Food Science Doctoral Student Places Second in National Oral Presentation Contest

COMPETITIVE SCIENCE — Ph.D. students Asmita Singh, foreground, and Ragita C. Pramudya prepare and present samples for taste testing in the Sensory Science Center. Singh placed second in a national competition for an oral presentation of her research on the effects of drinking straw materials on consumer perception of cold drinks. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo by Fred Miller)

Media Contact

Fred Miller

U of A System Division of Agriculture
Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station
(479) 575-5647 | fmiller@uark.edu

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Asmita Singh, a food science graduate student in the University of Arkansas’ Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, recently placed second in the Rose Marie Pangborn Graduate Student Competition at the annual national meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists.

Singh is a doctoral student in the department of food science. She works with Han-Seok Seo, associate professor of food science for Bumpers College and the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the U of A System Division of Agriculture. He is also the director of the division’s Sensory Science Center.

Singh competed in the oral division of the national contest. Her presentation was “Influences of Oral Touch Stimuli on Sensory Perception of, and Emotional Responses to, Cold Tea Beverages: A Case Study of Reusable Straws.”

“It is my great honor and pleasure to work with Asmita, who has outstanding talents in critical thinking skills, communication and leadership,” said Seo. “Asmita’s research presentation at the meeting was remarkable and impactful. I am extremely proud of her great achievement.”

The results of her study are scheduled to be published in the March issue of the peer-reviewed journal Food Quality and Preference.

In Singh’s study, 134 participants (70 female, 64 male) consumed unsweetened cold black tea samples using five straws made from plastic, paper, copper, stainless steel and silicone. Participants rated the samples with respect to intensity and liking, overall hedonic impression and evoked emotions.

“Tea samples were found to differ with straw materials in terms of flavor liking, mouthfeel liking, and sourness intensity,” said Singh. “Interestingly, significant interactions between straw materials and gender were observed in overall hedonic impression and matching associations of straw materials with cold tea samples. Females liked cold tea more when consumed with copper or stainless steel straws than with paper straws while males exhibited no differences with straw material conditions. A gender effect was also found on cold tea samples consumed with different straw materials, with females more emotionally expressive than males toward certain straw material conditions.”

Here’s a temporary link to the paper: http://bit.ly/AAES-StrawResearchPaper

Singh was also recently awarded a $2,000 Feeding Tomorrow Scholarship. Singh is the student representative to the Society of Sensory Professionals, a national society for sensory scientists.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in food engineering from Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences in India, where she was awarded the “Meritorious Student Award.” She earned her master’s degree in food science from the U of A with an emphasis in sensory and consumer sciences.

To learn more about the Division of Agriculture Research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station  website. Follow us on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch and Instagram at ArkAgResearch.

About the Division of Agriculture

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.

The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.