The Alliance FFA Food Science team consisting of AHS graduate Hannah Kesterson, senior Ashtyn Shrewsbury, and AHS juniors Krista Carter and Connor Wright competed in the Food Science and Technology contest at the 2012 Nebraska State FFA Convention in March.

The team easily won the state contest by a score of 27 of points. Hannah Kesterson placed second individually. Ashtyn Shrewsbury and Krista Carter placed fourth and fifth respectably and Connor Wright did not place in the top ten individually. The four will compete at the 85 National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana on October 24-27.

The Food Science and Technology contest consists of two parts of competition, however, the individual competition consists of many parts. All competitors must take a fifty question multiple-choice exam over various areas of the food science industry; participate in a sensory evaluation where they must identify smells such as cinnamon, lavender, and dill; and a triangle test, where participants must use their senses of smell, taste, and logic to determine which food item is different than the other two.

The last portion of the individual contest is a safety evaluation, where safety hazards are identified in a series of photographs. Team members create a principle display panel for a food product in the team portion of the contest. They must calculate the nutritional values for the food item, determine what kind of packaging is going to be most effective, determine the price to sell the item at, and create a label for the product. The product to be developed at National Convention will be a refrigerated side dish that will be available for the retail market. The team members must present their product to a panel of judges in a five to ten minute business spiel.

The Food Science team is now busy studying for the national event and is putting the finishing touches on their presentations.  They will depart from Alliance on Monday, October 22, at ten p.m. and meet their bus in Kearney at 3:30 a.m. The trip from there will take 16 hours, and the team should arrive in Indianapolis mid-evening on Tuesday. They will compete on both Wednesday and Thursday, with an award ceremony to be held on Friday evening. If the Alliance team were to win or place in the top six individually, each member of the team will receive a scholarship to the college of their choice.