Food Science Fundamentals

Virtual Short Course

The aim of this course is to familiarise food industry staff on the basic principles of food science.

Understanding the language used to assist communication with other staff and customers. Identify how food science impacts and supports their non-science role. 

This course will be delivered virtually, and the content includes:

• What is Food Science?
• Food Policy & Regulations
• Food Chemistry – the building blocks
• The Future of Food
• Food Microbiology
• Nutrition – food and the human body
• Food Processing
• Innovation
• Sensory & Consumer Science
• Food Safety
• Food Safety Culture

The course is held over four (4) afternoons:

• Thursday, 23rd October 2025 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM (AEDT)
• Thursday, 6th November 2025 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM (AEDT)  
• Thursday, 20th November 2025 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM (AEDT)
• Thursday, 4th December 2025 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM (AEDT)

Only 30 places available.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to the interactive nature and long hours these sessions will NOT BE RECORDED and you are expected to be in attendance to gain the most from this course.

Career Information Evening for Food and Nutrition Science and AIFST Student members and Industry.

Presented to you by FANSA (Food And Nutrition Student Association) and the School of Food, Agriculture and Wine, supported by the AIFST. 

FANSA is a diverse group of food science and nutrition students, so whether you're from a large company or small business, a government employee or an individual, we truly appreciate you taking time out of your evening to join us at our event. 

Following on from last year, we hope to create a social night full of conversation between enthusiastic students and local South Australian businesses. While the main word here is "career" you do not need to have any positions currently available in order to attend. This is about creating connections between students and industry. 

For students: 

- This allows them to get an idea of what they can expect from the workplace, employers and workmates before they graduate. 

- They can hear about the diverse roles within food and nutrition -we often only learn about quality control and assurance which are very important roles, as are sales, marketing, product development, psychology, client relations, time management, logistics, research processes, communication and leadership. 

- By speaking with you, they're hearing directly from experts in their fields and expanding their knowledge and possibilities for growth in the future.

For Industry: 

- Undergraduate F&NSc students undertake internships for 120 hours as part of their program, this can be on a small project, or part of a larger project that you or your team might be working on. 

- Masters students have capstone projects as part of their program and are usually for 3 months, often taking on a slightly more involved project involving research.

- Both of these programs offer opportunities for you to have a student volunteer to work on a project for a few months and potentially use university equipment to do so.  

Information for the night:

Directions

If you haven't been to the Waite campus before, you'll see how lucky we are to have agriculture, food and wine in one location. The Career Night will be in Beltana Cafe (this should come up in Google Maps, but if not, we're on Waite road. Turn off Cross Road, down from the Glen Osmond/Portrush interchange and the cafe is on your right hand-side after the first roundabout. There is a carpark before the roundabout and just after. If you happen to arrive early and don't need to set anything up, I highly recommend taking a stroll around the campus to see Urrbrae House and the vineyards (behind the cafe)

Format

The evening will include a short introduction, followed by a graduate panel, then industry panel and an informal networking session. During the session you'll be able to chat with students and enjoy some refreshments.

We will have tables available for stalls so if you would like to bring any products, information or visuals of what you're working on, we encourage you to do so, please let us know on the registration form how many tables you'll need.

Registration

All of this information will be used to help us best prepare for your arrival and is per person so if you have multiple people coming from your organisation or know someone who would enjoy being a part of the night that we haven't reached out to, please forward the link for them to fill out - the more the merrier! 

Registration for this event is being organised directly through FANSA

Click Here To Register

Engage 2025: A hybrid education program for tertiary

food science students

Engage 2025 is an opportunity for tertiary food science students to come together to connect and learn from industry and academic leaders from across the agrifood industry The program is delivered in a hybrid format across 8 x 2hr sessions across several university locations. Students will have the opportunity to attend in person or virtually.
The aim is to enhance their current academic program and networks, building on their current skills and challenging their knowledge through critical and reflective thinking to better prepare them for the practical, real-world need for food science and their potential place within the agrifood industry. This program is intended to ‘jump start’ their industry readiness.

