Cornell University food team takes second place at contest

ITHACA, N.Y. — Cornell University’s team was named a finalist at the Institute of Food Technologists Student Association & Mars Product Development Competition held recently in Chicago.

The Cornell team’s product, Nonna’s Nopales, is a frozen-meal kit containing gnocchi made from nopal cactus pads. The team earned second place at the event.

Winners were honored at IFT FIRST: Annual Expo & Event, a food science, technology, and innovation showcase.

Finalists received partial reimbursement for their trip to IFT FIRST as well as a monetary prize. The Cornell team received $1,500 for second place. The competition challenges students to take the skills and knowledge learned in school and apply them to a real-world situation, according to an Institute of Food Technologists news release. Each team develops a new food idea and carries the concept through marking and product just like a commercial product-development team.

The Institute of Food Technologists Student Association is a student-governed community of more than 2,000 members spanning 62 chapters in 60 countries. The Institute of Food Technologists is a global organization of more than 11,000 individual members from more than 90 countries committed to advancing the science of food.