Welcome to Inside SCSD!
Today we will meet our CHAIR of the IFT Sensory and Consumer Sciences Division - Alden Riak.
Alden is a Sensory Scientist at Synergy Flavors Inc.
He works in three pillars of sensory:
Descriptive Analysis: Training the panelists,
Discrimination: Conducting studies like tetrads, and Degree of Difference Testing
Consumer Testing: Liking Studies, net penalty analysis, and preference testing
Background: He received his Bachelor's in Food Science from Iowa State University and his Masters in Food Science from Penn State University.
Why did he join the SCSD?:
He was working as an intern for Land O’Lakes in 2018 and the sensory manager talked highly about the group and offered him the contact information of a member. He reached out and asked if there was anything he could help with that summer and they offered him the opportunity to help set up a website for a silent auction for the summer social event! He was able to help for the next summer as well until he finally joined as a student representative in 2019. He always highly encourages students to get involved at any level!
His passion for the sensory and consumer sciences field:
It’s all about the people, to have a job that has him interacting with people from all over is amazing (He is not too well suited for solitary lab work Haha!). He also gets to see a fun array of projects to work on which one can use the wide assortment of methods in our sensory toolkit to complete!
His favorite basic taste (sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami)?
He said, ‘Don’t make me choose between my two loves of sweet and salty!!! 🍭🧂That’s cruel! The last time I was asked, I had a tough time choosing between sweet and salty, so this time I’ll use the basic taste that I just discovered SWALTY (a combination of sweet and salty)! Keep an eye out for prestigious scientific literature like My Twitter! This is definitely not because I still can’t choose a favorite.’
If he could only eat/drink one food/beverage for the rest of her life, it would be deep-dish pizza! It’s a full meal in a slice and it’s fun to talk about the different pizza rivalries within the Chicagoland area! (Lou Malnati’s for the win!) 🍕
#iftscsd #sensoryscience #foodscience #insidescsd
This is the magic of an Educator Company, transforming lives and growing businesses through education. We are very happy and proud of Victor's journey, who, without a doubt, is a great inspiration for those who are just arriving and, like him, will follow a path of success."