WE WILL DEVELOP A NOVEL PROCESSING METHOD FOR THE NONTHERMAL, ENERGY EFFICIENT CONCENTRATION OF JUICES AND BEVERAGES. THE DEVELOPED FORWARD OSMOSIS (FO) AND REVERSE OSMOSIS (RO) COMBINATION PROCESS WILL LEAD TO PRODUCTS WITH HIGH SENSORY AND NUTRITIONAL QUALITY, IN AN ENERGY EFFICIENT MANNER. AS PART OF OUR RESEARCH ACTIVITIES, WE WILL OPTIMIZE THE COMBINATION PROCESS FOR SEVERAL JUICES AND BEVERAGES. THE QUALITY AND SENSORY ATTRIBUTES OF THE CONCENTRATED PRODUCTS AND THE FEASIBILITY OF THE DEVELOPED CONCENTRATION PROCESS WILL BE EVALUATED.BOTH UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS WILL BE EDUCATED AND TRAINED AS PART OF THIS PROJECT. THE STUDENTS WILL ALSO ENGAGE WITH INDUSTRY TO TRANSFER KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE USE OF OSMOTIC PROCESSES FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF FLUID FOODS. BASED ON THE CONCLUSION OF THE RESEARCH, WE WILL DEVELOP OUTREACH AND EXTENSION MATERIALS TO EDUCATE AND TRAIN FOOD PROCESSORS AND EXTENSION EDUCATORS ON THE USE AND BENEFITS OF THE DEVELOPED COMBINATION CONCENTRATION METHOD. THE DEVELOPED PROCESS WILL BE TRANSFERRED TO INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDERS, WHO WILL BE HIGHLY ENGAGED IN DEVELOPING PROJECT ACTIVITIES AND ASSESSING ITS SUCCESS.ULTIMATELY, THIS WORK WILL BENEFIT CONSUMERS, AND WILL HELP BOOST THE COMPETITIVENESS AND SUSTAINABILITY OF THE US FOOD SECTOR, BY REDUCING THE ENERGY CONSUMPTION DURING FOOD PROCESSING.