim! First off let me just say, I appreciate the information you are providing to people like me. I ... A: Keshia, Good Morning. You can learn a lot about ingredient shelf life by looking at how they are ... | ||
| Hot Sauce Manufacturing and Co-Packaging | 8/30/2011 | Jim Pfister |
| Q: Jim, I have a family recipe for a West Indian/ Jamaican hot sauce that i have tweaked and updated. ... A: Erica, My usual answer to this question would be to have you to search locally for a contract packer ... | ||
| nut grinder | 8/27/2011 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: Mr. Clark, As a small macadamia grower, I would like to grind the nuts into a fine flour to serve ... A: You want low velocity, so the air does cooling but not dispersion. If you buy compressed air ... | ||
| nut grinder | 8/26/2011 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: Mr. Clark, As a small macadamia grower, I would like to grind the nuts into a fine flour to serve ... A: There are many different machines that can grind nuts. Examples are: Urschel Comitrol, Fitzpatrick ... | ||
| co packer vs your own facility | 8/23/2011 | Jim Pfister |
| Q: Are you still doing consulting work? Please email me your personal contact info to see if I can use ... A: Mike, All of my contact info can be found on my website www.fgepa.com . I am presently traveling, ... | ||
| Peanut butter manufacturing | 8/22/2011 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: How would I set up a peanut butter manufacturing company in Africa. I am a Board of Directors member ... A: First, I think you need an African entrepreneur. A nonprofit can expedite, but you need the profit ... | ||
| GLC for soup | 8/3/2011 | J. Peter Clark |
| Q: Would a fresh soup sample need to be hermetically sealed? Or could non-hermetically sealed cans ... A: It depends on whether the soup is refrigerated or not. If it is to be shelf stable, it must be ... | ||
| GLC for soup | 8/3/2011 | Jim Pfister |
| Q: Would a fresh soup sample need to be hermetically sealed? Or could non-hermetically sealed cans ... A: Dipti, I cannot tell from the info provided what you are trying to do. All shelf-stable soup in ... | ||
Food Engineering/Manufacturing
Answers by Expert:
J. Peter Clark
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
How various processed foods are made; ways to improve manufacturing; how to make a new food product.
Experience
Employment history: Research Engineer, U.S.Agricultural Research Service, Associate Professor Chemical Engineering, Virginia Tech, Director of Research, Continental Baking Company, President, Epstein Process Engineering, Inc., Vice Presdent Technology, Fluor Daniel, Inc., Consultant to the Process Industries
Organizations: American Institute of Chemical Engineers (Fellow) Institute of Food Technologists, American Association of Cereal Chemists, American Association of Candy Technologists, American Society of Agricultural Engineers,
Publications: Several Encyclopedias (Kirk and Othmer, Chemical Technology; Food Science, Food Technology and Nutrition; Wiley Encyclopedia of Food Science and Technology; Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems); five books, two book chapters; numerous journals.
Education: BSChE Notre Dame PhD University of California, Berkeley
Awards: AIChE Food, Pharmaceutical and Bioengineering Division Award 1998
Clients: Major food processing and pharamaceutical companies.
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