New project gives postgraduates a flavour of the food industry

Six first-year PhD students from across Europe have been awarded bursaries of euro 3,000 to promote further study in a flavour-related field. A final PhD thesis was also selected for an award and euro 5,000.

The project came about as a way to produce more flavour experts, says Dr Velamur Krishnakumar, md of Giract, a Swiss research consultancy that coordinated the project. Krishnakumar believes perceptions about the complicated nature of flavour science have deterred students from pursuing it to PhD level.

The awards were independently assessed on pre-agreed criteria such as novelty, clarity and use of supporting statistics, says Professor Andy Taylor, of the University of Nottingham, who judged the entries. They were free of influence from sponsors, as it was felt this would unduly influence lines of research and dampen enthusiasm among applicants keen on academic independence, says Krishnakumar. The students also maintain control over their work, with the sponsors having no guarantee to exclusivity on its outcomes, he adds.

The award and bursaries also help introduce the industry to the potential benefits of these new researchers and their projects, explains Krishnakumar. Taylor adds that the entries were very practical: instead of focusing on theory they proposed finding a solution to a fundamental problem through scientific means.

While the project has only received funding for one year, it will be evaluated next month to see whether it has done enough to convince students to get involved in the food industry, says Krishnakumar. In its first year, the initiative resulted in nine applications for first-year bursaries and three entries for best final thesis.

Two of the first-year bursary winners were from UK universities. May Ng of Nottingham University received euro 3,000 to research whether emotion has an effect on sensory perceptions and how this may affect consumer acceptance of products. Dody Handoko of Reading University received a bursary for research into flavour formation in cooked rice. The final thesis award was made to Alicia Hambleton of Bourgogne University, France for research into the effect of incorporating aromas and lipids into edible films.

Final decisions on the winners were made last December and students have all year to collect their bursaries. The award for best final thesis will be presented next month.

Were the project to continue and further funding be found, Krishnakumar expects a quick turnaround. The basic framework is already in place and it would just be a matter of restarting the application process, he says.

The sponsors behind the PhD bursary project were: DSM Food Specialties, Frutarom, Givaudan, International Flavors & Fragrances, Kerry Ingredients & Flavours, Kikkoman, Lesaffre International, Nestlé and Unilever.