Food Science Institute at Kansas State University

04/30/2026

We are very proud to announce that the 2026 K-State Dairy Products Judging Team successfully competed in the Collegiate Dairy Products Evaluation Contest in Milwaukee, WI on April 15. It has been quite a while since K-State fielded this competition team, and we want to thank Dr. Ahmed Hammam (assistant professor of dairy products processing in the Dept. of Animal Sciences & Industry) and Jared Parsons for coaching this team to prepare them for the event. The K-State team placed 1st in milk, 2nd in butter, 3rd in ice cream, 4th in cheddar cheese, 5th in yogurt, and 6th in cottage cheese. This was a very good team performance. The team consisted of four undergraduate students (Nathan Chavez, Nolan Messmore, Seb Figueroa Villanueva, Kevin Sanford) and graduate student Omar Abdelsater. We look forward to continued development and future successes for the Dairy Products Processing team.

02/19/2026

A lot of "foodie" people know Frank Yiannas, former FDA Deputy Commissioner, VP of food safety at Walmart, and Director of safety & health at Walt Disney World. He provides a great set of guiding principles for food companies along the production to consumption chain dealing with contemporary issues facing our industry. https://www.smarterfysolutions.com/post/guiding-principles-for-making-food-system-decisions?fbclid=IwY2xjawQEJLVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETI4c0JhU3BIUnp3RzZyVHpUc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHtqQXbT8RopH5hgBII4PrcR3EwKWIUW8rX0fC3BpYiqeNcoWsKy-X_byqcw6_aem_Peo9yEXFUlGAc6Iajxp54w

At [insert organization name}, we are committed to providing our Customers with safe, affordable, and sustainable foods of the highest quality. In an effort to maintain our customers’ trust in the food supply, we believe food system decisions should be based on the following guiding principles. Sa...

11/16/2025

That time of the semester when faculty advising is in full force. Dr. Abbey Nutsch is a tremendous resource for our food science undergraduates.

11/03/2025

Erika Krueger will be deliver her MS Report presentation tomorrow (Tuesday, November 4) at 1:00 PM titled An African Swine Fever Update for Food Scientists. We would love to have a good audience for this important topic. The presentation will be in Call Hall 206 if you would like to attend in person. Alternatively, the zoom link for Erika's presentation is:

https://ksu.zoom.us/j/99441858091?pwd=r0Z61iVt9kejyuArEwHMEOquYP5dNa.1

Meeting ID: 994 4185 8091
Passcode: 082692

Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise cloud communications.

09/15/2025

If you are interested in the current hot topic issue of use of synthetic dyes in our foods, please join us tomorrow morning (9/16/2025) at 8:30 AM CST for a presentation by Emma Koziel, MS degree candidate in our online Food Science degree program. Emma is a Product Development Food Scientist at Ferrara Candy Company and will bring great insight into current thoughts and future directions through her critical review of human and animal studies on tartrazine (Yellow #5). Please join us for Emma's presentation at zoom link https://ksu.zoom.us/j/97677460054?pwd=aibeHoY4wxohOV0H4aIkzaDGvwBZKb.1
Meeting ID: 976 7746 0054
Passcode: 220646

Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise cloud communications.

09/10/2025

Dr. Trinetta and Dr. Phebus love meeting at the local coffee shop to discuss FOOD SAFETY including research, grant opportunities, K-State food safety program components, their wonderful students, and a few other "undisclosed" things. The coffee shop patrons were a little confused this morning as the two profs exchanged a bottle of dehydrated culture media...perhaps they thought it was non-dairy creamer! FOOD SAFETY continues to be at the forefront of the food industry, and although much progress has been made in making the global food supply safer, there are still many notable challenges for K-State food microbiogists to address. Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria and all of their buddies are a tough foe!

05/28/2025

The Department of Grain Science & Industry, which now includes the Food Science program invites applications for an extension and research tenure-track position in food processing and safety. The position is responsible for developing and leading outreach, applied research, and educational and training programs in the areas of food processing with an emphasis on food safety, regulations, and quality.

About This Role The Department of Grain Science & Industry, which now includes the Food Science program invites applications for an extension and research tenure-track position in food processing and safety. The position is responsible for developing and leading outreach, applied research, and e...

05/14/2025

Each spring, high school FFA students travel to Kansas State University to participate in the state CDE's (Career Development Events) contest. Many ag-based CDE's are offered on and around campus in specific agricultural disciplines. Pictured here is the 2025 CDE for the Milk Quality and Products interest area which took place May 4-6. This CDE is composed of 5 parts ranging from milk off-flavor sampling to cheese identification. The team from Louisburg, KS took home first prize, followed by Marmaton Valley and Riverton. Special thanks to Jared Parsons and Dr. Ahmed Hammam for their efforts to host this contest.

04/27/2025

What better "food science" event, and more broadly, cultural learning experience, than a great cookout in the Flint Hills of Kansas. This weekend, Dr. Phebus (professor of food safety in the K-State Department of Animal Sciences & Industry and food science program), Yara Abi Nakhoul (Fulbright student completing her MS in food science, and Viktoria Gramp (International Sponsored Student Coordinator; https://www.k-state.edu/isss/about/staff/viktoria%20gramp.html) hosted a cookout for the Fulbright students and scholars, putting Dr. Phebus' man cave to great use! Forty attendees from numerous countries celebrated the end of the semester, graduations, birthdays, and the nearing end to several of the Fulbrighters programs at K-State. Food was super tasty and learning about certain cultural dishes was great. I confess that I absolutely love Lebanese tawook (Meditarranean chicken shish kabobs) and Moroccan chebakia (sesame cookies with honey)! The friendships made and rich conversations make these programs so important to K-State, the US and the world.

04/25/2025

Our wonderful food microbioloogy professor, Dr. Valentina Trinetta has been awarded the 2024 Roots of Research award, and this is a deserved award for her great work in the lab. This week, she was accompanied by K-State President Rich Linton and VP for Research Hans Coetzee to plant her very own tree on campus to memorialize her research accomplishments (and beautify our campus). Congratulations Dr. Trinetta!

04/12/2025

Kansas State University thanks to all who stopped by!