Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Schilling, M. Wes

Committee Member

Silva, Juan L.

Committee Member

Phillips, Thomas W.

Committee Member

Zhang, Xue

Committee Member

Campbell, Yan

Date of Degree

8-9-2022

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Food Science and Technology

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Department

Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion

Abstract

Tyrophagus putrescentiae, known as the ham mite, is the most difficult pest to control in the dry-cured ham industry. Food-grade propylene glycol coated nets have been studied as an alternative to conventional mite infestation treatments but were heavy and costly to ship. This study aimed to increase the ease of use of the coated nets via drying. Three drying treatments: oven dried for 7 min (OD7m), oven dried for 20 min (OD20m), and counter dried for 24 h (CD24h), were tested to determine the efficacy at controlling mites as well as the mechanical properties of the nets and sensory characteristics of ham wrapped in the treated nets. The OD7m and CD24h treatments were effective at controlling mite growth in a laboratory setting. The drying treatments did not affect the mechanical properties, or the sensory characteristics of the hams wrapped with the dried net treatments.

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