IFT Student Competition Winners

CHICAGOThe Institute of Food Technologists Student Association (IFTSA) announced the winners of its competitions at the 2013 IFT Annual Meeting and Food Expo in Chicago.  

The IFTSA competitions provides student members of IFT the opportunity to create a new products, network with other students, practice presentation skills and demonstrate their food science knowledge. The IFTSA & Undergraduate Research Competition was designed to encourage interest in undergraduate research in the area of food science and technology. This year's first place winner was Wisiani Wijaya from the University of Massachusetts Amherst for research on rapid detection of acetamiprid in apple juice using surface enhanced raman spectroscopy (SERS). In second place was Soon Kiat Lau, from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, for research on the development and validation of a finite element heat transfer model for pasteurization of shell eggs with radio frequency heating. Jake Fischer, from Washington State University, was the third place winner for his research on increased protein concentration in standard cookie recipe increases physical and perceived firmness.

The IFTSA College Bowl Competition, which was sponsored by Nestle Gerber and Nestle Purina, tests the knowledge of student teams in areas of food science and technology, history of foods, food processing, food law and general IFT/food-related trivia. The competition was designed to facilitate interaction among students from different universities, stimulate students' desire to accumulate and retain knowledge and provide a forum for students to engage in friendly competition. Cornell University was awarded first place and the first runner up was the University of California, Davis.

Lastly, the Chapter of the Year Awards honors one university student organization for exceptional participation, strong leadership, community outreach and providing opportunities that utilize the talents of their members. The 2013 Chapter of the Year Award went to North Carolina State University. The competition also honors the Most Improved Student Chapter which was awarded to Rutgers University. The Institute of Food Technologists also recently announced the winners of its 2013 Innovation Award.