Students in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at the University of Illinois are learning hands-on about food systems, starting from seed improvement and soil science to commercial food processing, as well as bioprocessing technologies for industry, thanks to new facilities and renovations across the ACES campus.

Dennis Humberto Pinto Padilla, a M.S. student in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition advised by Dr. Nicki Engeseth, used funds from an ACES international graduate grant to find optimal conditions for producing chocolate in tropical regions.

Pinto’s research focuses on a problem that plagues tropical regions with chocolate – the temperature of storage is often too high, resulting in rapid bloom formation and melting. His goal is to find low-cost, low energy-requiring strategies for temperature stability and therefore better chocolate production in these regions.

Construction on the Food Science and Human Nutrition Pilot Processing Plant (FSHN-PPP), which began in May 2016, was completed earlier this spring. Although primary construction is complete, gifts to defray the cost of the construction are still needed.

The facility has undergone a $3-million transformation, with new HVAC, utility, and electrical systems; improved food safety considerations; and the addition of a product development kitchen, food analysis lab, conference space, and more.