An early bird Hot Topics seminar kicked off the 22nd annual Georgia Peanut Tour on Tuesday afternoon. This seminar covered topics including the 2008 Farm Bill,
Peanut Biotechnology and Molecular Breeding, USAID Peanut CRSP program, saving lives in Haiti with a peanut butter paste and new peanut products developed at the University of Georgia Food Science Department on the Griffin Campus. Dr. Peggy Ozias-Akins talked with the group about research being conducted to reduce the amount of a particular allergen. She is also continuing research to see if silencing this gene has an affect on seedling growth and Aspergillus flavus fungal growth. More details on other topics during the Hot Topics Seminar will be covered in other posts. So check back often.