The course will be run over 9 x 2hr sessions. Eight of these sessions will be held face to face at university campuses around Australia and recorded for all registered participants. The final session, Careers, will be a Zoom session. These sessions would be delivered monthly from April 2025 to October 2025.

You are welcome to still register for this program as previous sessions have been recorded for all registrants.

Program topics include:

• The food industry status - agrifood industry trends
• Research & Development
• Sensory & Consumer Science
• Food Safety
• Sustainability
• Humanitarian Food Science
• Nutrition
• Careers in the agrifood industry

Session 1 University of Queensland - held on 1st April 2025

Session 2 La Trobe University - held on 1st May 2025

Session 3 Western Sydney Uni Richmond Campus - held on 26th May 2025

Session 4 Deakin University Downtown - Friday, 27th June 2025 from 3pm

Session 5 UNSW - Friday, 25th July 2025 from 4pm

Session 6 RMIT City Campus - Tuesday, 26th August 2025 from 3.30pm

Session 7 University of Sydney - Tuesday, 23rd September 2025

(These events have concluded and have been recorded for registrants to access)

Session 8 Uni of Melbourne - Thursday, 30th October 2025

Session 9 AIFST Career Event Online - 10th November 2025

AIFST and FaBA - Australia’s Food and Beverage Accelerator are looking forward to delivering this program for our student and graduate members.

Sharon Natoli: Speaking with Confidence & Growing Your Influence

A Short Course for Aspiring Female Leaders in Food Science

Due to the popularity of this course we are scheduling some more dates with the fabulous Sharon Natoli.

3 x 90 minute online sessions for female food scientists. Sessions will be held fortnightly over a period from 11th November - 9th December 2025. Registrations are limited so be quick!

Course outline-

Session 1: Barriers, Intentions and Challenges (11th November)

• Awareness of the barriers that get in the way of speaking with confidence and growing your influence.
• Why confidence and influence matters in the workplace – what you gain from developing your skills in these areas.
• How to increase your confidence and influence – a starting point for change.
• Setting intentions.
• Getting into action - fortnightly challenge.

Session 2: How to Increase Your Confidence (25th November)

• Fortnightly challenge follow-up and sharing
• The power of words – words and phrases you can use to enhance your confidence
• Standing in your power – embodying confidence through your body language
• Structuring your message for clarity – using the power of three to create rhythm and memorability
• Shifting from nervousness to confidence – how to manage nerves before you speak or participate
• Getting into action - fortnightly challenge.

Session 3: How to Increase Your Influence (9th December)

• Fortnightly challenge follow-up and sharing
• Speaking to be heard – voice projection and warm up
• Five speaking styles for influence
• When to use more words and when to use less
• Managing your state – bringing energy to your speaking
• What’s next? Intentions and outcomes.

ABOUT YOUR PRESENTER:

Sharon Natoli helps individuals, teams and leaders find their voice, grow their presence and ignite their influence by speaking up with confidence.

Sharon has 30 years experience in one on one counselling, communication, media and spokesperson roles, and as an advisor to organisations in the food sector assisting brands find their voice through key message development. Her professional experience is complimented by her personal understanding and empathy about the internal barriers that hold people back from speaking up and sharing their thoughts, ideas and opinions with confidence.

Sharon’s philosophy is that speaking up is a critical ingredient for demonstrating leadership readiness and making the career contribution you'd like to make.

AIFST Food Safety Audit Intern Program - Update Webinar

To address the serious and growing challenge of availability and competency of food safety auditors across all food categories in Australia, AIFST launched the Australian Food Safety Auditor Development Project Intern Program (FSADP) in March 2024. This first-of-its-kind program sees Australia leading the way in tackling this worldwide challenge.

Come along to hear perspectives from the certification bodies, industry partners and our superstar interns on how the project is tracking and how you can become involved in the future.

At this webinar you will hear from the interns, the managing certification bodies and the industry partners.

The AIFST NSW Branch is holding a Christmas Party and you are invited to attend!

Celebrate the end of a busy 2025 and take the opportunity to connect with colleagues and friends from across the industry.

When: Wednesday 19th November 2025, From 6pm

Where: Firehouse Hotel, 86 Walker St, North Sydney NSW 2060

Its a short walk from the new North Sydney metro station.

