Decades ago, after a long day of work for his food science master’s degree, Dr. Gene Ahlborn sat to eat dinner with his family. The meal was delicious, except for the cardboard taste of gluten-free bread. Ahlborn’s daughter had been recently diagnosed with celiac, an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation of the small intestine in response to gluten intake. Realizing he was in a position to develop better food alternatives as a food science researcher, Ahlborn pivoted his projects to focus on gluten-free creations.
Ahlborn has passionately continued this research for 28 years. Driven to this day by empathy for his daughter and others with celiac, Ahlborn makes every gluten-free item imaginable including cupcakes, breads, muffins, and pasta to test how changing ingredients slightly changes the flavor, texture, and look. If any baked confection has an adverse after-taste or low shelf-stability after screening, Ahlborn removes them from the sample. Different starches, flours and gums, like xanthan gum, replicate the flavor and aeration of bread with gluten. He evaluates each flour to see the pros and cons of using a different variety. He also attempts different substitutes like apple sauce or other ingredients to improve taste.
Ahlborn’s other main passion project besides gluten-free confections is cheese. Sponsored by Build Dairy, he looks into substitutes for emulsifying salts used in cheese sauces like nacho dip. The salts allow for a smooth, liquid texture, but are high in sodium which can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. Reducing sodium while maintaining texture is Ahlborn’s goal.
Many cheeses also require lipases to age and form the cheese properly; these lipases are generally taken from the stomach of calves and goat kids. Ahlborn wants to exchange animal-based lipases with microbial-based ones to improve taste and preserve animal life. However, removing animal lipase can sometimes negatively affect the flavor of the cheese. Ahlborn and his graduate students are testing parmesan and feta flavors and how changing to microbes affects the taste.
Finding better-tasting gluten-free products and creating alternative cheeses are only two of Ahlborn’s research interests. He also heads other labs and has a number of side projects with graduate students.
The food microbiology testing lab looks for microbial contaminations in food storage products. Ahlborn is contracted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to ensure that church-manufactured staples like peanut butter and ground beef are safe to consume. Undergraduate students swab samples for traces of salmonella, E. coli, listeria, or other contaminants. If the food is deemed hazardous, Ahlborn alerts the church to stop production while the packaging machines are thoroughly checked. To date, no samples have been contaminated. This lab allows students to experience real-world microbial testing.
Another lab looks into food toxicology, the science of probing for latent mycotoxins that naturally occur in food. All foods are toxic in excess, but some are more dangerous than others. The lab looks into what dose is toxic for each toxin while also investigating which toxins are present in everyday foods. While the body has mechanisms that can mitigate negative reactions in most cases, the lab aims to find the toxicity limit.
Lab Experiences
Ammon Huang (NDFS ’25) is an undergraduate student who works on the emulsified cheese study. He appreciates how Ahlborn listens and implements his ideas. From the project he’s learned that “even though in the grocery stores we see a product made a certain way, that doesn’t mean that it's the only way or the best way. For example, companies have commercialized Kraft American singles; we’ve found a healthier way to make it and when we put it to the sensory panels we found that people liked it more than what's commercially out there.”
Huang is also grateful for how Ahlborn connects scientific principles to the gospel. In Ahlborn’s eyes, everything the students work on has spiritual undertones since “Jesus was the master food chemist.” As part of the lab experience, Ahlborn shows students a presentation outlining how molecular components in the air (water, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, etc.) are the basic building blocks of glucose and ethanol. The Savior often performed miracles through food, and food scientists have a way to show part of how that process could have worked.
Huang advises fellow food science majors to invest their time in lab environments in spite of the heavy workload the major requires. “What I learn in the lab helps solidify what we learn in class,” Huang enthused. “It may seem counterintuitive to take on more work, but it really helps.”
Ahlborn loves interacting with his students and enjoys when they make new discoveries. “I've got a couple students who often have that ‘aha’ moment. It's like ‘Oh, that's why this is’ or ‘Oh, I studied these amino acid structures in organic chemistry, biochemistry, and food chemistry, and now I see how that structure works to create an emulsification for the cheese,’” he shares. “When you get those ‘aha’ moments and see them make a breakthrough, that's the best part.”
To get involved in one of Ahlborn’s labs or research projects, send him an email or meet him at his office with an appointment at S 131 ESC. Nutrition, dietetics, and food science (NDFS) students should fill out the application process at the beginning of the semester as well. Ahlborn welcomes any NDFS volunteers who want to shadow and learn about his labs.
8-12 per semester
Students gain the following skills in the lab:
- Analytical techniques
- Texture analysis
- Use of colorimeters
- Use of water meters
- Imaging for crumb structure in bread
- Microscopy tests (fluorescent and electron)
A student should be familiar with the following before joining the lab:
- Chemistry
- Biology
- Food science