Why Get CFS (Certified Food Scientist) Crediential?

Certified Food Scientist (CFS) is a new certification offered by Institute of Food Technologists (IFT). For more information please visit 
http://www.ift.org/certification.aspx
There is also an excellent blog by fellow food scientist describing her experience (Jessica Gavin)
http://www.jessicagavin.com/blog/lifestyle/becoming-a-certified-food-scientist/

The real benefit of getting CFS certification is for committed food scientists planning a long term career in food industry. The certification (in good standing) demonstrates that you are actively involved in seeking knowledge of food science (apart from demonstrating some degree of competency). Take a closer look at the CFS program, and you will see mandatory continuing education credits to have CFS in good standing. 

CFS credential is certainly an added advantage to people who might take a extended break from work (such as layoff/extended family time/pregnancy/health issues). It shows future hiring companies your commitment to learning, as well as your intent to remain in this field, and abreast with current practices. Maintaining good CFS standing requires involvement, interaction, and continuous learning of new food science issues. CFS also creates networking opportunities across multitude of food platforms and companies. 

For all the debate and concern about CFS and food science degree, there is a fundamental difference between certification and degree. If you have not ALREADY noticed even doctors (and all elite professions like engineers, lawyers and teachers) are certified by a board. They are professional 'enough' when they go through their education and mandatory internship (in some cases), but still need certification to demonstrate their ability to continually be involved in current best practices. So GET REAL and understand the need for programs like CFS to exist to make food science a competent profession in years to come. 

As for the skeptics that are worried about hiring and entry level barriers, it is a clear cut and obvious answer. Between two candidates of same caliber a CFS certification demonstrates a candidates open willingness and commitment to stay abreast with food science research/practices. How many of us who have been in work force for more than 5 years have had a chance to read and keep up with new and innovative research? How many other have met a new vendor (apart from your approved list) that could potentially provide you with a break for the next big innovation? I'm not saying all CFS candidates will equally demonstrate these, but the likeliness of CFS candidates doing the fore-mentioned is higher than the candidates without. 

For people questioning the exam, I would recommend looking at all the areas that are being tested. A strength in one area doesn't necessarily translate to getting CFS. The interesting part is not just pass the exam, but to maintain good CFS standing over the course of your career. Exam is just a filter to separate interested candidates from the ones that just apply and get it. 

Coming to the money making and fees apart of the debate, YES its a certification and it involves cost. Its an investment for someone who wants to stay abreast. The CEU's are not only awarded for IFT related symposiums, but can also be accrued by attending various qualified seminars and symposiums (ADSA, AMA, IFF, and PMI to name a few). From the initial outlook of it, the costs might be around $300-1000/year (if you are only planning on attending), but you can easily get those by teaching or presenting making it almost a $0 option to maintain CFS accreditation.

Why Netflix should consider buying Pandora

Watching ‘House of Cards’ on Netflix, made me wonder how many other ‘mad men’ were out there who were glued to the series the entire weekend? The finish of each episode was just a great build-up to the following episode. The more I started to realize the impact it had on me, the micro advertising, subtle mini plots and even the intro music, the more it felt like I was the target audience. Out of curiosity, I started digging deeper to see what makes this series tick, so I started searching for interviews, commentaries, and comments by fellow ‘house of cards’ crazies.

The deeper I delved, the more I realized there is a formula for this success. Kevin Spacey, as lead actor, the location, the plot are more or less derived from the viewing patterns of the millions and millions of hours of data of the users. Very popular concepts like, female dominant yet subtle supportive role (by Robin), the concept of dreaming it big, the putrid longing for backstabbing sabotage….. to name a few.

Despite all these subtle nuances, the one that caught my attention was the intro music. How dark, catchy it was against the backdrop of the administrative powerhouses. And one must wonder…… what if PANDORA had an input to it? Just a thought?

As they scout for story and plot based on viewer information, what if they had subtle music notes based on music gene of the same targeted audience? This is where I think the merger would help the data miners and that the potential merger would be for greater good……….. for a purpose, when I sit down to watch my favorite show…. I know that it comes in the complete package………. The story and the music all blending together perfectly.

