LSU AgCenter’s new food business incubator attracting local, national companies

Oysters and prunes may not have a lot in common, but in LSU AgCenter food engineer Subramaniam Sathivel’s lab, chefs are working with both to develop new food products. Sathivel specializes in cryopreservation and shelf stabilization of foods. He’s partnering with Motivatit Seafoods of Houma to help the company produce a new oyster-and-spinach ravioli product, with a view to making it available in grocery stores by February. Motivatit, which developed a high-pressure process for killing a bacteria that can be found in raw oysters, credits the freezing and packaging work at the food business incubator with ensuring their product is fresh and safe to consume. Sathivel is also working with California-based Sunsweet on flavor enhancement and shelf-life extension for some of that company’s dried fruit products, including prunes. Specifically, Sathivel is helping Sunsweet develop a new process for reducing water activity in its products to slow bacterial growth. The AgCenter has more details here; and you can get more background info on the food business incubator, which was launched earlier this month, here.