Steinkraus Joins Lund and Bourne as 1999 Fellow in Food Science Academy

SEPTEMBER 17, 1999

Contact: Linda McCandless, llm3@cornell.edu, 315-787-2417

by Linda McCandless

Keith H. Steinkraus, professor emeritus of microbiology and food science at Cornell University, has been named a Fellow to the International Academy of Food Science and Technology by the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST).

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ITHACA, NY: Keith H. Steinkraus, professor emeritus of microbiology and food science at Cornell University, has been named a Fellow to the International Academy of Food Science and Technology by the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST). Steinkraus retired from the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, NY, in 1988, where he worked for 36 years,

The Academy was formed in 1998 to identify and recognize individuals distinguished by their scientific and professional contributions to food science and technology, to improve international cooperation, to promote food science and technology, and to stimulate international education and training in food science and technology.

Steinkraus joins 60 other fellows appointed worldwide, including the two Cornellians named last year, Daryl Lund and Malcolm Bourne. Last year was the first year fellows were appointed.

"This is a very great honor for me, and entirely unexpected because I have been retired for 11 years," said Steinkraus.

Retired though he may be, Steinkraus continues to actively research, lecture and write. "Keith's work was strongly focused on international foods and nutrition," said Don Barton, who was director of the Geneva Station from 1960 to 1982. "He contributed key work on soy-based foods, particularly soy milk, that resulted in the growth of a very strong soy milk industry in Asia, notably in Hong Kong." Barton also noted that "Keith has continued a very active career in retirement as a consulting microbiologist around the world."

Steinkraus was internationally recognized for his research on indigenous fermented foods. A major interest was the microbiological, biochemical, and nutritional changes occurring in such fermented foods as tempeh, ontjom, tape; milk-wheat mixtures such as tarhana and kishk; idli and dosais; Southeast Asian fish and shrimp sauces and pastes; soy sauce; and related products.Fermented foods are vital components of the diets of billions of people in the developing countries and have increasingly become staples in the diets of millions of vegetarians in the U.S.

While at Cornell, Steinkraus organized world conferences on these foods, and edited two books: Handbook of Indigenous Fermented Foods (Marcel Dekker, 1996), and Industrialization of Indigenous Fermented Foods (Marcel Dekker, 1989). He energetically lectured on the subject and encouraged others, especially microbiologists in developing countries, to study fermented foods used as staples in their own countries. In so doing, he promoted an understanding of the basic microbiology underlying each fermentation and provided opportunities to establish quality control and increase their food safety.

Steinkaus also worked on bacterial diseases useful for the biological control of insects. His work helped control the European chafer and Japanese beetle, both of which are important insect pests in New York State. He was the first researcher to obtain sporulation of Bacilus popillae when grown in a fermentation medium. He published more than 180 scientific articles, and holds seven patents.

Steinkraus was born in Bertha, Minnestoa, and earned his B.A. degree from the University of Minnesota He received a Ph.D from Iowa State University (1951) following duty with the U.S. Army Air Corps during WW II. He was on the faculty of Iowa State for one year before being appointed assistant professor of bacteriology at Cornell in 1952 He was promoted to associate professor in 1955, and full professor in 1962. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and Fellow of the American Assocation for the Advancement of Sciencer (AAAS). He received the IFT International Award in 1985, and the Iowa State University Alumni Merit Awar in 1987.

Steinkraus and his wife, Maxine, currently live in Ithaca.