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Food Process Engineering Lab
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A lab that predicts microorganisms and quality to bring safe, delicious food to the table.
AboutAbout the lab
Delivering safe, delicious food to the table.
The Food Process Engineering Lab studies how to deliver the food people eat every day to the table in a high-quality, safe condition.
The lab develops technologies for preparing, storing, and distributing fresh produce such as vegetables and fruits, as well as sensing technologies for measuring quality.
Based on "predictive microbiology," which quantitatively evaluates and predicts food safety with respect to microorganisms, the lab also works on developing technologies to ensure safety.
In recent years, the lab has also been using computational methods such as Bayesian statistics and machine learning.
Key terms
- Predictive microbiology
- A research field that uses mathematical formulas to predict whether bacteria in food will grow or die off under conditions such as temperature
- Bayesian inference
- A statistical method that updates initial expectations, expressed as probabilities, based on the data obtained
- Maillard reaction
- A reaction in which sugars and amino acids react with heat and turn brown. It is what produces the browning of baked bread, for example
NewsLab news
A doctoral student won the Best Presentation Award at Food Micro 2026
A paper by a doctoral student has been accepted by the Journal of Food Protection
A paper from joint research with faculty of the Graduate School of Global Food Resources has been accepted by the Journal of Microbiological Methods
Joint research with Zhejiang Gongshang University in China has resulted in a paper
A master's student won the Inazo Nitobe Agricultural Science Award
ResearchResearch themes
The lab pursues both the microbiological safety of food and its taste and freshness. With predictive microbiology, which treats the control of manufacturing processes mathematically, as the core of its research, it also develops non-thermal sterilization technologies and technologies for objectively evaluating taste.
*Illustrative imageVisualizing contamination by foodborne pathogens
The lab has developed software that visualizes the proportion and concentration at which foodborne pathogens are found in foods distributed in Japan, and makes it available free of charge. It was developed as commissioned research for the Food Safety Commission of Japan, Cabinet Office.
*Illustrative imagePredicting how bacteria die off
The lab predicts the process by which bacteria die during heat sterilization, and searches for the sterilization conditions that achieve the maximum effect under mild conditions. It uses statistical and mathematical techniques such as Monte Carlo simulation, Bayesian inference, and machine learning.
*Illustrative imageVisualizing temperature during distribution
The lab is developing time-temperature indicators that integrate temperature history, allowing people to check on the spot, by eye, the temperatures a product has experienced from production through distribution to consumption. Using the Maillard reaction, the indicators can cover a wide range of temperatures, from freezing to cooking with heat.
*Illustrative imageSuppressing bacterial growth with amino acids
As an alternative to preservatives, this research adds a small amount of the amino acid tryptophan to suppress the growth of bacteria that cause foodborne illness, such as enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli and Salmonella. The lab is now exploring applications to a variety of foods.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Food Process Engineering Lab consist of faculty and doctoral (including working-professional course), master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorShige Koseki
- Associate ProfessorKento Koyama
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Fresh Vegetables display in Iloilo Terminal Public Market 01” OnlyJanz / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Visualizing contamination by foodborne pathogens: “Salmonella enteritidis in color” U.S. Department of Agriculture / Public domain (cropped)
- Predicting how bacteria die off: “E coli at 10000x, original” Photo by Eric Erbe, digital colorization by Christopher Pooley, both of USDA, ARS, EMU. / Public domain (cropped)
- Visualizing temperature during distribution: “Proper Food Safety Behaviors-Appliences and Thermometers (20120106-OC-AMW-0080)” USDAgov / Public domain (cropped)
- Suppressing bacterial growth with amino acids: “L-Tryptophan-3D-balls” Jynto (talk) / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Circular Agricultural Systems Engineering Lab): “Biochar pile” Oregon Department of Forestry / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Applied Bioproduction Engineering Lab): “Installation of soil sensors” UBC Micrometeorology from Vancouver, Canada / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Ecological Environmental Physics Lab): “Kushiro Marsh, Shibecha” Kzaral / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Agricultural Engineering Lab): “Rural seanery of Ogata Villaege 20200906” 掬茶 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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