That being said, here are the reasons why Netflix should consider buying Pandora (at least the user experience data)

1.       Make great shows with the music quotient to them
2.       Micro advertising with music in it……… imagine the slip where Kevin Spacey and Kata Mara share their moment of cigarette, where an old cigarette company add its twist with few strums of guitar
3.       For promoting cars in the show with music attached to it.  Imagine an escalade driving into Kevin’s house (obvisouly Meechum in it) and the bass notes attached with it
4.       Every moment of triumph (based on viewer data) related to the exact moment with an impulsive tone

Without Pandora’s (or Iheart Radio’s) data, the experience would be a little in complete.

Now that Netflix is flexing muscles with internet providers, this would add a new dimension to the whole thing.

 

Consistency and Aggression Index for IPL 2012

Here is my simple way of calculating Consistency and Aggression in IPL

1.       Consistency Index = (TOTAL RUNS/ABS(HIGH SCORE – AVERAGE)) + 10 * No. of 100’s + 5* No. of 50’s + 1* No. of Not outs

2.       Aggression Factor = (%RUNS IN BOUNDARIES) *((100-Strike Rate)/10)

Note: They do not include the IPL 2012 finals between CSK and KKR.

IPL 2012 Top 10 most consistent players

Rank	Player	Cons. Index
1	DJ Bravo	228
2	CH Gayle	56
3	SPD Smith	53
4	JP Duminy	43
5	G Gambhir	41
6	CL White	39
7	S Dhawan	38
8	V Sehwag	34
9	AM Rahane	34
10	RG Sharma	31
11	AB de Villiers	28
12	DPMD Jayawardene	27
13	R Dravid	26
14	F du Plessis	25
15	OA Shah	24

IPL 2012 Top 10 most aggressive players

Rank	Player	Aggression Factor
1	CH Gayle	49
2	DA Warner	35
3	KP Pietersen	31
4	AB de Villiers	29
5	SR Watson	28
6	MA Agarwal	28
7	KA Pollard	24
8	V Sehwag	24
9	DJ Bravo	22
10	CL White	21
11	OA Shah	15
12	BJ Hodge	15
13	SPD Smith	14
14	AT Rayudu	14
15	Azhar Mahmood	13
15	F du Plessis	13
15	G Gambhir	13
15	JP Duminy	13
15	DJ Hussey	13

There are 45 players with consistency index of >10. The list could be shortened to 14 if consistency of 25 was made as the par. Consistency of 25 would literally put the player in the most desired top/middle order batsman. The only team to have two batsmen in top 10 of the consistency index is Deccan Chargers – ironically the team to finish on the bottom of IPL 2012. How DC didn’t make it to play off is a totally new topic.

Although consistency is a preferred index it cannot stand alone as players ability as match winner. For example we have Saurav Ganguly with consistency index of 10. Having played almost all the matches this season he has been consistent in the amount of runs he scored. However, he didn’t influence the result of any game in particular. This presents us with a problem, that a consistent player though desired may not be a match winner. Consequently, we need another parameter that in conjunction with consistency index can actually be a representation of player’s ability to be a match winner.

I termed it as “Aggression Index”. In the contest of bat and ball, in the context of T20, we all are waiting for is for the batsman to attack. In Simple terms aggression in the shortest format of the game is ability to score boundaries very frequently.  Aggression factor of >10 clearly indicates a feared batsman capable of scoring at more than run at a ball and punishing bad balls.

Case Study 1: Chris Gayle

The one batsman that is both consistent and aggressive. You really don’t need my table to evaluate his tactics. He is perhaps most consistently destructive batsman in the shorter format of the game. A brief glance at previous two IPL’s will reveal the force he was in the RCB’s wins. With consistency factor and aggression factor of about 50, he is perhaps the most prized batsman in IPL.

