University life...how is it going so far?

University life...how is it going so far?




I'm not sure if I mentioned this in my last post but I GOT INTO UNIVERSITY (can you tell I was a bit excited?) and so far I have been loving it.

I'm studying my BSc in Food Development and Innovation and even though I am only just about to enter my 3rd week I have to say that I have ended up on the perfect course for not only my future career but also for my mental health at this moment in time.

You see, I love food. And not just eating food, but how the food we eat affects us, how society can affect our eating habits and how our actual eating habits compared to what they should be. These are some of the things that I happen to be learning in this first semester, but let me break down my 3 modules for this first semester. 

Diet and nutrition: this is the class where I learn what the recommended eating habits of the nation should be. For example, did you know that the recommended amount of fruit and veg a day has gone up from 5-a-day to 10/12-a-day? Sounds like a lot but it's much easier to achieve than you think when you know that as dried fruits and the vegetables cooked into meals count towards it. When it comes to the actual marking for the module I have to fill in a food diary for 3 days (something I'm going to document on here for those who are interested), put the information into some software, see if I am lacking in any nutritional value and then write and analyse this in a 1500 word essay and research ways in which I can describe these deficiencies. 

Sensory evaluation: have you ever thought just how the social setting and just your overall environmental effects just how you eat? I mean, the exact same food product can be placed into 2 different types of packaging and you'll probably find that you'd prefer the taste of one over the other just because of how it was presented to you. This is the type of thing I look at in these classes with my overall mark being 40% exam and the other 60% being a report I write up after carrying out food psychological tests in a lab testing environment and seeing just how people react to different flavours in different environments. 

Managing for profit: this one is probably pretty self-explanatory, looking at the best ways food manufacturers manage for profit, such as how they can keep costs down while keeping quality high, how they can get the most out of their staff and how they can motivate staff to do a better job. The assessment for this class is one where I will be working with a partner (something which makes me a little anxious seeing as I'm yet to get to know others on my course) and we have to analyse a case study of a food manufacturer which is losing money and find ways we can increase their productivity and lower their costs to help them to start making a profit.

As you can probably tell, I'm very passionate about my course and I cannot wait to tell you more about it in the future but for now,

Stay happy, stay healthy, from Abbie xxx

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