Students given a taste for food technology

College students from across the region have taken part in a special event at Teesside University looking at the impact of the horsemeat scandal.

The students took part in a series of workshops which showcased the different techniques used by food laboratories to investigate what goes into our food.

The experiments which used the University’s facilities and expertise included DNA testing to identify what goes into burgers and other processed foods.

They also used the laboratories to evaluate the nutritional value of different types of food and discover the real cost of the food on supermarket shelves by calculating its carbon footprint.

The day was designed to raise awareness of courses and careers associated with degrees at Teesside University such as Food and Nutrition, Chemistry, Environmental Health and Forensic Biology.

With the help of Dr Zuzana Bajuszova, Helen Hodgson and Shirley O'Hare, Principal Lecturer Dr Liam O’Hare led an experiment to check for the equine painkiller, phenylbutazone, which could potentially be harmful to humans.

He said: 'This test is actually one which we do on our undergraduate courses.

'It’s also something which is done regularly in commercial laboratories and we wanted to show the students the practical implications of experiments such as these.'

David Chen, 16, from King’s Academy, Middlesbrough, said: 'It’s been really interesting and we’ve really learned a lot.

'It’s been great to use the equipment here.'

Luke Pratt, 16, also from King’s Academy, added: 'Everything’s been explained to us so we know why it is we’re doing things at every stage in the process.

'I’ve found it very interesting.'

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