www.foodtechnology.co.nz 19 FUTURE VISIONARY: EMMA DUNN Emma Dunn’s love for baking and science has landed her a role at dairy giant Fonterra in the cooperative’s Graduate Programme…and the 22-year-old has her dad to thank for her success. From Auckland but now living in Palmerston North, the former Diocesan School for Girls student will spend 2017 learning all about the company and its products while gaining her Master in Dairy Science and Technology at Massey’s Manawatu campus. “My dad, who studied a Diploma of Agriculture at Massey, suggested I look at food technology,” Dunn explains. “I went along to the Open Day, and that sealed the deal. I was so amazed by all the equipment and what I would be learning about, that I knew it was what I wanted to do. I was interested in learning about how things went from an idea in a lab to full-scale production, and knew that with Massey I would get to learn that.” Dunn, who will graduate with a Bachelor of Food Technology with Honours in April, majoring in Food Product Technology, says the Massey programme is challenging but incredibly rewarding. “I really enjoyed my fourth year, getting stuck into my individual project which was the shelf life modelling of raw chicken. “Chicken is a fast-moving consumer good and whole birds generally have a shelf life of 11 days. The shelf life is affected by a number of factors including processing temperatures, initial bacterial load, and temperature during distribution and storage. “Understanding how temperature during processing will affect the shelf life is important for reducing product losses and maintaining consumer acceptability. The aim of my project was to develop and validate a predictive mathematical model to estimate the shelf life of raw whole chickens at different temperature and time combinations,” Dunn says. “The practical experience meant I began my job having already worked in the industry. This allowed me to learn about workplace dynamics, health and safety in the workplace, and how companies operated. It also allowed me to see how my knowledge would fit into day-to-day work, which was really good to know during my studies. It reinforced how important the topics are in real life.” Dunn says she thoroughly enjoyed her experience at Massey. “There is a great practical aspect to the degree, both in the lab and in the industry itself. I was able to build my practical skills and am now confident in a variety of settings.” "The aim of my project was to develop and validate a predictive mathematical model to estimate the shelf life of raw whole chickens at different temperature and time combinations" GET YOUR FREE DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION www.foodtechnology.co.nz TALK TO MARGIE AND SHE'LL CONNECT YOU WITH OUR DIGITAL CREATIVE. PHONE 0275 718 555 AND BE ENRICHED WITH EXTRA CONTENT THROUGH A MULITMEDIA EXPERIENCE. Are you featuring in our magazine? We can help make your content in our eMag more dynamic. Explore the possibilities…
FT-Annual2017
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