Food Science partnership helps small business thrive

We are partnered with a company called Soupergirl that is based out of the Washington D.C. area. And they've been a really phenomenal partner for us when it comes to doing the shelf life study here in the lab. They have really helped us focus on training students with the types of skills and knowledge they need to succeed and thrive really, in the industry. Using materials that the industry commonly uses as well. We really want to take food safety up a notch. We really want to have a deeper understanding of what we're doing and our formulas so we can grow responsibly. And being able to partner with Alexis and her team has been invaluable in that process. After we receive a product and on any one of our sample days, our ultimate goal is trying to see what microorganisms are present in that product that might impact its shelf life over time. So what we will do is we will bring that product into the lab out of storage, whether that's stored at ambient, like room temperature or refrigerated as this project is here today. The good part about this project is that we get to help small businesses, which makes them more competitive in the market. The first time we received these samples, I really told one of my lab mates how excited I am. I feel like this new project gave me such a fresh perspective because it's definitely something new to me. Working with the industry is something I'm doing for the first time, and it's really nice to see how science helps industry and industry helps science. I am looking towards doing this type of thing in my career, and it's nice to kind of get that experience right now. It's been fantastic working with the industry because I better understand their needs in industry. It's awesome to get and talk to people because I know where they're coming from and what difficulties that they might have. Soupergirl has only grown to where we've got because of community. Working with a university is just a logical step for us because it's just working with the broader community. We learn from the students, they learn from us, and everybody is growing.