Balunkeswar (Balu) Nayak
Assistant Professor of Food Processing
University of Maine
USA
Biography
Dr. Balunkeswar (Balu) Nayak is an Assistant Professor of Food Processing in the School of Food & Agriculture at the University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA. Prior to joining at the University of Maine, he has worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA. Dr. Nayak received his Ph.D. in Food Engineering from Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA and M.Tech(Post-harvest Engineering) fromthe Indian Institute of Techology (IIT) Kharagpur, India. He has more than 12 years of experience in agricultural, post-harvest and food engineering studying applied engineering on food safety and quality. His research focuses on the effects of thermal and non-thermal processing on the safety, quality and functionality of health benefitting compounds in fruits, vegetables and grains.
Research Interest
Effects of food processing on chemical hazards in foods including food allergens, mycotoxins and bacterial toxins, their detection and methods to reduce the potential risks/hazards in processed foods. Developing novel food processing technologies using thermal and non-thermal (high pressure, PEF, ultrasound) techniques for detection and inactivation of high risk microbial contamination in perishable fruits and vegetables to improve food safety. Developing processing methods, extraction techniques and bioprocessing to develop value-added products with enriched bioactive compound.