Prateek Sharma's "accidental" start in dairy science, constant learning, and the support of mentors, family, and students are all part of his success. Fortunately, that accident led to a decades-long career that took Sharma across four continents and to s...
A Utah State University-patented technology that dehydrates food with UV-A light is now available for licensing. This technology, developed by Luis J. Bastarrachea, offers food dehydration with reduced energy consumption while maintaining product quality....
Day is the sports dietitian for the U.S. Speedskating team. It’s one of the few non-coaching positions considered essential to the athletes’ success, and Day was on site in Italy, to ensure the 22 athletes under her care had access to the kinds of foods t...
Graduate students in USU’s Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences prepared more than 1,500 nutritious, freezer-friendly meals for guests of the William A. Burnard Warming Center in Logan.
“The main cause of moldy growth on the surface of cheese is availability of oxygen and moisture on the surface,” says Prateek Sharma, Ph.D., associate professor at Utah State University and a member of the Institute of Food Technologist’s Dairy Foods Divi...
Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaylie Meccariello. Hi Kaylie, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are to...
A student-led mobile food pantry run by Utah State University’s Student Nutrition Access Center (SNAC) announced its dates of operation Tuesday for 2026, with one each month. After kicking off in May of 2025, the Utah Food Bank and Cache Community Food Pa...
AI involvement in food related activities is becoming increasingly common, according to Stacy Bevan, professional practice associate professor of dietetics at Utah State University. One study reported 74% of people aged 18-24 use AI-powered tools for meal...
For MJ Wayment, studying dietetics at Utah State University is about building a safer, healthier future. Through their undergraduate research with food safety specialist Jose Brando Delgado, MJ is finding practical ways to improve food safety while also w...
USU Associate Professor Prateek Sharma, left, has been named the Institute of Food Technology's Outstanding Young Scientist of the Year for his significant contributions to the field, particularly in dairy food science.
NDFS students complete experiential learning projects as part of their degree program, working both one-on-one and with larger organizations to provide nutritional advice and support. They build communication skills, learn to cold call, network, and maste...
Professor Michael Twohig recently received the D. Wynne Thorne Career Research Award, one of the university’s highest faculty honors. The award came with a cash prize of $7,500, which Twohig decided to donate to the Student Nutrition Access Center (SNAC)....
The Student Nutrition Access Center at Utah State University’s Logan campus recently received a donation of 1,000 pounds of ground beef from the Miracle of Agriculture Foundation, the charitable arm of the Utah Farm Bureau, in partnership with the Utah De...
USU’s annual Student Teaching Greenhouse Sale kicks off on Monday, April 14! Doors open at 9 a.m. and close at 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and the sale will run through graduation. After that, the hours will shift, so stop by early for the best selecti...
Katie Kraus is a long-time proponent of undergraduate research. As an undergraduate student at USU she was an undergraduate research fellow, and was awarded the CAAS Undergraduate Researcher of the Year in 2006. Through her own experience, she learned fir...
Professional Practice Assistant Professor Alyssa Reidhead creates opportunities for students to take action and learn in the process. Her outstanding work providing students with meaningful and memorable learning opportunities in the Department of Nutriti...
Katie Kraus was once a student researcher in the dietetics bachelor’s program at Utah State University. She pursued her studies with zeal even then and was named Undergraduate Researcher of the Year in 2006. It turned out that her work then was merely the...
Dustin’s curiosity, passion for sports and dedication to learning have propelled her outstanding work in classes and as a student research assistant, both of which gained her recognition as the 2024-2025 College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences Scholar...
Thanks to a grant from Islamic Relief USA, Utah State University’s Student Nutrition Access Center (SNAC) offers boxes of shelf-stable halal foods to Muslim students looking to both practice their faith and maintain the sort of healthy diet needed to perf...
Utah State University is launching a food drive to support the Student Nutrition Access Center, or SNAC, on the Logan campus. The drive will run through Dec. 20. SNAC provides food assistance to USU students, faculty and staff experiencing food insecurity...
A recent study conducted by researchers at Utah State University's Department of Applied Economics explores Utah consumers’ perceptions and preferences regarding fresh and packaged fruit products. The research highlights the significant economic contribut...
The price of your Easter chocolate shot way up last year, but it has come down since. Utah chocolate makers are riding out the price spike felt around the world. Unfortunately, there are about a half dozen reasons why the price of chocolate isn’t dropping...
In anticipation of National Ice Cream Day, join in a "Cow to Cone" celebration hosted by Utah State University's Aggie Creamery on from 3-5 p.m. Friday, July 19, at the Aggie Ice Cream shop at Aggie Blue Square, 1111 N. 800 East, Logan, across the street ...
Roots of Peace funds the safe removal of landmines and other unexploded tools of war, then trains local people in vital agricultural techniques to improve land for food production. The organization provides growers with native and well-adapted plant mater...
In academia, the ability to articulate complex research in a concise and engaging way is a coveted skill. An annual competition held at more than 200 universities worldwide, it is open to graduate students who are challenged to present their research in j...
