The Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences has seven pilot plants dedicated to the advancement of knowledge in specific commodity and general discipline areas. Schaub Hall houses pilot plants for aseptic processing and packaging, dairy products, fruits and vegetables, high viscosity/particulates, meats, seafood and visual imagery. Click here to see inside the plant. The North Carolina State University CMAST facility located in Morehead City houses a pilot plant dedicated to seafood.

Our pilot plant operation supports teaching, research and extension activities in the Food Science area. Multiple research projects in flavor, nutrition, engineering, chemistry, and food safety are actively ongoing. Many courses in our Undergraduate and Graduate programs utilize the departmental pilot plants to demonstrate process fundamentals in lectures while providing real-world experience in laboratories. Extension sponsored short courses are greatly enhanced by the in-house production equipment and facilities.

Since its founding as a land grant institution, the University has worked closely with North Carolina and outside industries. Numerous commercially successful products and technologies have been developed and/or demonstrated to the food industry by Food Science faculty, staff and students. Some of the familiar products include honey roasted peanuts, Sweet Acidophilus milk, vitamin fortified milk, fat replacers in low fat ice cream, the pasteurization and purging processes for pickles and ultra-pasteurized liquid eggs.