Case Study 2: Dwayne Bravo

CF: >50; AF: >20. Success of CSK in crucial matches all boiled down to this match winner. Let it be last over heroics when chasing, brief hurry of runs while batting first; Bravo was the player that stood up. The fact that he didn’t get to bat in the final speaks volumes about CSK batting unit clicking in that match. Bravo’s unique ability comes from batting with the tail and ability to hold one side even when team mates are falling on the other side. And count in his ability to bowl, you have a definite match winner here. So sad to see MI had to let him go for Pollard.

Case Study 3: Dave Warner

CF: < 10; AF: > 20. Dave warner as you can see is a hit or miss. Though very aggressive he lacks consistency. The fact that he even has CF close to 10 is coz of the hundred (which is a significant achievement in T20). Given he was playing with Sehwag at the other end makes it a lot different. Sehwag is consistent and aggressive, while DW is aggressive. This combination should have been ideal for DD’s walk to the final, till they decided to give the match away to KKR and then to CSK’s brilliance. 

FLUTD in cats - home remedy to prevent kidney stones in domestic cats

Don’t worry Stinky, we will take care of it.

Stinky is our pet tuxedo cat, its about 8 years old and very active as we say ‘athletic’ cat. He is extremely annoying as he starts meowing about 5am in the morning everyday till we actually wake up at 6am. However, he is always there at the front door to greet us when we are back from work. He gently purrs when we watch movies and disturbs peace by scratching on to the carpet just to get some attention. Needless to say, he is our pet cat and part of our daily lives.

Since yesterday evening, Stinky has been frequently visiting the litter box. First it seemed odd, but when we were about to clean his litter box there were not many identifications of pee. Today morning he visited the litter box almost 12 times and we checked and there were no symptoms of pee. He does like to lick himself (vanity of cats), but now his licks are mostly on the hindquarters. Worried I started digging for information online. The symptoms of frequent litter visits with no/little pee point to FLUTD (Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease).

If you are new to this issue I would strongly recommend that you at least glance at the link below. The article provides a snapshot of FLUTD and groupings based on age of cat.

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=611

After reading this article along with the other links that were provided, we educated ourselves with basic knowledge (though far from complete). Here is the information we had in our hand, Stinky is about 8 years old and male and we did not notice any blood in this litter box (which eliminates the urinary tract infection), it is very likely that he either has a urethral blockage or partial blockage. If it is UB it could be caused by two types of crystals depending on the pH of the urine. I created a simple diagram to help understand it better

The most common of it is the Struvite crystals. Dry cat food is the suspected source for this type. Most dry cat food lead to a “basic pH’ of cat pee due to ingredients from processed vegetable/feed sources. Stinky is highly likely to be prone to such since he mostly eats only dry cat food. Apart from his ‘basic pH’ issue, another common problem with excessive dry cat food use is chronic dehydration. Although young ones are able to cope up with it better, age does play a significant part.

If it is struvite crystals/stones/obstruction, immediate vet attention is needed. In our case we (as of now) think that we observed this behavior early. From a food scientist point of view, the easiest way to control blood pH is by using vinegar/citric acid. They provide acidity without altering pH by much. This prompted to more internet reading. And to my knowledge most home remedies, include ACV (apple cider vinegar) treatment. I was not sure if Stinky will eat anything that had vinegar in it, but to our surprise he licked the wet cat bowl clean.

Here is my recipe:

1. Half can wet cat food (preferably whiskers, since it is ground and easy to mix with ACV)

2. ½ tsp of ACV (I bought the one in walmart).

3. 1 Tbsp of warm water (this is way to make him drink more water)

4. We also applied ACV to his paws and hind quarters (places that he licks most often).

For long term we have decided to alternate between the dry cat food and the basic wet cat food. He is on schedule for two days of wet cat food per week. Also once every month, Stinky might have to go through the ordeal of ACV wet cat food, just as a means to purge any of those Struvite crystals.

My primary suspicion on struvite crystals is based on his food ingredients. I’m not particularly pleased to see lot of processed grains/feed in cat food label. At this point, I feel it is my responsibility to be aware of my pets eating habits, rather than blaming it on cat food makers.