The student food pantry on Utah State University’s Logan campus recently welcomed Jonathon Walters as the program’s new coordinator. The Student Nutrition Access Center, or SNAC, is dedicated to increasing access to food while educating students about nut...
Some of the USU delegation traveled to southern Taiwan to tour an organic cacao farm and begin discussions about possible collaborations with USU's food science department and the Aggie Chocolate Factory.
Students in Aggies Elevated are expanding their horizons with a new internship program at the Aggie Chocolate Factory with support from Daisy Brand.
SNAC Director Jonathon Walters answers questions.
The Student Nutrition Access Center at Utah State University will soon be under the oversight of the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences and the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Sciences.
I am Abiodun Atoloye, an Assistant Professor at NDFS with a focus on the Nutrition Science arm of the department programs. I am a USU Aggie myself because I completed my PhD in Nutrition Science about 3 years ago from the same department.
Utah State University is excited to announce the arrival of rare Catongo cocoa beans at the Aggie Chocolate Factory. These unique albino beans, sourced from Fazenda Santa Teresa in Bahia, Brazil, will soon be processed into premium chocolate bars.
At the age of 9, future Utah State University alumnus Ramjibhai Chaudhari left his remote Indian village north of Mumbai to get an education. Dindrol, his tiny village, lacked electricity, running water, sanitation infrastructure and a school.
USU Extension is now offering an online course focusing on the process of making chocolate. It will cover how cocoa beans are harvested and processed on the farm and then how they are processed in the factory to make chocolate.
Selected by a committee of his peers, Prateek Sharma, assistant professor in USU's Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences, received the William C. Winder and Rebecca Stewart Winder Endowed Development Professorship in Food Sciences for 2022 ...
This summer, NDFS grad students conquered three national product development competitions, securing two first-place wins in contests sponsored by Ocean Spray and the National Dairy Council, and a third-place award in the Institute of Food Technologists co...
Reed Ernstrom, son of Professor C. Anthon Ernstrom, recalls growing up around the Nutrition and Food Scientist pioneer and Aggie Ice Cream memories from his childhood, college years, and adulthood.
On July 18, National Ice Cream Day, Unbottled will donate 100 cents to the USU Student Nutrition Access Center (SNAC) for every cone sold. SNAC will use the money to purchase milk from Gossner Foods, a difficult item to procure for the food pantry.
The National Dairy Council announced a team comprised of USU students Nathan Pougher, Melissa Marsh, Chandler Stafford and Mackenzie Taylor as the winner of the NDC’s New Product Competition for their product, a 92% dairy energy drink called Moba Boba.
Master of public health nutrition student Anna Cheal worked with the nonprofit Proyecto Florecer to help women in Colombia improve nutrition for themselves and their families through education and planning for the organization's community kitchen.
To commemorate 100 years of Aggie Ice Cream, an event was held on Tuesday celebrating the creamery’s century-long legacy and its impact on the community.
Ken White can pinpoint one thing that unites everyone who ever attended Utah State University over the past century. No, it's not True Aggie Night. It's Aggie Ice Cream, a university program and brand that's still churning out delicious ice-cold desserts ...
The first day of summer, recently recognized as Aggie Ice Cream Day, was celebrated at the doors of the Aggie Creamery on Tuesday commemorating 100 years of the locally produced product.
It’s the first day of summer, and KSL TV’s Casey Scott took Chopper 5 to Logan to get some Aggie ice cream. Tuesday was declared Aggie Ice Cream Day in February by Gov. Spencer Cox.
Not only is Tuesday the first day of summer, but it's also Aggie Ice Cream Day — officially sanctioned by the State of Utah when Gov. Spencer Cox, an alumnus of Utah State University, signed an official declaration earlier this year that designated June 2...
NDFS student Aubreyona Migliori has been named a finalist in for a national nutritional science award from the American Society for Nutrition, which recognizes the highest quality research presented by students and young investigators at Nutrition 2022 Li...
In February, Gov. Spencer Cox signed an official declaration designating June 21, 2022, as Aggie Ice Cream Day in recognition of the celebration of its centennial. The Aggie Creamery invites everyone to join in the celebration that day at the Aggie Creame...
The Aggie Chocolate Factory and Aggie Creamery can add more accolades to their already impressive lists of awards. For the second year in a row, Aggie chocolate, ice cream, and specialty cheese have been awarded Best of State.
"Aggie Ice Cream at Utah State University in Logan, Utah, just turned 100! There's almost always a line out the door of the much loved shop. It’s ice cream from cow’s milk, not chemicals, and student researchers have a hand in making it.”
For Chelsea Norman, a graduate of Utah State University’s coordinated dietetics program, career success has meant traveling an unexpected path from clinical dietetics to medical communications, where she now fills a non-traditional role for a dietitian.
Happy Birthday, Aggie Ice Cream! January 21, 2022 marked the 100-year anniversary of the quintessential Cache Valley treat, and Utah State University (USU) is celebrating all year!
