The elegance of F2OCUS 2023 included 8 students, noted with Andrea Myers, food science program technician and product development manager. In the photo, Alyssa Finocchiaro, back left; Myers; Gracie Howard; Kennedy Noel; Nicholas Stall, left forward; Alex Rosales; Alex Lee; Aidan Douglas; and Keith Andzrej Monsalud, center forward.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A program from the University of Arkansas Division of Agricultural Systems opens eyes to career opportunities in food science.
The Future of Food: Opportunities and Careers for College Students (F2OCUS Scholarship Program) recently completed its consultation for time being to develop the safety, quality, and safety of the food supply for undergraduate students in complementary degree systems such as biology, chemistry, and agricultural studies.
“What’s attractive about this program is how it gives academics such a broad view of what the food industry has to offer from a professional perspective,” said program co-director Jennifer Acuff, an assistant professor of microbiology and food protection at Arkansas. The purpose is to show them that there are a million opportunities and that any interest you have can be related to the food industry in some way.
The experiment station is the arm of the Division of Agricultural Systems at the University of Arkansas.
F2OCUS is led by Kristen Gibson, professor of food protection and microbiology and director of the experimental station’s Center for Food Safety. Each consultation lasts 10 weeks and the program is funded through a five-year, $730,000 grant from the U. S. Department of Agriculture. U. S. National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Other co-directors come in with Jamie Baum, associate professor of nutrition at the experimental station, and Jill Rucker, associate professor of agricultural education, communication and generation at the University of Arkansas’ Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. Accommodation and food are provided to F2OCUS fellows, as well as a $5,000 stipend and assistance.
It was decided that eight fellows would participate in clinical studies with the Division of the College of Agriculture and expand team building and leadership skills. They also gained Washington County communications training with the cooperative extension service. The Extension Service is the advocacy arm of the Agriculture Division.
The 2023 F2OCUS fellows were:
“We had a more varied cohort this year that represents what the program is looking to do,” Gibson said. “We also needed to expand our industry tours, to be more varied in the food industry than in Fayetteville and the area. “
Gibson said the new industry visits for this year’s fellows come with those from Newly Weds Foods and Conagra Brands. They also visit Simmons Foods and Tyson Foods for educational programs.
“Industry tours allow us to show how their studies are implemented and they can see what the multidisciplinary task is like in the food industry,” Acuff said.
Other F2OCUS experiments included the ExCEL course at the Board. Vines Arkansas 4-H Center in Little Rock, which offers a tree and zip line course, as well as visits to the Tyson Discovery Center and the annual Blackberry Field Day at the Fruit Research Station. near Clarksville.
In addition to the 4 task directors, the program includes 12 participating mentors with extensive experience selected to assist with the fellowship program. Industry professionals, many of whom are University of Arkansas graduates and adjunct members of the university, have also participated in the scholarship program.
Gibson connects academics with a mentor from studies based on their interests, such as food chemistry, food engineering and food safety. For example, Acuff and Tomi Obe, an assistant professor of poultry science with a specialization in poultry processing and food microbiology, served as mentors for those who expressed interest in food safety.
“Their studios are very focused on what they’re interested in, but as they tour the industry and develop products, they’re exposed to all of that,” Gibson said. “They gain advantages from a safe point of exposure to the other disciplines that make up food science as a whole. “
As part of the program, students will have to work in groups to develop a baked food product that meets the express criteria for nutrition and ingredients.
Andrea Myers, program technician in the Department of Food Science, led the 8 fellows in a product progression festival with two teams. A team developed the “Bagel Buddy”, a package of 4 bagel balls with cranberry and lemon cream cheese sauce. At the time the team had “smart cakes,” they called them “Beginnings,” which were an Asian-inspired quiche-like cake, Myers explained.
Students had up to seven visits to the kitchen to expand and adjust their products. At the end of the competition, they presented their products to 3 judges from the product progression industry. Myers said after judging that there was only a four-point difference between the two teams.
Ali Ubeyitogullari, an assistant professor of food engineering, also worked with Rosales to combine porridge from carrots and other vegetables to 3D print a food product. They presented a poster at the end of the scholarship session.
Gibson said the program aims to rent academics who are from establishments that provide food science systems and who are from Arkansas.
“It makes a big difference when everyone comes from somewhere else and lives together,” Gibson said. “They were able to build a cohort together, and you might see that they enjoyed being together. “
Gibson said one of the F2OCUS fellows is making plans to move into the food science program, and another fellow is forced to look for a task in the food industry because “he realized he had a skill set that would be helpful,” Gibson said.
Several of the academics learned how their interests in engineering, nutrition and biology can lead them to careers in food science, Acuff noted.
“We had a smart group, a varied group, coming from all walks of life,” Gibson said.
The F2OCUS program is supported by USDA-NIFA grant number 2022-68018-36612.
For more information on the Division of Agriculture’s research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: aaes. uada. edu. Follow us on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. For more information about the Division of Agriculture, uada. edu. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk For more information about outreach systems in Arkansas, contact your local cooperative extension agent or visit www. uaex. uada. edu.
About the Division of Agriculture: The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture System project is for agriculture, communities and families by linking reliable studies with the adoption of the most productive practices. Through the Agricultural Experimentation Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Agriculture Division conducts studies and extension work within the framework of the country’s long-standing land concession education formula. The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities on the University of Arkansas formula. It has offices in all 75 Arkansas counties and five formula campuses. The Division of the Agricultural System at the University of Arkansas provides all of its formulas and extension and study facilities regardless of race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital status. or veteran status, genetic information, or other legally protected status, and is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer.
The National Institutes of Health award will go to researchers at the University of Arkansas who are reading how exercise can mitigate tissue decline as a result of aging.
You don’t want the military’s accuracy and field to succeed in an online degree program, but having them isn’t detrimental either, Goines found. He earned his master’s degree in May.
Assistant Professor Adrienne Callander and 3 colleagues read about the creation, expansion, and evolution of the local nonprofit Fayetteville Roots.
Sallie Hendrix of Paragould and William Rowe of Conway return as drum majors, while Juan Ramos of Rogers and Noah Boggs Riley of Fayetteville were cast for the first time.
Eminent Professor Samir El-Ghazaly will lead efforts to expand a complex broadband antenna for mesh communication networks.