Berthiaume Center’s Food Science Challenge Inspires New Products and Technology

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From fermented nuts and a plant-based nutrition bar aimed at women to new techniques for cleaning fresh produce and making cold brew, the Food Science and Technology: Innovate for Tomorrow Challenge attracted a range of creative ideas that made the inaugural contest a “great success through incredible collaboration,” says Lili He, food science department head and professor.

The challenge was part of the Berthiaume Center for Entrepreneurship’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Academy, which includes annual competitions designed to help students assess and strategize their innovative projects. The contests are open to current UMass students and graduates from the last decade.

The Food Science and Technology: Innovate for Tomorrow Challenge, co-hosted by UMass Dining, invited ideas for food science-related products and technology. The contest received 32 applications involving some 50 students from a range of academic programs – more than half came from the Department of Food Science, with the remaining entries submitted by students representing other College of Natural Science (CNS) departments or other colleges, including the Isenberg School of Management, College of Engineering, College of Information and Computer Sciences (CICS) and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS).

Food product development and food-as-medicine products made up more than half of the ideas. Food technology was the third most popular category, followed by food packaging and novel foods for sustainability.

About 55% of the student innovators were undergrads, 40% were current graduate students and 5% were alumni. The projects were judged by a team of external experts, including: Charles D’Amour, executive chairman of Big Y Supermarkets; Noel Anderson, CNS Advisory Board member; Minqi Wang, doctoral alumna and founder and CEO of Ideation Foods; and Lindsey Christman, senior scientist at Ocean Spray. 

The winners of the Food Science and Technology: Innovate for Tomorrow Challenge and their projects were:

• Yuzhen Zhang, a food science doctoral candidate, took the top award in the advanced phase and a $1,000 prize for her Hertz Innovative Technology, which offers a smartphone solution to test the cleanliness of surfaces. 
   
• Haknyeong Hong, a food science doctoral candidate, was one of two runners-up in the advanced phase category and received a $500 prize for her sustainable foodtech solution called Vivabble – a microbubble technique to clean fresh produce.
   
• Alexander Ayanian, a senior in the Isenberg School of Management and the Stockbridge School of Agriculture, was the other runner-up and also received a $500 prize for his Supreme Microgreens, designed to bring unique market value to this nutrition-rich produce. 
   
• Aminata Toure, a sophomore Commonwealth Honors College, CNS and SBS student, and her team, which included food science undergraduates Yurelin Castillo and Divine Eche, won the top award in the ideation phase and a $500 prize for their Gaia Bars, a nutritious snack with ingredients aimed at easing menstrual pain and PMS symptoms. 
   
• Weiwin Yan, a food science doctoral student, was a runner-up in the ideation category and received a $250 prize for his project, Grew Coffee, which employs an innovative technique to make cold brew.
   
• Nadia Yammoul, a food science doctoral candidate, was also a runner-up in the ideation category and received a $250 prize for FermeNuts, a fermented nuts product with unique sensory and health benefits.