On a wet Thursday afternoon on the 12th of Ju
ne, in the beautiful surroundings of Ulster University Coleraine, two final year students and their supporters mingled nervously with IFST and UU faculty members. Putting them more at ease, IFST NI Chair Dr Maria Mulhern welcomed everyone and introduced Dr. Anna Monaghan, Business Development Executive at Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association (NIFDA) and current Secretary of the IFST NI Branch, thanking the NIFDA Trust for sponsoring the event. Anna detailed from her personal experience the considerable benefits of being an IFST member and provided an overview to IFST membership.
The judges, Professor Michael Walker from QUB, Dr. David McCleery from AFBI and Ms. Pamela Magee from Pilgrim’s Europe provided a brief introduction and overview of their respective backgrounds.
Maria then introduced, each of the finalists, shortlisted from the applications received for the competition.
Gemma Walker (Cafre) described her work on using edible insects in food products. Gemma used chocolate chip muffins and cricket powder to undertake her research presenting her findings clearly. Gemma then faced a series of questions from the judging panel, providing scientifically robust answers.
Our second finalist Aimee McAuliffe (UU) presented on her data on riboflavin in the maintenance of haemoglobin during pregnancy. Aimee presented clear findings, based on a larger ongoing study , Optipreg. Like Gemma, Aimee then faced a series of questions by the judges, which we were well answered.
The judging panel faced a daunting task, given the high standard of both finalists. After deliberation, Pamela announced Gemma and Aimee as joint winners, so good was the quality of the research and presentations. The prizes were £500 for first place (with an additional £500 if employed within a food business within a year). A year’s membership of IFST and IFST memorabilia were also awarded to both the finalists. Pamela commended all the finalists, and their supervisors, for the clarity of rationale for their work, appropriate methods, the high calibre of their data analysis, including statistical significance testing, and the compelling delivery of their presentations. In concluding the formal proceedings Maria Mulhern thanked the judging panel and all the participants, noting that the event demonstrated that the future of the food industry is in exceptionally capable hands,
The evening concluded with presentations of certificates, photographs, and amiable networking.