PhD., The Ohio State University, Ph.D. Food Technology, 1970
M.S., The Ohio State University, M.S. Food Technology, 1967
B.S., Capital University, B.S. Biology, 1966

General area of research interests involve control of microbiological and biochemical phenomena that occur during postharvest storage and processing of fruits, vegetables and mushrooms related to composition, quality, stability and safety of food products. Specific commodity areas of research include cultivated mushrooms, wines and selected minimally-processed produce items.

Current efforts with mushrooms involve developing strategies to alter cultural or postharvest handling practices to reduce microbial populations and/or biochemical phenomena that are involved in deterioration of quality attributes of fresh mushrooms. This includes development of new cultural practices and/or minimal processing technology to reduce processing severity in order to improve product quality while still maintaining safety and controlling spoilage unprocessed products. One current example is calcium and selenium enrichment of fresh mushrooms to improve shelf life and create a nutritional identity. Current work in minimal processing technology is focused on development of natural preservatives. One current example is the use of 10-oxo-trans-8-decenoic acid to control E. coli 0157:H7 in apple cider.

Ajlouni, S., Beelman, R.B., Thompson, D.B., and Mau, J-.L. 1992. Stipe trimming at harvest increases shelf life of fresh mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus). J. Food Sci. 57:1361-1363.

Mau, J-.L., Beelman, R.B., and Ziegler, G.R. 1992. 1-octen-3-ol in the cultivated mushroom, Agaricus bisporus. J. Food Sci. 57:704-706.

Mau, J-.L., Beelman, R.B., and Ziegler, G.R. 1992. Effect of 10-oxo-trans-8-decenoic acid on growth of Agaricus bisporus. Phytochemistry. 31:4059-4064.

Beelman, R.B., Miklus, M.B., Mau, J-.L., Ajlouni, S., and Simons, S.S. 1993. "Selected cultural and harvest practices to improve quality and shelf life of Agaricus mushrooms." pp. 177-184. In: Mushroom Biology and Mushroom Products, S.-T. Chang, J.A. Buswell, and S.-W. Chiu (eds.) The Chinese University Press, Hong Kong.

Mau, J-.L., Beelman, R.B., and Ziegler, G.R. 1993. Preparation, purification and identification of 10-oxo-trans-8-decenoic acid from cultivated mushrooms, Agaricus bisporus. J. Food Biochem. 6:371-381.

Mau, J-.L., Miklus, M.B. and Beelman, R.B. 1993. "The shelf life of Agaricus mushrooms." pp. 255-288. In: Shelf Life Studies of Food and Beverages, G. Charalambous (ed.) Elsevier Science Publishers.

Beelman, R.B., Simons, S.S., Miklus, M.B. 1995. Relationship between copper accumulation and yield quality of fresh mushrooms. Mushroom Sci. 14(2):765-770.

Simons, S.S. and Beelman, R.B. 1995. Influence of calcium chloride added to irrigation water on yield and quality attributes of canned mushrooms. Mushroom Sci. 14(2):741-748.

Anderson, J.E., Beelman, R.B. and Doores, S. 1996. Persistence of serological and biological activities of staphylococcal enterotoxin A in canned mushrooms. J. Food Prot. 59:1292-1299.

Beelman, R.B. and Simons, S.S. 1996. Influence of selected cultural factors on relative tyrosinase activity in cultivated mushrooms. In: Mushroom Biology and Mushroom Products, II. D. Royse (ed.) pp. 543-552.

Beelman, R.B. and Simons, S.S. 1996. Improvement in yield and quality attributes of canned mushrooms by addition of calcium chloride to the irrigation water. In: Mushroom Biology and Mushroom Products, II. D. Royse (ed.) pp. 533-542.

Martin, S.T. and Beelman, R.B. 1996. Growth and enterotoxin production of Staphylococcus aureus in fresh packaged mushroom (Agaricus bisporus). J. Food Prot. 59(8):819-826.

Miklus, M.B. and Beelman, R.B. 1996. CaCl2 treated irrigation water applied to mushroom crops (Agaricus bisporus) increases Ca concentration and improves postharvest quality shelf life. Mycologia 88(3):403-409.

Anderson, J.A., Beelman, R.B. and Doores, S. 1997. Enhanced production and thermal stability of staphylococcal enterotoxin A in the presence of chitin. J. Food Prot. 60(11):1351-1357.

Beelman, R.B., Mau, J.-L. and G.R. Ziegler. 1997. Use of 10-oxo-trans-8-decenoic acid in mushroom cultivation. U.S. Patent No. 5,681,738.

Kukura, J.L. and Beelman, R.B. 1997. Calcium chloride added to irrigation water of mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) reduces postharvest browning. J. Food Sci. 63:454-457.

Kukura, J.L. and Beelman, R.B. 1998. Calcium chloride improves mushroom color and shelf life by reducing effects of bruising. Mushroom News, "Science and Technology." 4(9):6-10.

Spolar, M.R., Beelman, R.B., Royse, D.J., Schaffer, E. and Milner, J.A. 1998. Selenium enrichment of fresh mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus). Proceeding of the Sixth International Symposium on the Uses of Selenium and Tellurium. pp. 65-73.

Spolar, M.R., Schaffer, E.M., Beelman, R.B., and Milner, J.A. 1999. Selenium-enriched Agaricus bisporus mushrooms suppress 7, 12-dimethylbenz(A)anthracene bioactivation in mammary tissue. Cancer Letters. 138:145-150.

Chen, F.Q., Foolad, M.R., Hyman, J., St. Clair, D.A. and Beelman, R.B. 1999. Mapping of QTLs for lycopene and other fruit traits in a Lycopersicon esculentum x L. pimpinellifolium cross and comparison of QTLs across tomato species. Molecular Breeding. 5:283-299.

Beelman, R.B. and Duncan, E.M. 1999. Preservative compositions and methods for mushrooms. U.S. Patent No. 5,919,507.

Beelman RB, Royse D, and Chikthimmah N. Bioactive components in button mushroom Agaricus bisporus (J. Lge) Imbach of nutritional, medicinal, and biological importance (Review). Proceedings of the XVI th International Congress on the Science and Cultivation of Edible and Medicinal Fungi. Romaine, Keil, Rinker and Royse (eds). March 14-17, 2004. Miami, FL. U.S.A.

FDSC 413: Science and Technology of Plant Foods
FDSC 597A: Enological Science