At the Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center (VFIC) we strive to make lives healthier by delivering more nutritious foods to the public and increasing people’s intake of fruits and vegetables. We work to develop and implement innovative ideas to grow and process fruits and vegetables.  While crop productivity remains a component of our work, our focus at the VFIC is improving fruits and vegetables to deliver health promoting natural compounds that can improve health and prevent disease.
Our diverse research activities are briefly summarized in the following links:

• The role of fruits and vegetables in health promotion and disease prevention (Drs. Thomson, Patil, Jayaprakasha).
• Dietary means of reducing chronic inflammation (Drs. Chapkin, Turner, Patil).
• High Quality, Healthy Vegetables and Stone Fruits from Texas and Beyond by Understanding Environmental and Genotypic Interactions (Drs. Crosby, Byrne, Leskovar, Jifon).
• Engineering Crops for Increased Content of Phytochemicals (Dr. Kiowa).
• Bridging the Gap Between Plant and Nutritional Sciences (Dr. Hirschi).
• Development of novel post-harvest technologies (Dr Cisneros-Zevallos).
• Isolation and Characterization of Bioactive Molecules From Fruits and Vegetables: A glimpse into VFIC Research (Dr. Patil, Dr. G.K. Jayaprakasha).

The VFIC was established to foster collaborative projects between public research and the produce industry.  We look forward to strengthening these connections in the future. For more details on our VFIC related research activities please contact Dr. Bhimu Patil .