USU students Dayna Makela and Jaylee Bastian have each been awarded $2,000 scholarships by the Idaho Milk Processors Association (IMPA). Bastion and Makela are both food science majors in the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences.
By Sixth graders at Butler Middle School recently got a taste of what it’s like to be Willy Wonka as part of a candy-making contest to bring to life the assigned classroom reading of Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”
Dietetics graduate Madeline Peterson has the honor of serving as the 2022 valedictorian for the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences. Madeline, a Minnesota native, grew up in the rural town of Watertown.
Six students from Butler Middle School recently got a taste of what it’s like to be Willy Wonka and Charlie Bucket — and, fortunately, nobody turned into a giant blueberry.
Following a successful internship by Utah State University student Josie Sorensen, a German chocolate company has selected three additional USU students to complete internships at the Halloren Chocolate Factory in Halle, Germany.
The year 2022 marks 100 years of business for Utah State University’s Aggie Creamery. To celebrate the centennial, the creamery is hosting a series of events as well as in-store and online monthly giveaways with prizes from local businesses.
Figure out what ice cream flavor you are based off of your astrological sign!
For two USU dietetics students anxious to share important knowledge about food, launching a nonprofit organization in a country like India the summer after graduation, seemed like a dream they might realize ten years into the future.
Utah State University’s Aggie Chocolate Factory has announced a new collaboration with Twenty Degrees, a cocoa bean supplier that sources beans from around the world.
USU’s Aggie Chocolate Factory is proud to announce a new collaboration with Twenty Degrees, a sustainable cocoa bean supplier that sources beans from around the world.
Before the Farmers Feeding Utah Distribution Event had even begun, students were already lining up on the east end of the Quad to receive free ground beef and corn produced by local farmers.
Melissa Marsh, a graduate student pursuing her doctorate in food science, recently received the Thomas H. Smouse Memorial Fellowship from American Oil Chemists' Society (AOCS).
Aggie Ice Cream and cheeses from the Aggie Creamery and artisan chocolate produced at the Aggie Chocolate Factory are delicious and named "Best in State."
Recent USU graduate Amria Farnsworth has been named the 2021 Outstanding Dietetics Student of the Year by the Utah Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
The American Dairy Science Association® (ADSA) is pleased to announce Prateek Sharma as the 2021 recipient of the ADSA Foundation Scholar Award in Dairy Foods.
A favorite in Cache Valley and across the state is, of course, Aggie Ice Cream. Recently, Utah State University’s Aggie Creamery took home a very special honor – a Utah Best of State award.
These delicious results of research and teaching in the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences have been awarded Best of State honors in the categories of specialty cheeses, ice cream and culinary chocolate.
This might just be the sweetest collaboration ever in USU’s College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences.
Professor Silvana Martini has been named a fellow of the American Oil Chemists' Society. Martini is a food scientist whose research is focused on developing healthier fats that have excellent sensory appeal to consumers.
To food scientists, cheese is more than just an ingredient for sandwiches or an appetizer. Cheese is chemistry, biology and physics all deliciously at work, and it’s big business in the dairy industry.
During the fall 2020 semester, students in Utah State University’s Advanced Dietetics Practicum course taught members of the Army and Air Force Reserve Office Training Corps (ROTC) about the importance of food and nutrition for optimal health and physical...
In a report released Jan. 20, 2021, researchers from Utah State University Extension and the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) assess the potential for expanding meat processing capabilities in Utah and examine the potential demand for Utah b...
We know that a healthy diet is part of the recipe for good health. But how do you put that into daily practice when your life is turned upside down?
It's snack time! USU students used their creativity, food science knowledge and a lot of work to win the Institute of Food Technologists Smart Snacks for Kids competition.
Refugees face many changes in purchasing and preparing nutritious food for their families upon relocation. Nutrition education can be an important part of improving nutrition and health for refugees.
Students from Utah State University are providing food at the University’s Student Nutrition (SNAC) to individuals and families to aid area food pantries. This included harvesting excess fruit that would otherwise go to waste.
The IMPA’s annual competition requires developing a product that contains at least 51 percent dairy. The USU team he led worked with a substance called whey phospholipid protein concentrate.
Earning a top spot in a national food science competition takes more than proving yourself as a chef, according to Vidita Deshpande, a PhD candidate studying food science at Utah State University.
The Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest in the world, and a group of Utah State University dietetics students recently visited the Greek island of Crete to learn the more about this healthy way of living.
12 USU dietetic students created and implemented a health and wellness program at a Logan retirement center for their capstone projects.
If a new game developed at Utah State University achieves its creators’ goals, parents in some Cache Valley communities may find their children requesting more fruits and vegetables at meal and snack times.
The Aggie Fueling Station had a goal of working together to provide athletes with the food they need to complement the physical demands of training and nutrition and dietetic students.
Utah State University’s Student Nutrition Access Center (SNAC) on the Logan campus is collaborating with the Utah Food Bank and Cache Community Food Pantry to launch a mobile food pantry available to both students and the broader public. The mobile pantry...
