Hello everyone!

As part of my bachelor's thesis at Fontys University of Applied Sciences in Venlo, the Netherlands, I'm conducting market research at Wageningen University & Research (WUR).

The survey aims to better understand the needs, challenges and search behaviour of current and potential clients in post-harvest and supply-chain activities, with a focus on Europe. If you work in post-harvest, supply-chain management, horticulture or related fields, I'd really appreciate your participation!

⏱️ Duration: Approximately 5 minutes

🔗 Survey link: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/mezqfM19vd?lang=en-GB

Your input will support recommendations on how WUR can better present its expertise and services to relevant organisations.

Thank you, I appreciate your time and support!

Not much more than the title. I was just curious about what made you choose this industry. Maybe the enormous scale of things? Maybe the importance of this basic need? Maybe something related to recent innovation happening in this sector, as well as the numerous challenges that is facing because of climate change?

Let me know !

Hello!

I’m currently going through a major life shift and was looking for some advice on finding food science careers (preferably in flavors) in the SF Bay Area/East bay.

I’m aware that most flavor houses are centered in the east coast, Chicago, and SoCal. Unfortunately, moving to these locations isn’t an option for me. Ideally I’d really like to stay in this industry, but am willing to make a career shift if necessary.

I currently have close to 4 years of flavor experience as a flavor technologist. My work primarily involves flavor development, matching, and formulation, with most of my experience focused on sweet profiles. I’m fairly new to this industry and am continuing to expand my technical skills and work towards becoming certified.

I’d really appreciate any advice you have on what job boards, recruiters, companies, or networking strategies have been most effective for finding opportunities in this industry?

OR

Is it generally better to specialize in flavor development and work toward becoming a flavorist, or broaden my experience into other technical roles?

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you everyone!

Hi all! I'm building a food pairing app called PAIR, and I've been reading a lot about why some odd combinations work. I made a short video about one of the most famous ones, white chocolate and caviar, and I'd love your take on it. The video is on instagram: pair.flavor. I added a link to the web app but you can also find the app on the app store!

The video covers the basics. Your tongue only picks up five tastes, and most of what we think of as flavor comes from volatile compounds reaching your nose from the back of your mouth. A tomato gives off something like 400 of them, but only a couple of dozen are strong enough to actually smell. I also used damascenone as an example, since it shows up in both rose and apple.

I know the hypothesis isn't the whole story. The 2011 flavor network study found that many East Asian cuisines tend to avoid pairing ingredients that share compounds. So in the app I weigh aroma alongside taste balance and how often cooks already put two ingredients together.

If anything in the video is wrong or oversimplified, please tell me. I'd much rather fix it than spread a myth.

And I'm curious: what's the strangest pairing you've tried that actually worked?

Food often tells its story through smell, but the human nose does not always catch the warning signs. Each year, millions of people in the United States fall ill from foodborne bacteria that grow in spoiled or undercooked meals. A new device developed at the University of California, Berkeley, aims to change that by detecting scents with far greater accuracy and consistency.

Researchers have created an “electronic nose,” a small sensor system that can identify food freshness and even detect allergens. The technology combines a network of gas sensors with machine learning to recognize the chemical signals released by different foods.

The result is a system that can detect spoilage earlier than a person might notice and identify substances that could trigger dangerous allergic reactions.

Many people rely on sight and smell to judge whether food is safe. These methods can work, but they are not always reliable. Some harmful bacteria do not produce strong odors, and subtle changes can go unnoticed.

Hi! I'm 21 with an AAS in Culinary Arts. I'm looking to go back to school in the hopes of gaining more education that can push me further into the food production/food science industry space. The problem is that there are no universities in my area that offer a food science program. They do, however, offer a bachelor's in Biochemistry or a bachelor's in Chemical Engineering. Wondering which one would be more worth it to pursue, if either? I love fermentation and I hear biochem can be good for that but I also have been hearing that chemical engineering is better for food science as a whole. Thoughts?

thoughts ? what is this in my coffee

​

Okay so I had this random thought today.

If I don't poop for one day and then eat the next day, will I feel full faster compared to if I had pooped? 😭

I mean, technically there's already stuff occupying space inside your intestines, right? So shouldn't that leave less space for new food?

