One of the standout course offerings of the Department of Food Science is a one-credit Dairy Products Evaluation class, taught by Beth Button – Teaching, Learning & Technology Specialist.

The class puts a focus on becoming familiar with dairy notes within a variety of categories, such as dairy beverages, fermented dairy, ice cream, cheeses, butter, and more. With the increasing varieties and specificities of these products on the market, students learn to become familiar with how they should taste. The class also covers carious aspects of the industry, such as the vocabulary and markets of dairy, further preparing students and developing their skills for their future careers in food science. Additionally, there is time at the end of the semester for students to learn about an area in food that interests them, allowing students to follow their curiosities in developing their knowledge.

The course provides skills which are valuable to bring into any food science career, whether within or outside of dairy. As Beth Button said, “We’ve heard feedback from many industries within the dairy world, as well as the food science world, that they want people like us to know how to taste food.”

Through developing students’ skills in relation to both sensory and industry knowledge, they are able to bring these to thrive into their future careers. Further, the class does not only focus on dairy products, but extends the curriculum to include non-dairy alternatives. Particularly in the fluid milk category of the course, since 30% of that market has become non-dairy products, students learn about these along with cow milk in order to get a comprehensive education on the industry. UW-Madison also participates in the Collegiate Dairy Products Evaluation Contest, an opportunity often taken by students in the course, which sends a new group every year to participate. The team made it to nationals last year, and they hope to compete at that level again this year and beyond.

The class is offered every fall as Food Science 375, and since there are no requisites, any interested student may sign up to develop their skills in the area.

Contact: Beth Button – Teaching, Learning & Technology Specialist

Phone: 608-265-2338

Email: button@wisc.edu

One of the most valuable aspects of our undergraduate program is the opportunity to gain paid work experience through summer internships. There is the obvious benefit of professional development through applications of knowledge.

In addition, students share unexpected experiences related to current economic, political and social events. Sophia Post successfully completed a summer internship in Chicago last summer and shares some of the unique aspects of learning along the way.

For what company did you intern and what was the nature of your work?

I worked for Kraft-Heinz in Chicago last summer as a Regulatory, Labeling and Compliance Intern. The internship was a 10-week program in which every intern (R&D, Operations, Marketing, Finance, Supply Chain, and Human Resources) was matched with a project. The projects were created by managers across the country and focused on specific and imminent issues. My project fell in the food safety and regulation space, which was daring to me at the beginning, coming from a more R&D background, but by the end of the internship I was thankful for the new perspective.

How did change in federal food policy influence your work at Kraft-Heinz?

In April of 2021, the FASTER Act was signed into law and sesame was added to the list of big allergens, now called the “Big 9”. Food companies had until January 1st of 2023 to comply with the change, and thus my project was born.
I became an expert on the FASTER Act and food allergen labeling within Kraft-Heinz. I worked within food regulation, and cross functionally with the legal team, procurement, and R&D to ensure the allergen labeling of all Kraft-Heinz products was compliant with the FASTER Act. It was especially challenging in such a large company to ensure sesame was properly recorded throughout the product lifecycle from raw material to finished good. It was also essential to communicate with every plant to ensure sesame was recognized as a BIG allergen in which there are specific protocols to prevent cross contamination such as sanitization and cleaning.

What did you learn or what surprised you about this change in federal policy and its impact on your work?

I learned that although adding one allergy to the recognized list of big allergens does not seem like a large adjustment, to food companies even the smallest alteration takes an extremely large amount of work to implement down the production line. I also learned how important accurate and organized records are especially for food safety and regulation. These documents can easily get lost within a company as employees move to different positions or out of the company entirely. Finally, I learned how important it is for food companies to be proactive and agile when it comes to food regulation. If a new big allergen can be added roughly 20 years later, it’s possible and probable that eventually the cycle will repeat, and another allergen will be added as well. It is vital that food companies learn from the past and become more efficient with legal alterations. The second part of my project focused and the rise of pea protein in food products and how pea protein has the potential to be the next big allergen. With this knowledge I suggested many ways I felt the company could be more efficient with recording allergens and could better prepare themselves for the addition of pea protein as another big allergen.

Is there anything else you care to share about your internship experience?

I was very thankful for the experience I gained in food safety and regulation. I would suggest to anyone thinking of working in food production such as R&D, marketing, procurement, finance, supply chain, etc to learn about or spend some time in food safety and regulation. It is not glamourous and often overlooked, but it truly is the backbone of food production.

The Department of Food Science would like to welcome our new Graduate Program Coordinator, Emily Merlin! Emily is from Madison and received her degree in Applied Science – Marketing from Madison College. She has a Wisconsin Seal of Biliteracy in English and Spanish, and enjoys reading, drawing, playing video games, and going on walks!

Some other fun facts about Emily are that she writes in cursive and has two cats which both have three legs! Welcome Emily!

The Department of Food Science also welcomes our new External Communications Intern, Sydney Steidl! Sydney joined the department during the Summer of 2022. Sydney is from Madison and is a second semester freshman majoring in Journalism and Political Science.

Some extracurricular activities Sydney is involved with: The Dairy Cardinal, Camp Kesem and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Sydney’s hobbies includes reading and playing tennis. Welcome Sydney!