As summer ends and the Department of Food Science and Technology eagerly awaits the start of the Fall 2024 semester, I want to extend my welcome and enthusiasm for the 2024-25 academic year. We look forward to welcoming new and existing students back to the department and of course all the energy that the Fall semester brings for students, staff, and faculty.
In April, the department held the annual student awards ceremony and the J.G. Woodroof lecture. The Woodroof lecture was selected as one of the Provosts’ signature lectures and turned out to be an excellent opportunity for engagement among the FST Department with retirees, alumni and friends in the area. Thanks to our donors which include alumni and associations across Georgia and beyond, we were able to recognize 36 students for various awards.
I would also like to extend my gratitude to all the hard work our recent student graduates have put in and congratulate them on their accomplishments while at our department.
The past year was filled with many other exciting events such as the CAES Dean’s Signature Event - Flavor of Georgia Contest, which could not have happened without the help of student and staff volunteers. We also celebrated the retirement of Dr. Yen-Con Hung, whose 38 years of dedication to our department is truly inspiring. Last October, the department assisted in hosting the first annual Alumni Homecoming Tailgate with the UGA Food Science Club, an exciting event we are looking forward to continuing this year and in the future.
This summer, our department hosted an Alumni Social at the annual Institute of Food Technologists conference again and had the privilege of witnessing our students’ successes at IFT FIRST 2024 in Chicago and the International Association for Food Protection conference in Long Beach, California.
As we begin this school year, I would encourage you all to stay connected with UGA Food Science and Technology. We are very appreciative of all the support that we receive from you all and for the commitment to our department.
“Use by,” “Sell by” and “Best by” dates on food packaging can be helpful indicators of how long a consumer can store a food item before eating, but often these dates lead to high quantities of wasted food. About one-fifth of food produced for human consumption is discarded before it can be eaten, equating to 1 billion meals a day and contributing to global food insecurity.
Safe recipes for canning chicken and other meat stocks are plentiful, but when it comes to seafood, the options are limited. Currently there are no research-based, validated recipes for safely canning seafood broth at home, only recipes developed for taste and flavor. A team of University of Georgia scientists are conducting an exploratory study they hope will lead to validated seafood broth recipes for home canners.
With over 30 years of research at the University of Georgia, renowned College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences food scientist Casimir Akoh was named an inaugural Highly Ranked Scholar by ScholarGPS earlier this year. Placing in the top 0.05% of all scholars worldwide, Akoh earned the honor through his work's high impact, his prolific publication record and the outstanding quality of his academic contributions.
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