One Food Scientist Can Make a Difference

Food scientists have a long history of addressing some of the world’s most serious problems including starvation, foodborne disease, and vitamin deficiencies. Today we’re developing new solutions to streamline food production, extend shelf life, improve sustainability, and increase nutrition, but that message may be getting lost. We need to do a better job informing the public, media, and other professionals about the important work we’re doing and how we must work together to solve the critical food issues we all will face in the not-too-distant future.

We must spread the word about the important contributions food science is making to provide the world with a nutritious, safe, and abundant food supply. To help  tell that story, we’ve created our World Without Food Science^™ campaign, our IFT Food Facts web page, and our Day in the Life of a Food Scientist video series. These resources demonstrate the important work that food scientists do every day.

World Without Food Science is a public education campaign created by IFT to generate awareness of the role that food science plays in feeding the world. We developed a series of videos explaining how food scientists have improved the availability of food and advanced food safety, nutrition, and sustainability. To watch these videos and share them with your friends and colleagues, go to WorldWithoutFoodScience.org.

On the IFT Food Facts website, IFTFoodFacts.org, you’ll find consumerfriendly videos and fact sheets on topics related to food science. This awareness initiative is designed to help the public understand where their food comes from so they can make informed decisions about the food they eat every day. You’ll also find practical consumer tips on the Food Facts website.

Of course, one of IFT’s top priorities is to promote the profession of food science and encourage students to consider a career as a food scientist. That’s why each year we’ve been producing a new video about a Day in the Life of a Food Scientist. The first one we created was literally out of this world. It was a Day in the Life of a NASA Food Scientist. Next, we went to Disneyland and worked with Disney Consumer Products to show a Day in the Life of a Disney Food Scientist. Then last year, thanks to the support of the Food Packaging Division, we highlighted a Day in the Life of a Food Packaging Professional at Tetra Pak.

This year, we traveled to the University of Missouri to show you the amazing work being done by IFT Fellow and Certified Food Scientist Fu-Hung Hsieh, Ph.D. This video will premiere at the Opening General Session of the 2013 IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo. The product Dr. Hsieh’s team developed, Beyond Meat Chicken-Free Strips, is produced in Columbia, Mo., and is available nationwide at Whole Foods. It’s a soy-based product that turns a sustainable plant protein into a food that looks, tastes, and feels like chicken. And Dr. Hsieh isn’t done yet. His team is also developing a plant-based product that simulates ground beef. Go to IFT.org/DayInTheLife to see this series of videos that feature IFT food scientists at work.

Currently, the main message about diet Americans are receiving is that “processed food is bad,” but as food scientists know, many processed foods are filled with vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that sustain the human body. The report Contributions of Processed Foods to Dietary Intake in the U.S. from 2003–2008, published last fall in the Journal of Nutrition, found that the processing level of food should not be a primary factor when selecting a balanced diet because it is a minor determinant of a food’s nutrient contribution to the diet. The report analyzed data from more than 25,000 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The report also explains types and levels of processing.

Our campaigns to promote food scientists are based on the scientific review Feeding the World Today and Tomorrow, which explains the history of the food system, the challenges ahead, and the crucial role of food science and technology in meeting the needs of a growing population. This first-of-its-kind report was published originally in the peer-reviewed journal Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety.

A simple and effective way to spread the word about the benefits of food science is through social media. Tell our story on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and any other means you have available. Thank you.

John Ruff, CFS
IFT President, 2012–2013
[email protected]