Food Science Competition

Last year I went to state Career Development Events to compete in food science. I remember studying for the test portion of the competition and going over the product development. My job for product development was to pick the ingredients that follow the health requirements and make a nutrition facts label.

During the contest we started by listening to a presentation about food science and future careers in the industry. We learned about food science in real life and how it connects to the contest. After the presentation we started our 50-question, multiple-choice test. After the test we answered five math questions that related to food science. The next part of the competition is aroma which is where you have a cotton ball with a liquid smell added to it and you have to identify the smell. For me this part is the hardest in the competition because I do not have a good sense of smell. The next part is food triangle tests which is my favorite part. This is where you get three food items that are the same except for one that is a little different. For example it could be two salted crackers and one unsalted and you have to find the food item that doesn’t fit. It is my favorite part because you get to eat the food. You also have to answer letters which is customer complaints and you have to identify whether they are safety or quality and then if it is physical, biological, or chemical.

At the end of the competition the top eight teams go to product development. We made it to product development and we had to make a trail mix for kids. We ended the contest in second place so we sadly didn’t get to go to nationals but we plan on trying to go this next year.