Fifteen minutes. That’s how much time students from N.C. A&T State University and N.C. State University had to come up with a winning granola recipe at the Food Science Olympics, held Sept. 17 at the University Farm Pavilion.
Students from both universities were randomly assigned to five-member teams for the competition, which is part of the annual Dogwood Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Expo.
“We gave them some challenges for which they needed to come up with a solution, such as a low-sodium granola bar, low sugar granola bar, and the different textures,” said Roberta Claro da Silva, Ph.D., associate professor of food and nutritional science in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.
Silva became president of Dogwood IFT, which includes North Carolina, at the conclusion of the Expo. She is the first professor from an Historically Black College and University to serve as president.
There were other challenges as well: Tight cooking facilities in the University Farm Pavilion’s kitchen – 25 people are a lot of cooks in one kitchen; one oven shared by all; and a limited selection of ingredients. Competitors often had to make last-minute substitutions.
Nine teams pitched their recipes to two representatives from PepsiCo, which sponsored the recipe challenge. They chose five teams for the competition and gave them 1-1/2 hours to create their granola bars .
Shahriyar Valizadeh, a graduate student studying food and nutritional sciences, called the exercise amazing.
“It was about learning how to live as a group, especially from other universities, and getting an opportunity to know each other and networking,” Valizadeh said. “We acquire knowledge from each other.”
The top team won a $500 prize, while second and third place teams got $250 each. Forty-five students participated in the event, which was open to all food and nutritional sciences students.
“It will give them the possibility to network and build some skills in communication and (handling) stress, because it will be stressful for them,” Silva said prior to the competition.
The Expo continued in the afternoon at the Sheraton Greensboro Hotel at Four Seasons, with free seminars about alternative proteins. About 70 industry representatives registered to attend the Expo, which was free and open to the public.
A&T’s food and nutritional sciences program is in its third year of accreditation by the IFT and will be fully accredited after five years, Silva said. She has served on the Dogwood ITF board since 2022.
The presidency will help her raise A&T’s profile within the national organization and the industry as a whole, and will also help her increase student involvement, Silva said. This is the first year A&T students obtained travel scholarships to attend the national IFT Expo in Chicago.
“My main goal is to bring industry and students together and create more participation, and more opportunities, for them,” she said. “It’s a chance for them to be more connected with the industry and the real world.”
