In August, 2013, at a seminar held by ***in Minneapolis, Minnesota, I gave a presentation regarding China's food safety situation. I used the Taiwan Plasticizer Contamination Scandal in 2011 as case study to explore China's food safety regulations, examining its relationship with the food industry, consumers, and media. Compared with other countries，the Chinese food safety system still faces severe challenges. In China，because of some serious food safety incidents, any food safety rumors cause people to panic. As a student majoring in food science, I want to dig deeper into this field in order to create safer and more nutritious food products for the public. I also want to educate the Chinese people and help ease their concerns about food quality/safety in China. Therefore, I am determined to pursue a Masters degree in Food Science at ***.
Eager for more systematic practical skills in food science, I conducted a variety of research. I am establishing an evaluation system of different varieties of processed soymilk's characteristics in the soybean and soybean protein laboratory. I determined 18 indexes for 25 varieties of soybean seeds and soymilk, and analyzed the correlation between seed quality traits and processed soymilk attributes. I also adopted cluster analysis and principal component analysis. After reviewing the clustering results, I selected seven quality parameters from seven categories of principal components, instead of the original eighteen indicators, which greatly simplified the evaluation indicator system. Now, I am planning to combine the physicochemical properties with a metric evaluating the flavor of soymilk to establish a calculating model. My research aims are to help scientists use seed quality traits to forecast soymilk attributes.
In my opinion, science is like an exploration into an unknown territory, although I encountered many obstacles during the process. I once retested the viscosity of a particular soymilk, and compared it with the previous data on the same variety. Although the room temperature and seed type was the same for both samples, the viscosities differed a great deal. I realized that the impact of temperature on viscosity might be far more than I expected. I discussed these results with my lab partner as well as my supervisor. After a literature survey, we determined that we must conduct all viscosity tests under the same temperature to standardize our samples. In the end, in order to get the best data, we spent 2 weeks redoing our work and repeating all the previously conducted viscosity tests under the same temperature. Completing this project not only gave me a hands-on training in food science, but it also taught me that collaboration with others is the best approach to success. My research findings were published in Soybean Science (first author, in review). I participated in another research project about the effect of small molecular compounds in soymilk on properties of soymilk and tofu. Our research findings were published in Soybean Science & Technology (third author). In my opinion, I would like to develop novel research methods, and I look forward to sharing my breakthroughs with fellow scientists.
My passion for food science continued to grow after I was recruited as a research intern at the Convenience Food R&D Group in ***. I studied the impact of different raw materials on the oil content of fried food and the effect of different antioxidants on palm oil oxidation. I undertook almost all of the analysis work, such as texture analysis, oil content analysis, and so on. Our experiment contributed to the development of low-oil instant noodles. By trying different ingredients and new processing conditions, our team also managed to create improved oyster sauce and cheese sauce. My responsibility was to test the viscosity, soluble solids, and pH of different samples, as well as to conduct the sensory evaluation. From my participation in this project, I got invaluable experience about the food R&D project management process and the establishment of food evaluation standards. More importantly, I learned that I enjoy working as a member of a team, dedicated to creating a new food product.
Apart from my passion for improving the wholeness and availability of food, I also pay much attention to public attitudes towards food products, and work to educate the public about nutrition. For example, a non-refrigerated yogurt has recently been popular in the Chinese market; pasteurization is applied to the yogurt after its fermentation so that it can be transported under ambient temperature. Despite the advantage of extending shelf-life, this process reduced the activity of probiotics. On my Wechat (Chinese version of Facebook) platform, I wrote an essay and elaborated on the pros and cons of this kind of yogurt. Friends told me that the information I presented was valuable, and encouraged me to write more scientific articles. I was excited that sharing about my area of study can change people's attitudes towards what they eat every day, helping them lead a better life. I believe studying food science at UBC will also help me get deeper insights on making rational evaluations of food products.
I am particularly interested in relationships between structure, functional properties and enzymatic hydrolysis of starch. Professor ***'s paper "in vitro and in vivo digestion of octenyl succinic starch ", stands out among many papers I read during my undergraduate studies. Modification of normal crops have an effect on their enzymatic hydrolysis rates. Besides, I am interested in animal study in this paper, and I believe it can be further investigated. According to the result,20.2-31.1% starch in the OS-HA7-diet was not utilized in vivio and was found in feces. It may indicated that modified starch listed in this paper is not suitable for digestion. I want to do some research on the physiological function of medicated starch to observe if there is any optimistic effect on the losingweight, blood-lipid change on rats.
The MSc Food Science program at***is my top choice because of its emphasis on both basic and applied sciences, which matches my research interests and career aspirations. Firstly, innovation is of vital importance for food scientists in industry work, and studying in your Food Science Program in*** would give me strategies to develop innovative food safety systems. Secondly, I appreciate the well-constructed curriculum, which offers both mandatory subjects and elective courses such as International Food Laws and Regulations. By taking such courses, I will explore the interaction between food science and market. Lastly, networking with bright and task-driven students will be a large step towards my career goals. My short-term goal is to become a food scientist in a multinational corporation, whereas my long-term goal is to own a company providing nutritious and affordable foods to consumers.
If I had the chance to be trained in your program, I would be optimistic about reaching my goals and in return, I would make my own contributions to the community. I am sincerely thankful for your serious consideration on my application.
Lu, after reading your essay and carefully understanding all the scientific analysis and arguments that you stated in your SOP,
i must say you're on the right track!
Not much student will actually be able to identify what they want and why they want a certain program or practice,
but your decision in joining such program is coming from deep roots, knowledge and understanding on the field that
you want to pursue, very good job!
Now, apart from the remarks above, I don't see any need for a change on your essay, I believe you have done it well and to the best of your ability as a writer.
I just wish you the best of luck in this challenge and do let us know what happens, we'd love to hear from you.
