{"id":299693,"date":"2026-05-19T12:50:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T12:50:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/299693\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T12:50:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T12:50:10","slug":"texas-am-research-targets-safer-space-food-systems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/299693\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas A&M Research Targets Safer Space Food Systems"},"content":{"rendered":"

LUBBOCK, TEXAS (RFD NEWS) \u2014 Longer space missions could create new demand for safer, better-tasting shelf-stable foods, and Texas A&M AgriLife researchers say electron beam technology may help modernize the process.<\/p>\n

Suresh Pillai with Texas A&M AgriLife Research says<\/a> electron beam, or eBeam, processing could replace some thermal stabilization methods now used for space food. Current heat-based processing helps ensure food safety, but it can change flavor, texture, and appearance.<\/p>\n

Electron beam processing uses ionizing energy instead of heat to reduce harmful microorganisms. Pillai says the process can also run continuously, which could help produce larger volumes of food as commercial spaceflight and long-duration missions expand.<\/p>\n

The research has a food quality and security angle. Pillai says older radiation standards date back to the 1960s, while newer science may allow lower doses that preserve quality. Electron beam systems also avoid some concerns tied to cobalt-60 sources.<\/p>\n

The work could apply to ready-to-eat meals and delicate foods such as freeze-dried berries.<\/p>\n

Farm-Level Takeaway: Space food research may create future opportunities for food processors to adopt safer, higher-quality preservation technologies.<\/p>\n

Tony St. James, RFD News Markets Specialist<\/p>\n

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\n Conservation programs may work better when they recognize yield risk and cash-flow pressure during adoption.\n <\/p>\n

May 19, 2026 07:00 AM<\/p>\n

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\"Cotton<\/p>\n

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\n Cotton growers can use the survey to compare nutrient, herbicide, and pest-management practices against national production benchmarks.\n <\/p>\n

May 19, 2026 06:00 AM<\/p>\n

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\n Higher food costs are showing up beyond the grocery aisle, with some major restaurant chains shrinking their U.S. footprint.\n <\/p>\n

May 19, 2026 05:00 AM<\/p>\n

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\"Crop<\/p>\n

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\n Drought and Planting Shape Weekly State Agriculture Recap\n <\/p>\n

May 18, 2026 04:02 PM<\/p>\n

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\n Farmers will soon be asked to help shape some of USDA\u2019s most closely watched crop and inventory reports.\n <\/p>\n

May 18, 2026 11:25 AM<\/p>\n

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\n For farm country, that caution can mean higher costs, slower service, and less local investment.\n <\/p>\n

May 18, 2026 10:17 AM<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00b7\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LUBBOCK, TEXAS (RFD NEWS) \u2014 Longer space missions could create new demand for safer, better-tasting shelf-stable foods, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299694,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-299693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299693\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}