Students turning to food science in droves - why now?

Food science student numbers at the University of Massachusetts have tripled in the past five years but food science wasn't always such a popular choice.

At IFT in New Orleans this week, FoodNavigator-USA spoke with professor and head of the UMass food science department Eric Decker about why students are getting excited about food science.

He said that an increased interest and awareness of food in general is driving the trend, as well as good career prospects for food science graduates - and the ability to combine culinary arts with a science degree.

Click here to read our coverage of the recent expansion of UMass food science facilities.