Note: Based on my observation over past four days, Stinky is now back to healthy pee and poop. He is running around more often and ofcourse…. His restroom visits are back to normal. “Don’t worry STINKY, we will be there for you”.

Update: 03/14/2019 - Stinky was one of the reasons, I got into pet food industry. And after 7 years of working in this area, I have stronger opinions and beliefs about the underlying mechanism for this 'life threatening condition'. Will post a separate blog on Feline Nutrition. 

Gluten Free Bread Recipe

Its about time, I actually have this recipe out. Sorry to all my gluten intolerant friends and families that had to wait. I would like to mention that this article is a contribution of Alons Bakery in Dunwoody, Atlanta, GA. Mr. Balshan, owner of Alon’s Bakery was kind enough to let me test various recipes for developing a gluten free bread and muffin recipes. Initially I had lot of trouble getting it right. Firstly, gluten free bread is made from batter as opposed to dough. From my experience in baking (at least the chemistry and rheology part of it), I felt that most of the batters didn’t have the viscosity to survive the rigors of baking. Secondly, flavor was overpowered with notes from other flours, lets say it is different from wheat.

After trying out Redmill flours recipe for gluten free sandwich bread, I was surprised with the results. The bread had a collapsed top with a “guey” inside and I must say I would have to be desperately hungry and almost starving to death to eat any part of it. Needless to say, I started tailoring the recipe to suit my requirements.

Materials: I have divided it into groups of Wet ingredients, Dry ingredients and Utensils.

I. Dry Ingredients

Ingredient	Weight (gms)
Redmills gluten free flour	550
Potato Flour	10
Soy flour	9
Whole milk powder	55
Guar gum	6
Xanthan gum	10
Salt	20

II. Wet Ingredients

Ingredient	Weight (gms)
Oil	50
Eggs	125
Vinegar	5
Water	700
Yeast	2 tbsp
Agave Nectar	40

III. Utensils

a. Kitchen aid mixer (with paddle and wire whip)

b. Spatula

c. Kitchen bread pan (23 x 12 x 10) with sliding lid

d. Oven set at 360 F.

Method:

1. Add yeast in luke warm water (700 gms) and set it aside for 10-15 mins (about the time it takes to

2. Mix all the Dry ingredients (In kitchen aid mixer with paddle @ 2 speed setting for 5 min) and sieve it. It is important not to have any lumps. Keep it separately .

3. Mix all wet ingredients (without water) using wire whip (Speed setting 3-4 for 3 min.

4. Slowly add half of the water and continue mixing for 1 min

5. Replace the wire whip with paddle on Kitchen aid. Now add all the dry ingredients slowly into the bowl @ speed 2

6. Add rest of the water @ speed 2.

7. Mix at speed 3-4 for 5 min .

8. Transfer 700 gms of batter into closed kitchen bread pan. Usually about 1/3^rd volume of the total kitchen bread pan (the weight of batter will vary according to the pan used).

9. Bake at 360 F for 40 minutes

Note: The method gives two large loaves of bread. Typically one loaf is about one pound.

TEAM INDIA slow-‘cooked’ by You know who……….

In the events after euphoric World cup win, Team India in a state of mental and physical fatigue are relinquishing their status as ‘Top Test Cricketing Nation’. Before we go on analyzing the rise, peaking and a minor dip in Team India’s progress, let me give e brief overview of point system. (For complete explanation of it please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICC_Test_Championship#Historical_rankings). I’m of belief that with good system in place for cricket, i.e. Ranji trophy, Tours of Team A to different countries, Emerging players tours, Team India will remain competitive in test cricket world for years to come. It just so happened that this team couldn’t survive the intense grueling of test cricket in England’s backyard.

