Food Science

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Food Science

• Divisions B and C

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• Andy Shaw
• Sr. Research Biochemist
• Merck Co.
• West Point, PA
• Ph.D. in Chemistry
• University of Illinois

• 7 years involvement with Science Olympiad
• 5 years State Event Supervisor
• 3 years Regional Event Supervisor
• 2005 National Event Supervisor
• 2006 Coaches Clinic Presenter

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Event Parameters

• Students must bring pencils and a caclulator.
  All other materials are supplied.
• A team of 2 students competes for 50 minutes to
  complete laboratory activities and written
  questions.
• Scoring 75 laboratory activities and 25
  written questions

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Rule Changes

• NONE
• (YEAH!!)

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General Safety Precautions

• Safety! Safety! Safety! Safety! Safety!
• Bring and wear lab coat/apron that cover the
  knees, OSHA approved indirectly vented splash
  goggles (over the eyes), pants/skirt that cover
  the legs to the ankles (no shorts)
• No open toed shoes
• No tasting chemicals

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Introduction to Food Science

• "Food Science is the discipline in which biology,
  physical sciences, and engineering are used to
  study the nature of foods, the causes of their
  deterioration, and the principles underlying food
  processing" (www.ift.org)
• The Science Olympiad Food Science Event is
  intended to test students knowledge of Food
  Chemistry

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What Students Should Know

• Students should have a solid understanding of the
  chemistry involved in foods
• Students should know the molecules in foods
  (proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates) their
  structures and properties
• Students should be able to measure mass, volume,
  temperature, and pH
• Students should be able to answer questions
  regarding labels on food products
• Students should have a good working knowledge of
  how foods are used by the body

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Laboratory Examples

• Titration Curves food items with different pH
  values are titrated and used to make titration
  curves.
• Test for Rancidity food items stored in
  different environments are tested to determine
  effects on rancidity.
• Starch Determination iodine is used to
  determine the presence/absence of starch.
• Lipid Determination visual and textural
  attributes are used to determine presence/absence
  of lipids
• Enzyme Chemistry sensory characteristics of
  food before and after contact with enzyme are
  determined
• Emulsion Formation and Stability the addition
  of different ingredients is used to determine
  their effect on emulsion stability
• Volume Determination determination of volume
  and densities of differing foods based on water
  displacement or measurements
• Molar Concentration students will be asked to
  make molar concentrations using Kool-Aid or other
  chemical
• Water Activity/Moisture Content this lab will
  have different food items set out and the
  students will be asked to rank according to water
  activity and moisture content
• pH of foods a meter and or pH paper will be
  used by students to determine acidity levels of
  different foods

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Laboratory Examples

• Enzymatic Browning of Apples different levels
  of varying acids are used to determine their
  effect on browning
• Evaporation/Relative Humidy Expt food items to
  study the effect of evaporation and relative
  humidity
• Iron Determination - different cereals and a
  magnet in order to determine the iron
  concentrations in the cereals
• Pickle Fermentation, titrations titrations are
  used to determine total acidity.
• Sugar Determination Fehlings/Benedicts
  Solution is used to determine presence/absence of
  sugar
• Titratable Acidity titration techniques will be
  used to determine the amount of acid in foods
• Factors Affecting Yeast Growth, nutrient
  varying levels of available amounts of nutrients
  are used to determine the effect they have on
  yeast growth rates

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Laboratory Examples

• Boiling and Freezing dry lab asking students to
  determine specific heats of foods based on
  composition
• Detection of Protein Biuret solution used to
  determine presence/absence of protein
• Energy Determination home-made calorimeter type
  device used to determine caloric content of food
  item
• Detection of Starch lab uses iodine to test for
  starch
• Detection of Sucrose After Hydrolysis detection
  of starch followed by the detection of glucose to
  compare effects of treatments
• Catalase Activity temperature treatments are
  compared to determine their effect on enzyme
  activity
• Vitamin C Comparison this lab will use an
  indicator solution in order to determine the
  foods with the highest and lowest Vit C content.
• Calcium Determination an indicator is used to
  determine calcium content in foods
• Emulsion Stability this lab uses dyes and
  different emulsions to determine continuous
  phase, 2nd part uses differing ingredients to
  determine their effect on emulsion stability

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Past Experiments Cabbage Indicator

• Red cabbage was soaked in water/alcohol to
  extract juice which changes color at different
  pHs
• The indicator was used to test the pH of various
  foods and household substances
• Students answered questions about acids/bases and
  acidity of foods

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Past Experiments Iron Detection in Flour

• Students tested for iron in flour by adding
  hydrogen peroxide and KSCN
• Flour fortified with iron produces red spots
• Students also determined the amount of iron in a
  solution using KSCN by taking absorption
  measurements.

Iron-fortification test in flour
Iron
No Iron
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Past Experiments Yeast Fermentation

• Warm water, yeast, and carbohydrate source
  (sugar, fructose, cornstarch, honey) are mixed in
  a bottle and a balloon is put over the top
• As yeast ferments, carbon dioxide is released,
  infalting the balloon
• Different carbohydrate sources can be compared by
  seeing how much the balloons are inflated

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Examples of Quiz Questions

• Which of the following is NOT a carbohydrate?
• Sugar Cellulose
• Starch Amino acid
• Which of the following contribute caloric intake
  in the human diet? (may be more than one answer)
• Lipids Water
• Minerals Proteins
• T F Hydrogenation is the adding of water to
  a food product to increase moisture content.
• T F The amino acid sequence makes up the
  primary structure of proteins.

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Examples of Quiz Questions

• In a calorimetry experiment, 10g of peanuts are
  combusted, and the heat energy is completely
  transferred to a sample of water. It is found
  that the temperature of 500g of water rises by 24
  degrees Celsius. How many Calories are in the
  10g sample of peanuts?
• You need to determine the percent fat in a
  sample of ground beef. You use a process to
  completely separate the fat from the rest of the
  sample. The mass of the fat is 25.6g, and the
  mass of the remainder of the sample is 157.4g.
  What percent fat is the beef?

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Tips from the Supervisor

• Read the instructions through first
• Students should to plan their time for an event
  by reading the experiments before they begin
• Divide and conquer know individual strengths
  and work separately to complete tasks
• Have a good foundation in making physical
  measurements (mass, pH, etc.)

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Additional Resources

• Visit the Food Science webpage at the Science
  Olympiad website
• http//www.soinc.org/events/foodscience/index.htm
• This has many links to resources that are helpful
  in preparing for the event.
• It also has past state and national Food Science
  events.