Six teams of nutrition students from three Maritime universities will put their food product development skills to the test at a competition on Friday, March 13, 2015 at Mount Saint Vincent University. The challenge – in its fourth year at the Mount – represents the provincial round and first stage of competition in Mission ImPULSEible, a national event designed to encourage the development of marketable food products using chickpeas, beans, peas and lentils (known as ‘pulses’) as the chief ingredient.
This year’s event will also help raise awareness of the upcoming International Year of Pulses as declared by the United Nations. According to Pulse Canada, “[In 2016] the world will be coming together to celebrate and recognize pulses for their contribution to global nutrition today and into the future.” Often described as ‘nutrition powerhouses’, Pulses have been nourishing people worldwide for millennia, and today are being transformed into innovative foods ranging from snacks to dinners and desserts.
Teams will prepare their food products in the Mount’s nutrition lab on the morning of March 13 and then present their innovations in the afternoon. They will be judged on criteria including taste, visual appeal, originality, marketability and health potential of their products. The judges include a food scientist, a food marketer and a registered dietitian. In addition to a cash prize, the winning team will have the opportunity to compete against other provincial winners at a national competition in Calgary this coming June.
Students, staff, and members of the public are invited to take part in tastings during the event. The tasting portion of the competition will take place on Friday, March 13 at 2:00 p.m. in the Seton Academic Centre Faculty Lounge (Room 404/405). Judging will follow immediately afterwards.
The Mount’s Applied Human Nutrition program is a leading university nutrition program in Canada. Mount Applied Human Nutrition grads work across the country and internationally as dieticians, nutritionists, food scientists, and in a variety of other careers.
About Mount Saint Vincent University
Recognized as a leader in distance and experiential learning, Mount Saint Vincent University takes a personalized approach to education to nurture socially responsible global citizens. The Mount has been nationally recognized for its small class sizes, for providing students early access to valuable research opportunities, and for facilitating critical advancements in food security, healthy aging, literacy, and childhood development.
Contact:
Gillian Batten
Manager, Communications
Gillian.Batten@msvu.ca
902-457-6439