Coming back to the point system for test cricket, it is relatively new and one that was held coveted by ‘The Great Australian Team’. However, after the ‘Mass Exodus’, an unlikely Team SA grabbed the top spot for a brief period of 4 months. The mantle was then passed onto Team India for the next two years. If you look at the history since then, since 2008 Team India has not lost a series either home or away and has played the likes of all the other top four teams (Australia, SA, Srilanka and England), which lead to Team India’s rise to the top. During the same period (except for England) the other teams have either lost their away series or only drawn on the home series. Since the point system clearly favors a team that is consistently in ‘NET POSITIVE’ side of the results, Team India benefitted from their schedule, more like stars aligning right. The one series that did matter was away series with Team SA which they have efficiently held to a draw. They were never facing a red-hot team (like current Team England) nor had a grueling season. Moreover, from the scheduling point of view, Test match was more like a make up for lost time between ODI’s and T20’s. Though the ‘pundits’ applaud test cricket as pinnacle form of cricket, Team India’s schedule says otherwise.

Since 2008, the accidental coincidence with boom of T20, Team India hardly has any warm up practice games for test matches. If you look at the warm up time, most of the franchise teams have about a week to ten days to acclimatize to the rigors of T20. On the other hand, Team India has only 5 days for bilateral series? In long run this has to change. It would be better for Team India (Paraphrasing Saurav’s famous words “Team India is a slow starter”), to have a tour match with at least one red-hot county team. The lack of practice is/was/will be a recipe for a major setback. The attitude of “slow starters” will always be tested when India met an in-form team.

Here is how Mr. Thorn (aka Flower) plotted the much taunted batting lineup. That Z. Khan pulled out the first day was a mere luck in his favor. If you look at last 10 series, the batsman that performed the most (highest run scorers in series) were Sachin, Gambhir, Sehwag (very recently Dravid). It was imperative for Team Pommies to figure out these stalwarts. Test 1, Gambhir in close in field, hit him out. Might cost a wicket in that process, but at least it will hamper him. Blow to Gambhir was inevitable, given the shots that KP and Prior intended on playing they were poised to induce maximum pain to the solid opener. If the gamble pays off, then bowlers get into rhythm early and make clear inroads into the fragile lower spine of Indian Batting. You may call it unlucky, but it was a clear plot which truly worked in England’s favor. Given that Sehwag was out for first two and didn’t have match practice for others, the sole effort was with short stuff in swinging conditions. Dravid though was the hard part, he was clearly not part of the plans, since they were going for win and Dravid’s mindset of playing for a draw was not in direct conflict of their plans.

In the bowling front, inexperienced line up with little match practice, no strong back ups and swinging conditions meant a long uphill battle. The nail in the coffin was Bhajji pulling out of the series which left a wide gap with experience. Although we did have Murali Karthik on the advisory team, it takes more than advice for a new bowler to perform. Though not remarkable, RP Singh was a remarkable addition to the team. It is hard for a bowler to run in as hard as Ishant Sharma and not be awarded. English Batsmen knew their conditions well and Mr. Thorn always has a grounds committee for every English venue.

Now to the credit of Team England, they did have some in-form bowlers. Chris Tremlett was relentless and Stuart Broad found immense help in Therapy (or rather sugar coated version of Motivational Coaching). They got wickets against the run of play and the bowlers made the batsman play…. Did I mention the word ‘play’? And when the judgment day arrived (for the white wash), the magician stepped up to rip apart the fragile Team India’s tail (which btw starts from No. 5). All in all, sometimes the best laid plans do not work, but for Team England it worked like a charm and also with the Mantle of “World No. 1 in test cricket”. Kudos to England team. But then again it is just a minor blip on Team India’s future.

I keep reminding myself that “long term” results are a consequence of an efficient system. Hope the selectors stay wise and take positives from such a dismal series.

