IFT and Tate & Lyle Food Systems Launch New Student Competition

01 Oct 2014 --- The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) and Tate & Lyle Food Systems have announced a new student competition that will foster student innovation and scientific exploration of global food science issues. This new partnership focuses on the need for talented food scientists to meet future global demands for safe, nutritious and affordable food.

“This generation of food scientists will need to develop new and innovative ways to address consumer demand for a variety of food products tailored to specific tastes and needs,” said IFT President Mary Ellen Camire, PhD, CFS. “The IFT Global Student Innovation Challenge seeks to foster creative solutions that are also sustainable and practical.”

Through the “IFT Global Student Innovation Challenge,” sponsored by Tate & Lyle Food Systems, students from around the world (MS, PhD or global equivalent) will leverage their food science and technology knowledge to participate in a competition focusing on research and development challenges to creating products that meet marketplace needs.

For the inaugural competition, the students will design an innovative dairy dessert applying a food stabilizer system (combination of more than one single ingredient in a dry blend) to deliver exciting new textures. Their dessert concepts will be designed for widespread commercial distribution, taking into account cost and availability of raw materials. Students will be asked to focus on a specific consumer market and provide a business rationale for their product. Four students will be selected as finalists and will receive a $3,000 travel stipend to attend IFT15 in Chicago in July 2015. The winning student will receive a plaque and a trip to visit one of Tate & Lyle’s Global Innovation Centers.

“As innovation in food applications is an integral part of Tate & Lyle Food Systems, we recognize that our continued success depends on the support of future new professionals,” said Tate & Lyle’s Senior Vice President Global Applications Luis Fernandez, CFS. “Our company is delighted to partner with IFT as a global organization committed to feeding the minds that feed the world.”