Fei He, Ph.D.

Title

Research assistant professor

Company

University of Illinois- Champaign

Presentation Description:

Evaluating commercial pet treat digestion and safety – Fei He, Ph.D., a research assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, discusses the assessment of safety and digestibility of commercial treats, produced by various processing methods and formulations, in addition to functionality and nutritional compositions as a quality control measure using in vitro technology. While treats are widely used by dog and cat owners in the U.S. and around the world, safety of these products still is a major concern. Minimizing risk of gastrointestinal blockage, perforation, and (or) intolerance is critical in treat development. Results on the safety and digestibility of commercial treats will be presented.

Experience:

He received her doctorate in food science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2014. From 2014-2017, she worked as a postdoc research associate at Oregon State University, focusing on flavor and aroma analysis in food and beverages. In 2017, He joined the Department of Animal Sciences at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Currently, she is a research assistant professor, and her research focuses on pet food safety, chemical analysis of feed and food ingredients, and complete and balanced pet foods and pet treats. He also is the laboratory manager in Dr. Maria Godoy’s laboratory in the Illinois Companion Animal Nutrition Program (I-CAN) and provides analytical testing and new method development for the feed and pet food industries.