Food

Fried foods are popular with consumers, but their high fat content can contribute to health challenges like obesity and hypertension. If the food industry can offer lower-fat options of similar quality, people can more easily make health-conscious food choices.

When Steve Ericson walked into the Illinois State Fair as a young exhibitor in 1974, he couldn’t have imagined that one day he’d return, not to show livestock, but to help connect Illinois-grown food to families in need. Now, as Executive Director of Feeding Illinois, Ericson turns his lifelong connection to agriculture into a mission to fight hunger across the state.

Plastic products are ubiquitous in our food supply chain, shedding microplastics into every part of the human ecosystem. As they degrade, microplastics break down into even smaller fragments called nanoplastics — tiny particles that can affect biological molecules in ways not fully understood.

International humanitarian aid organizations rely on analyses from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system, a global partnership that monitors and classifies the severity of food insecurity to help target assistance where and when it is most needed.

Raw meat and seafood can carry harmful bacteria that cause foodborne illness, posing an ongoing public health risk. These pathogens frequently show resistance to multiple antimicrobials, making them harder to treat.

In late July, the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumnus Eric Hodel didn’t begin his career expecting to lead one of the nation’s largest faith-based food banks.

As the demand for plant-based meat and dairy options grows, vegan burgers, nuggets, and beverages have been in the spotlight for sustainable protein alternatives. But unlike their meatless burger counterparts, plant-based eggs haven’t received the same attention from researchers — until now.  

Nanoplastics are everywhere. These fragments are so tiny they can accumulate on bacteria and be taken up by plant roots; they’re in our food, our water, and our bodies.

When West Virginia recently banned seven artificial food dyes in products to be sold within their borders, they joined an increasing number of individual U.S. states issuing their own regulations about food manufacturing practices, allowable ingredients, or product labeling.