FISH MEAT. Expert is currently involved with new product development using low-fat minced fish, and the extension of shelf life of fresh and frozen fatty fish products using anti-oxidants and modified atmosphere packaging to obtain convenience products. He is also examining the impact of polyphosphates on fish. Currently he is working on Slombrotoxin with respect to FDA HACCP requirements.

KOSHER FOODS; KOSHER FOOD PROCESSING. Through the Cornell Kosher Fish Initiative, Expert currently serves as an educator in the religious food area, mainly kosher, but is also involved in some halal (Muslim) work. He has advised companies on process and product development, their relationships with the kosher supervisory agencies, and with the regulatory agencies. He has mediated problems between companies and the supervisory agencies, and has combined his technical knowledge with knowledge of religious law to solve unique industrial problems. He has been working with the religious communities to improve religious slaughter, and is currently the only academic person with a major-effort commitment to religious foods. He also currently serves as an acting executive secretary of the National Kosher Food Trade Association.

MEAT PROTEIN FUNCTIONALITY. Expert's group has had ongoing efforts in measuring the functionality of meat proteins and protein additives (e.g. soy, milk, and egg proteins) in meat systems. Specific areas of interest include water retention/uptake properties (expressible moisture and water uptake ability), solubility, emulsification, (timed emulsification and emulsion stability), and gelation (texture profiling on the Instron). His group's work has focused upon developing methods to learn more details about meat systems. Currently, his group is trying to develop critical methods for evaluating the benefits of protein additives in meat.

TOTAL UTILIZATION OF FISH. Expert's group has been involved in the development of fish gelatin, both technically and because of its interest in kosher/halal foods. It is also involved with groups looking at the use of fish scales as flocculating agents and development of fish hydrolysates for use in both feed and fertilizer applications. The group also works with minces from various fish species.

Expert is a member of ACS, the American Meat Science Association, the Atlantic Fisheries Technological Society, and the Poultry Science Association. He is a member and fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists.

Expert was honored with a Guest Fellow in the New Zealand Institute of Food Science in 1983; and received the Earl P. McFee Award of the Atlantic Fisheries Technological Conference in 1988.

Expert has been giving seminars and workshops on religious foods, both kosher and halal, for a number of years. He also teaches a course in this subject at Cornell. He has been lecturing extensively on his experience in Washington.

Expert has experience locating vendors of Kosher and Halal ingredients. He has access to the following resources: contacts and some agency listings.