Activity 1: Food Processing

1. A large portion of our daily food supply requires some level of processing before it is consumed. To introduce the concept of food processing, write the following words across your board: Milk, Wheat, and Meat.
2. Ask students to raise their hands and help you list common foods that are made by processing these three raw food products. Milk is processed into cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese, ice cream, yogurt, etc. Wheat is milled into flour, which is used to make bread, cereals, pastas and more. Meat is processed into various sandwich meats, chicken nuggets, burgers, sausages, etc. Food processing prepares raw agricultural food products for sale to the consumer.
3. Tell students that in this activity they will explore how some foods are processed from raw agricultural products into everyday foods.
4. Divide your class into teams and give each team one How It’s Made Food Card.
5. Allow students time (or assign as homework) to research the processing steps. Note: Almost all food cards have a segment on the Science Channel’s How It’s Made episodes. 
6. Have students share their results.

Activity 2: Food Scientist for a Day 

1. Display the Food Science image shown below, which represents skills and career areas within the food science industry. Explain that food scientists can specialize in different areas. Give the following job descriptions and have students identify which specialty the food scientist works in:
   • A food scientist oversees a food processing plant to find ways to minimize waste, improve packaging efficiency, and maximize the use of fuel, water, and other limited resources in the farm to fork process. (Sustainability)
   • A food scientist working for NASA must find or develop food that can safely be taken into space. The food has to meet very precise specifications. It can't require refrigeration, can't create crumbs, must be small, and must taste good. (Product Development and Food Safety & Packaging)
   • A food scientist working for a processing plant is finding ways to pasteurize and package milk so that it doesn't require refrigeration and can be stored for 6-12 months. This will allow the milk to be shipped long distances without spoiling. (Food Safety & Packaging)
   • A food scientist working for Disney develops food packaging and food products geared toward children to encourage them to eat healthy foods and snacks with their favorite Disney characters. (Product Development and Nutrition)
   • A food scientist working in a creamery is testing the chemical makeup and freezing points of ice cream to find the perfect taste, texture, and creaminess of ice cream. (Sensory Evaluation)
   • A food science company has just developed a new energy bar for hiking and backpacking. This type of food scientist will analyze all of the ingredients of the energy bar to create the nutrition facts label with precise calculations for calories, protein, and other nutrients. (Product Development to create the bar, Nutrition to formulate nutrition facts label)
2. Visit the International Food Technologists (IFT) YouTube playlist Day in the Life of a Food Scientist. Watch a few videos to illustrate careers in food science.
3. Inform students that they are going to be a food scientist specializing in product development. Specifically, they will be working in ice cream production. To begin, brainstorm with the students all of the flavors of ice cream (chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, cake batter, etc.) as well as the food items that can be mixed in with ice cream (peanut butter cups, nuts, fruit, etc.) to make a flavor of ice cream.
4. Tell the students that they have been hired by their school to develop an ice cream to represent your school. If possible, have students use your mascot, school name, and/or colors in the name and development of their ice cream. As an example, introduce students to Aggie Blue Mint ice cream at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. This ice cream was developed at the university's creamery using the school colors (blue) and mascot (Aggie.)
5. Divide the class into teams.
6. Pass out the Food Scientist for a Day activity sheet and have students develop a type of ice cream.
7. Choose a winner or the top three recipes.
8. If possible, make the winning ice cream in class. (An easy recipe for making ice cream in class can be found in the Ice Cream in a Bag essential file.)