The AIFST SA Branch is holding a Christmas Party and you are invited to attend!

 Friday 21st November, 6:30pm- 10:00pm

Join the members of the AIFST SA Branch to celebrate the end of the year at The Gov!

Menu: Assorted platters of canapes

Beverages can be purchased from the bar on the night.

RSVP: Please register by 14 Nov, 2025

There will be fun and games with many prizes on offer. We thank our generous sponsors for their support of this event.

The AIFST QLD Branch is holding its annual Christmas Party and you are invited to attend.

Celebrate the end of 2025 and take the opportunity to connect with colleagues and friends from across the industry.

When: Thursday 27th November 2025, from 6pm

Where: The Plough Inn - Banksia Room, 29 Stanley St Plaza South Bank, QLD

This is always a popular event with our QLD members so get in quick and register your place.

20th NZOZ Sensory and Consumer Science Symposium

10–12 February 2026 - Batman's Hill on Collins, Melbourne

The vision of the NZOZ Sensory Symposium is to provide a vibrant, welcoming, and collaborative platform that unites the Sensory & Consumer Science communities across Australia, New Zealand and the wider South Asian region. Our goal is to foster networking, exchange ideas, and keep the community up to date with the latest developments, supporting both students and professionals.

The theme for the 20th Symposium, “Explore the Experience,” is designed to inspire discussion, broaden perspectives, and uncover new angles in sensory and consumer science. Our keynote speaker, Professor Liesbeth Zandstra, brings unique expertise from both academia and industry, working to understand food reward behaviour and how multisensory product experiences can shape healthier choices. The workshop series complements this by offering perspectives from different lenses including historians, coffee specialists, and dietitians, expanding how we think about sensory science in practice.

Our discipline thrives on collaboration: uniting cross-disciplinary perspectives, connecting research with practice, and building partnerships between universities and industry. Whether it is partnering with chefs to understand consumer responses, aligning sensory measures with roasters’ quality attributes in coffee, or learning from food historians and industrial engineers about how eating practices have evolved, collaboration drives innovation and impact.

This milestone 20th anniversary highlights not only the strength of the Australian and New Zealand community but also a growing number of international participants from neighbouring Asian regions.

The Symposium provides an excellent platform to:

• Interact with international leaders in sensory and consumer science

• Learn about the latest developments in research methods and applications

• Network, share ideas, and strengthen professional connections

Keynote speaker:

Professor Liesbeth Zandstra, is the Consumer Science Capability Lead at Unilever Foods Innovation Centre Wageningen and Professor of Food Reward and Behaviour at Wageningen University and Research (The Netherlands). Her research focuses on scientific challenges to find new ways to make the healthy and sustainable choice the preferred choice. 

• From perception to behaviour: Designing multisensory product experiences to drive healthy choices.
• From lab to real-life: Understanding product experience and choice across time and contexts

Workshops:

Elizabeth Anya-Petrivna, National Trust of Australia

Sensory through an Australian Senior Curator Lens

Exploring how cultural perspectives shape our experience of dining in multisensory environments. Understanding dining as a cultural and sensory experience through history and curation.

Allan Yeh, Code Black Coffee Roasters

Sensory through a Coffee Specialist Lens

Demonstrating practical ways in which Code Black Coffee maintains consistency, upholds quality and pushes quality standards higher than our competitors.

Emma Stirling, Australia Catholic University

Sensory through a culinary nutrition lens.

Explore how sensory and consumer science can inform culinary nutrition interventions across diverse populations. Drawing on global learnings and case studies, this session bridges food science with culinary nutrition.

The program will feature keynote speakers, presentations, and interactive workshops. We strongly encourage participation from students, who form the next generation of our field.

Registration includes: full symposium access, meals during the event, and two dinners (10th & 11th February).

Accommodation is not included in your registration, but you are welcome to book accommodation at the venue. Here is a link to the venue: Batman's Hill on Collins. Please ensure you call them to make a booking so you can let them know you are attending the Conference and a discounted rate will be applied for a limited time. Our contact is Elaine Borja on (03) 9614 6344.

Call for Abstracts have CLOSED

Event registrations close 31 January 2026