State of the Art Foods Laboratory

Students in Nutrition and Dietetics courses are learning to master equipment rivaling what they will later encounter in hospital kitchens and product development laboratories. A newly renovated, state-of-the-art commercial foods laboratory is available on the Pocatello campus.

When the Foods Lab was first established in the 1970s, professional opportunities for dietitians were fairly narrow.  Most RDNs worked in hospitals—supervising food service management operations and ensuring patient diets were compliant with required modifications. The scope of practice for registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) has mushroomed.

Today, you’ll find RDNs in a range of industries serving in a variety of roles:

• From the local news to the Food Network, media-savvy RDNs give food demos and share recipes from cookbooks they’ve authored.
• Dietitians working in the food industry leverage their expertise to optimize nutrition content and palatability of products.
• At PR firms, they help create consumer educational messages.
• RDNs are also key players in the up and coming field of culinary medicine, which combines the science of medicine with the art of cooking.

This expanded professional scope magnifies the importance of the Foods Lab renovation. The Foods Lab is a place where students hone food demonstration and recipe development skills. And, a Lab with the technology equipment needed for students to finesse media and public spokesperson skills.

The Foods Lab is also a place where interprofessional teams of health professions learn how to integrate culinary medicine principles into clinical practice.