Oct. 27, 2020
Food science doctoral student places second in national oral presentation contest
By Robby Edwards, director of communications
Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences
Fast facts
- Doctoral student Asmita Singh researched drinking straws
- Straw material affected consumer response to cold tea
- Oral research presentation placed second in national competition
(419 words)
PHOTOS of Asmita Singh: https://flic.kr/p/2hsuVEE and https://flic.kr/p/2jZKxGE
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 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."
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 Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uark.edu. Follow us on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch and Instagram at ArkAgResearch.
About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.
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.
Media Contact: Fred Miller
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station
(479) 575-5647
fmiller@uark.edu
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