Then I started wondering what actually happens if someone doesn't poop for MANY days. Can they actually die from it? Has that happened to people?

And then another question popped into my head.

What if someone consumes ONLY liquids for many days? Will they eventually stop pooping because there's no solid food going in, or will the body keep producing waste anyway?

At this point I went down a whole rabbit hole about digestion, stool volume and how the body processes food.

AND THEN MY BRAIN DID ITS THING 💀

What if we could make a completely liquid meal that contains everything the body needs — protein, carbs, fats, vitamins, minerals, everything — while producing as little waste as reasonably possible without compromising gut health?

Basically, less time cooking, less time eating, potentially less time in the bathroom, and more time for literally anything else.

I know complete meal replacement drinks already exist, so I'm not claiming I invented liquid food lmao. But has anyone seriously researched optimizing nutrition while minimizing waste production?

Is there a scientific limit to how much waste the body can produce on a nutritionally complete diet? Could this be optimized further?

Or am I just overthinking basic biology and need to touch grass? 😭

Genuinely curious to hear what people think.

(Structures the paragraph using AI)

Is this largely a problem of misinformation and fear mongering about ingredients and "seed oils" spreading on social media? Or is it more complex than that?

I have tried to make ice cream with avocados. Prior to freezing, the mixture is sweet and pleasant. After freezing and processing, the color is the green, the texture is smooth, but there is a bitter aftertaste.

From perusing Reddit and Google, it looks like this is a common issue but I have not come across a clear reason why.

Food scientists - can you please explain why this may be the case?

One theory I had read was that the fat in avocado is being oxidized which leads to bitterness. If the mixture is in the freezer, however, would that not prevent oxidation?
Also, if this oxidation is due to enzymes in the avocado, would squeezing a citrus fruit prevent the bitterness? If that could help, would citrus cause new problems in making dairy-based ice creams (i.e., curdling milk)?

Potato protein could help give gluten-free meat alternatives a firmer bite, but the same formulation brings a flavor problem. Combined with fava bean protein, it formed a strong network during extrusion processing. Electronic taste measurements, however, indicated greater bitterness and astringency than the formulation containing wheat gluten.

The findings come from University of Greenwich and Heriot-Watt University researchers writing in Food Hydrocolloids. Their experiments tested whether potato protein could provide structure without relying on gluten’s distinctive elastic behavior. The results support that possibility, while showing that stronger material does not automatically mean a better-tasting finished food.

The work concerns concentrated protein ingredients, rather than mixing ordinary potatoes and beans into a recipe. Researchers compared precisely formulated samples under the same processing conditions and measured their physical and chemical properties. They did not establish whether consumers would prefer the potato formulation or mistake it for meat.

Hello! I'm looking to work with a food scientist that specializes in soy products to recreate a commercially available soymilk for my food startup. If anyone has leads or could offer their expertise in the field, please reach out! Thank you!

Hello! I am currently studying a Technical degree in culinary management but honestly I don't want to work in the hospitality industry ( I live in Spain right now) I'm thinking of persueing a degree to become a food scientist.

What are the main things you enjoy?

What are things I should know before starting the degree?

How is the job market at the moment ? and how is AI affecting the industry?

I received and accepted an offer for an internship for next summer. Now I was offered another one for interviews completed before the first offer. I would prefer this job. What are your thoughts on reneging on the first offer?

Hi everyone!

I’m a fourth-year university student studying Food Engineering, and I’m looking for advice on how to rebuild my knowledge from the basics.

To be honest, I didn’t build a strong foundation during my earlier university years, and now I feel like I have many gaps in my knowledge. I want to take learning seriously and understand my major properly, but I’m struggling to find good learning resources.

My biggest problem is finding resources that explain things clearly.

I’ve tried searching on YouTube and the internet, but many videos are too short, too fast, or only explain the basics without showing how or why things happen. I learn much better when explanations include animations, diagrams, pictures, real-life examples, and step-by-step explanations of processes.

My English is also limited (around A2–B1), so resources with very advanced English or lots of difficult terminology are hard for me to follow. I need beginner-friendly explanations that start from the ground up.

