IFTSA Student Competition Winners

Congratulations to all the IFT Student Association 2023 competition winners! And thanks to all the finalist teams that participated.

IFTSA & MARS Product Development Competition (sponsored by Mars Wrigley). The Cornell University team earned first place for CaféNana, upcycled, caffeinated coffee-banana sandwich bites consisting of two chewy banana leather pieces and a creamy sunflower butter coffee filling.

Second Place went to Churroats from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign team. Churroats is an upcycled, gluten-free vegan snack that represents a fusion between unique Asian flavors and Spanish-origin churros and is free from the top nine U.S. allergens.

Third place went to Veggie-Go (Chik ‘n Cheese) from the Michigan State University team. Chik ‘n Cheese is made of whole grain noodles smothered in a cheesy sauce, all topped with a plant-based shredded “chik’n,” packing a nutritional punch.

Other finalist teams included the University of California, Davis, University of Florida, and University of Georgia.

Developing Solutions for Developing Countries Product Development Competition (sponsored by the Feeding Tomorrow Fund). This year’s winner was Newbies (Drasties) from IPB University in Indonesia. Drasties is a smoothie produced using local ingredients, such as dragon fruit, to help local Indonesian producers and to keep prices affordable. It can also serve as a nutritional-value drink substitute.

Second place went to GreenAmbrosia from the Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus Monterrey team. GreenAmbrosia is a Mexican pear nectar without added sugar made using temperature-assisted high pressure processing.

Third place went to PATH (Frutta-Sorgho) from Montana State University. Frutta-Sorgho is a nutritious blend of indigenous knowledge and western technology co-developed with Senegal women farmers.

Other finalist teams were from University of Pembangunan Nasional Veteran East Java, IPB University, and Cornell University.

Smart Snacks for Kids Product Development Competition. The McGill University Team placed first with Hungry Monsters, chocolate-flavored tarts that kids can build themselves by filling and decorating them with fun decorations.

Jungle Clusters from the California State Polytechnic University Pomona team earned second place. Jungle Clusters are whole multigrain granola oat cluster snacks, with an explosion of mango, dragon fruit, and peach fusion.

Third place went to the team from Texas A&M University for Critter Crackers, a black soldier fly–based snack cracker in various bug shapes.

Other finalist teams included the University of Wisconsin–Madison, University of California, Davis, and Oregon State University.

College Bowl (sponsored by Nestlé Purina). Winner: Clemson University. Runner-up: University of Wisconsin–Madison

Undergraduate Research Competition (sponsored by Phi Tau Sigma). Adam Forbes from the University of Massachusetts Amherst was recognized with first place for his research on “Assessing and Predicting the Color Stability of Anthocyanins in the Presence of Ferrous Sulfate.”

Second place went to Cameron Christopher Rich from The Ohio State University for his research on “In-Situ Screening for Gluten Free Flours using Vibrational Spectroscopy and Pattern Recognition Analysis.”

Third place went to Sage Taylor from Oregon State University for her research on “Consumer attitude and acceptance toward edible packaging for various food items.”

Graduate Research Video Competition (sponsored by Campden BRI). Jenna Fryer from Oregon State University won for her research on “Sipping Smoke – What is the sensory impact of wildfires on wine?”

Those receiving honorable mention were Annegret Jannasch from the University of Arkansas for “Purple Rice – A novel clean-label food ingredient?” and Audrey Lidgard from Utah State University for “Migration, Not Just for Birds.”

Excellence in Leadership Award. Anto Charles, North Dakota State University (Graduate) and Wanxin (Maggie) Xue, University of Guelph (Undergraduate)

Chapter of the Year: Louisiana State University

In addition, Rutgers University received the Prepare the Future Award and the University of Georgia received the Celebrate the Community Award.