Dr. Federico Harte

Biography

Federico Harte is a Professor in the Department of Food Science at Pennsylvania State University. His expertise is in dairy processing, food rheology, and food engineering. He focuses on how processing interventions affect protein functionality and the physical properties of food. His research explores 'minimally processed' and 'clean label' foods, emphasizing the understanding of how processing operations influence the functionality of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Recent projects have centered around caseins as natural emulsifiers and foaming agents and the functionality of lecithin phospholipid fractions in emulsification. Harte utilizes advanced analytical methods to investigate glycosylated casein proteins and methodologies such as high-pressure jet processing to study protein integrity. He has particularly emphasized casein proteins, which constitute a significant portion of both bovine and human milk proteins, studying their aggregation into micelles and their technological relevance in dairy food production. His work impacts both fundamental biological understanding and innovative applications in the food and health industries. Additionally, Harte is exploring nonthermal technologies in fluid foods, analyzing various processing methods and their effects on food structure and quality.

Research Interests