Welcome to the My Food Job Rocks Podcast with me, Adam Yee. This is episode 5. We’re going to try something a little bit different this time, I think every 5 or so episodes, I really want to do a deep info session on certain things people don’t know about the food industry. In this episode, I want to talk about what is Food Science, and really, how to become a food scientist. I hope to use this episode to tell all of my friends what the heck I do. Moving to Phoenix where I absolutely knew no one, I’ve met a lot of new people and in most situations, I’ve had to say what I do for a living. I’ve tried things like my actual vague job title, when I first moved to phoenix this was: food processing technologist! What the heck was that? Then I changed to: “I work with food” but I’ve felt most comfortable saying what I’ve studied: I’m a food scientist. In most situations in my life, whenever I tell someone I’m a food scientist, they give me some strange look and tell me what the heck that is. I’m sure my colleagues will nod in agreement that this has happened once in their life. I hope in this episode, to really bring a brief introduction on what is Food Science and how you can remember this profession. Key takeaways:

The definition of Food Science, and what they do
Where you can study food science
The difference between Food Science and Nutrition

What We Talk About: Google’s definition of Food Science Institute of Food Technologist Sodium Benzoate in Soda Ethlyene Splenda Stevia Bacon Soda Chicory Root Fiber Flaming hot Cheetos EXO Cricket Protein Pea Milk (Ripple) Chapman University Food Science Accredited Food Science University Chipotle E.Coli Freeze Drying Extrusion American Institute of Baking Food Science vs Nutrition The next sewage blockage of 2016 (read the reviews) Download Episode Official Transcript: If you google “Food Science”, the institute of Food Technologist writes up this definition: Food science is the study of the physical, biological, and chemical makeup of food; and the concepts underlying food processing. Food technology is the application of food science to the selection, preservation, processing, packaging, distribution, and use of safe food. What this means is that every single item of food or beverage you buy in a grocery store has been influenced by a food scientist. I find that this is honestly the best explanation of being a food scientist. The best way I can explain the benefits of a food scientist is that they try to make food last as long as possible without it causing harm to you or have it taste awful. We are indeed responsible for adding preservatives to soda but we are also responsible for finding a way NOT to use preservatives, while also lowering the calories. We are responsible for pumping ethylene oxide into apples to make them grow bigger but also responsible in making sure organic, non-GMO apples get to the grocery store safe and sound. We are the ones who make splenda and stevia palatable and how to make soda taste like either root beer or bacon We are the ones who make your protein bars have chicory root fiber and the ones who make your Cheetos puffy or spicy… or whatever you desire. We can create bars out of crickets or milk out of vegetables. We are the ones who make sure you don’t get sick drinking juice or prevent bugs in your bread And whether you love these things or hate these things, we’re just doing our job: to feed the world. And most likely, we will need your help accomplishing this. To become a food scientist, you can either get a job at a facility that deals with food or major in food science at a university. Most people who claim themselves to be food scientists have food science degrees. I would argue that if you are a food technologist, whatever your educational background may be, which I think is a confusing title in itself, you can call yourself a food scientist. Food Science is a niche profession and an even nichier major. I hope that’s a word… Most who join the major don’t really know what it is and quite a few people switch majors right away once they find out that you might end up in a factory your whole life. Hey, I’m not going to sugar coat it, there are jobs in food science that may require you to be in a factory and as much as we don’t imagine the glamour of being in a factory making granola bars all day, you sometimes realize just how valuable that job experience has been. Speaking from experience, I sort of enjoyed the factory life for a year or two and you actually make quiet a bit of money because of how much overtime you make if you’re into that. In fact, most of the time, the factory life will highly out pay a product development job but the tradeoff is a stable work/life balance. Besides the point, I really want to dive in about all aspects on food science. So here are three common questions I’ve gotten as a food scientist. I’m sure a lot of my friends who are also food scientists get this a lot. Question 1: Where can you study Food Science? Food Science is usually offered in land grant universities or universities that have a department of agriculture. There are exceptions to both situations. For example, the University of Arizona does not have a food science program even though it is a land-grant university and private institutions like Chapman University have started offering food science in their curriculum. For a list of accredited food science universities, please make sure you go to the show notes and check out the accredited food science programs available across the nation. Food Science is decently Chemistry based and a lot of the focus will be in Biochemistry because you are dealing with macromolecules such as carbohydrates, fats and proteins on the daily. The more you really understand basic chemistry, the more food science starts to make sense. Probably the second most important class to focus on is microbiology as the most important part in the industry is to understand how to prevent bad stuff like salmonella from growing. Pro tip, it’s mainly the amount of water and how much heat it takes to kill the things. Most curriculums offer a buffet of professions including: Quality Assurance, Food Safety, Sensory Analysis, Food Chemistry, Food Analysis, Food Law, Food Engineering, Packaging, Processing, and Product Development. Each one of these subjects act as kind of a job orientation and throughout your food career, you can kind of choose which subject you would like to follow. For example, you can choose to be Quality Assurance Manager, a Sensory Scientist, a Flavor Chemist, or a Product Developer. So some of these sound weird, right? Let me explain some examples of the subjects the universities teach: Quality Assurance: Where we make sure that the processes and ingredients we use to make food are in compliance with the government and with the consumer. You will learn what’s really needed in the food industry to make sure your food is consistent and edible. Food Safety: Basically how to react and prevent food outbreaks. We hear all the time on how E.coli or listeria can cause massive recalls. Food Safety classes are designed on how we can keep our food safe, which is the most important thing you have to think about when making food and distributing it to millions. Food outbreaks can literally kill a food company. Sensory Analysis: Literally a class where you eat things all day. Applying statistics, you will learn about how to find if results between two to ten things are significant or not. We use sensory analysis a lot in the food industry because people have to actually like the taste of the food that is being sold. We also use sensory to replace ingredients, for example, if this organic version can match the original version, or if this new flavor is better than this old one. Food Chemistry: Basically applying what you know about biochemistry and using it on food. In this class, you understand how things get thick when you add flour to soup, why you should coat biscuits with oil before packaging, and why some sugars are super sticky and why some are rock solid. Food Analysis: This is a cool class, but I’d say is very niche in the industry. Here, you understand how to use machines and chemicals to break down food to its basic components and measure its content. This is used extensively with nutrition labeling on your little nutrition facts on every food product. Food Law: A dry subject, but very important; Here you will learn about the FDA and US...