Newswise — CHICAGO, June 2, 2011— Since getting kids to eat healthy foods can be challenging, the Institute of Food Technologists Student Association (IFTSA) and Disney Consumer Products (DCP) challenged college students in food science degree programs to create delicious and nutritious snacks for kids. Twenty student teams across the country submitted proposals for the Disney-IFTSA Nutritious Food for Kids Competition.
Now in its third year, the annual competition is open to graduate and undergraduate students in food science and nutrition programs throughout North America. All entries focus on snack food or beverage product concepts for a retail outlet that are geared toward children age 12 and younger and inspired by Disney characters. The product must integrate a fruit, vegetable, low-fat dairy product and/or whole grains.
The six finalist teams selected to compete in the competition finals at the IFT 2011 Annual Meeting & Food Expo in New Orleans, Louisiana, June 11-14 include:• University of Arkansas: Phenomenal Funchies—a hand-held, baked snack filled with dried fruits including berries, mango and banana.
• University of Nebraska – Lincoln: CarsZone—microwavable, stuffed, whole-grain calzone filled with a variety of vegetables and cheese.
• Rutgers University: Gitchi Gitchi Goo—a lactose-free and gluten-free, whole grain-based pudding with containing vitamin C, vegetables, and fruits.
• Washington State University: Mater’s Craters—a carrot-based, cracker sandwich made of whole grains, vegetables, and dietary fiber.
• University of Wisconsin – Madison: Pixie Dust Fruit Beverage Mix—a combination of raspberry and apple fruit powders in an easy open-and-pour package.
• University of Wisconsin – Madison: Tangerine Dream—a portable, yogurt-based, carbonated beverage.
In 2006, The Walt Disney Company introduced nutritious food guidelines, which limit the use of the Disney name and its characters to only those kid-focused products that meet specific limits on calories, fat, saturated fat and sugar. DCP’s licensed food portfolio offers nutritious options in key meal categories including, bread, pasta, dairy and baked goods. Additionally, DCP’s licensed fresh produce category continues to grow globally with more than 1.3 billion servings of fruits and vegetables over the past three years.
Reinforcing both IFT and Disney’s long-term commitment to providing more nutritious food options for kids and recognizing the need to foster food science talent, DCP and IFTSA launched the competition in 2009 to give undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to apply food science skills through the creation of nutritious, fun, kid-friendly food products.
Last year’s Grand Prize winning team from the University of California-Davis developed Mickey’s Pot Pies, which were 100-percent whole wheat crust pies shaped like Mickey Mouse’s head and filled with a blend of real peaches, bananas, butternut squash and carrots. The tastings for each of the six finalists’ products will be conducted at the IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo in New Orleans on Sunday, June 12, and the presentations will be held Monday, June 13. All of the finalist teams received a certificate and a $1,000 travel grant to come to the IFT Annual Meeting and Food Expo. Although the products will not be developed for retail use, the Grand Prize is $7,500 and a trophy and 1st Place Prize is $3,500. Four honorary prize awards of $1,000 will be given to the remaining finalists. The winners will be announced at the IFTSA Welcome Assembly and College Bowl Competition Monday evening at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside New Orleans, La.
Credentialed media receive complimentary registration. For more information, contact Mindy Weinstein, [email protected], 312-604-0231 or Laura Kolodner, [email protected], 312-604-0273.
About IFTThe Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) is a nonprofit scientific society. Our individual members are professionals engaged in food science, food technology, and related professions in industry, academia, and government. IFT’s mission is to advance the science of food, and our long-range vision is to ensure a safe and abundant food supply, contributing to healthier people everywhere.
For more than 70 years, the IFT has been unlocking the potential of the food science community by creating a dynamic global forum where members from more than 100 countries can share, learn, and grow. We champion the use of sound science across the food value chain through the exchange of knowledge, by providing education, and by furthering the advancement of the profession. IFT has offices in Chicago, Illinois and Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.ift.org.
About Disney Consumer Products Disney Consumer Products (DCP) is the business segment of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) that extends the Disney brand to merchandise ranging from apparel, toys, home décor and books and magazines to foods and beverages, stationery, electronics and fine art. This is accomplished through DCP's various lines of business which include: Disney Toys, Disney Fashion & Home, Disney Food, Health & Beauty, and Disney Stationery. Other businesses involved in Disney's consumer products sales are Disney Publishing Worldwide, the world's largest publisher of children's books and magazines, and www.DisneyStore.com , the company's official shopping portal. The Disney Stores retail chain, which debuted in 1987, is owned and operated by Disney in North America and Europe. The Disney Stores chain in Japan is operated under a license agreement with Disney. For more information, please visit www.DisneyConsumerProducts.com or follow us at www.YouTube.com/DisneyLiving, www.Facebook.com/DisneyLiving and www.Twitter.com/DisneyLiving.
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