At university, I have subjects such as:

• General Chemistry and Biology
• Introduction to Food Engineering
• Food Chemistry and Food Biochemistry
• Food Microbiology
• Technical and Chemical Quality Control of Food Products
• Refrigeration Technology of Food Products
• Food Biotechnology
• Fruit and Vegetable Processing Technology I prefer visual explanations, animations, and practical examples. If you were in my position, what would you study first, and which resources would you recommend? I would really appreciate any advice. Thank you!.

Hi everyone,
I recently got selected at a food manufacturing company in India. I initially contacted the company by email after learning about their products and business, and they invited me for an interview.
During my discussion with the founder, I was told that my 45-day Food Safety Induction Training Program was one of the reasons they considered me for the role.
The responsibilities explained to me during interview include:
Checking kitchen hygiene, staff personal hygiene, hairnets, gloves, utensils, and cleanliness, temperature.
Maintaining inspection records and reports in Excel.
Conducting internal food safety audits.
Providing weekly food safety training to staff.
Monitoring whether food safety and hygiene procedures are being followed.
However, my exact job title and complete responsibilities have not yet been confirmed by HR.
I’d love to hear from people who currently work in food manufacturing, Food Safety, QA/QC, or food safety auditing.
What job title usually covers these responsibilities?
What does a typical working day look like in this kind of role?
What technical knowledge and practical skills should I revise before joining?
How are internal audits, staff training, and documentation usually handled?
Will this experience be useful for long-term career growth in Food Safety or Quality Assurance?
What questions should I ask HR before accepting the offer and relocating?
I’m looking forward to learning from people with real industry experience. Any practical advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Happy to answer any questions I have confident answers for! My responses will be aligned to ANZ standards and practices.

Hi everyone,

I’m an international student from India with a BSc (Hons) in Agriculture, and I have received an unconditional offer for the MSc Food Science and Nutrition at Harper Adams University in the UK.

One of my concerns is that the course does not appear to be accredited by the Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST). I understand that IFST accreditation may provide professional recognition, but I’m unsure how much difference it actually makes when applying for jobs.

I’m particularly interested in building a career in the UK food industry, potentially in food safety and quality assurance, food technology, product development, or R&D.

I would really appreciate honest advice on the following:

1. How important is IFST accreditation? Do UK employers actively look for it when recruiting food science graduates, or is the university and degree title generally sufficient?

2. Will the lack of accreditation put me at a disadvantage? Could it affect graduate recruitment, professional recognition, or progression towards professional registration with IFST?

3. What about a newly introduced course? Since this MSc appears to be relatively new, should I be concerned about its industry connections, practical training, employer recognition, or graduate outcomes?

4. How does Harper Adams compare with other universities? Would you consider this degree competitive against established courses such as MSc Agri-Food Technology at the University of Lincoln or other UK food science master's programmes?

5. What are the realistic employment prospects for an international graduate? Would this qualification be sufficient for entry-level roles in QA/QC, food safety, food technology, or product development, considering the challenges of securing UK sponsorship?

6. Would you choose a non-IFST-accredited master's if you had other options? If you were in my position, would you proceed with Harper Adams or prioritise an established, IFST-accredited programme?

I’m not looking for general university rankings or promotional advice. I would particularly value responses from UK food industry professionals, hiring managers, food science graduates, and anyone familiar with IFST accreditation.

Thank you!

There is a thing in lots of food science studies called 'trained panelists': subjects who were trained to recognize food flavors, aromas, and ingredients in general, right? Is this the way for you to recognize ingredients, flavors and aromas?: practice? How are they trained exactly and how can I replicate that?

[Moreover, if one wants to learn the words to describe flavors and aromas (having the language is crucial) where does he search? For example I found in google scholar lexicons iirc for dairy products, cultivars of apples, peaches, sausages etc. If google scholar is insufficient where else should I go? These are called sensory evaluation studies right?]

^{(There are multiple flairs which fit this question; I shall put Flavor Science but 'Sensory Analysis', 'Food Analysis', 'Research and Development' fit as well, the last one fits because R&D studies seem to me to be Sensory Analysis studies.})

What are the chances for someone who just completed masters in food science and nutrition in a median level university in UK?