H-1 B process for Hyderabad Center

After my recent success with H1B, I just realized with enough preparation, the process could be very simple and stress-less. Here is a step wise approach that I followed for a successful experience

Appointment requirements (in the order of importance)

1. Photo fitting the requirements (would be best to check your picture on their website before starting the DS-160)
2. DS-160 (Takes about 20-30 minutes. Save the DS -160 process as you proceed. The program is notorious for “refreshing” and losing information. Save the completed form for future).
3. HDFC receipts (Check the VFS website for up to date exchange rates)
4. Plan on making your appointments at least 15-20 days prior to your interview date. Print three copies of the appointment letter. (In my case, Hyderabad availability was updated only three weeks in advance, but at VFS they mentioned that they allowed applicants could get an interview as late as 5-7 days in advance)

Application process

Submit the following in the VFS Hyderabad Center 3 days in advance (you can also authorize of your friends/relatives to do this for you – in which case add an additional authorization letter to the list).

1. Copy of VFS Interview letter
2. Copy of DS-160 confirmation
3. Copy of passport – Bio page and any pages with observations
4. Copy of I-797
5. Copy of the employers petition letter to USCIS
6. Original HDFC receipts – Both the receipts (green color) for fees paid.
7. One recent photograph (there is a photographer at the venue, charges you Rs. 100 for 4. Highly recommend it)

You get a white confirmation receipt from VFS. (you will need this to pick-up your VISA)

Note: (I had interview on Tuesday and they accepted my documents on Friday. I later learnt that there are lot of people who do not follow this protocol and end up standing in a long line at the consulate office on the day of interview, which seemed like an anxious and stressful process. Your interview could be delayed by 2-4 hours if you don’t submit the documents earlier. I would strongly recommend submitting the documents earlier.

Interview requirements

(This is an exhaustive list. I had an index paper listing all the documents. The VISA officer found it really easy to navigate through the documents using the index, as a consequence asked me very few questionsJ)

Immigration Documents

1. Copy of DS 160
2. Copy of passport – Bio page and any pages with observations
3. Original I-797 notice of approval,
4. Copy of complete I-129 petition submitted
5. Copy of Labor Condition Application
6. Copy of HDFC Bank fee receipt
7. Copy of SSN

Employment Documents

1. Offer Letter (received at the time of employment)
2. Current Employment Verification Letter
3. Letter from your Manager certifying the current list of projects you are working on
4. Copy of Latest Resume
5. Copy of Pay slips (at least for the past 6 months)
6. Names and current phone numbers of the personnel managers and current HR
7. Copy of ID card
8. Copy of W2's and 1040 (at least for the past 5 years if you are already living in US)

Miscellaneous Documents

1. Copy of Address Proof (lease and/or driver's license)
2. Photographs (3)
3. Copies of relevant diplomas (in my case Master’s and Doctoral)
4. Copy of air ticket (with your return ticket if you have it)
5. Copy of Bank Statements (6 months of one major bank)

The day of

1. Arrive 10-15 minutes earlier. Really only 15 minutes earlier. (This was different from my Chennai experience as a student, where I went almost 2 hours in advance and was standing in hot and humid conditions).
2. Just have your valid passport and appointment letter in your hand.
3. If you arrive only 10 minutes prior, just directly go to the Gate keeper. (No need to stand in line and hopelessly stand behind people who arrive 20-30 minutes before their scheduled time)
4. There is no shelter for waiting, so prepare yourself for rain and shine.
5. They do not allow any umbrellas or bags inside so have a water proof document organizer. They were very particular about cosmetics and had witnessed two female applicants sent back for having some in their hand bags.

Interview process

If you have submitted your documents earlier, you are directed to one of the three windows inside. (you will really enjoy the benefit of submitting stuff earlier).

1. You show your passport and appointment letter. The documents you submitted earlier are returned to you. (Make sure you save the green HDFC receipt, you need this along with the white receipt (item II-2 listed above).
2. You are directed to finger printing window. (longest wait time, there is water at the back wall)
3. You are directed to interview window (I had four people in front of me).
4. Don’t hesitate to ask the interviewer to repeat if you have not understood the question (you say Pardon me, excuse me, or could you please repeat the question). It would greatly help for you to answer the question exactly with few words other than saying YES or NO.

Follow Up

If approved you will get an email in 3-5 business days to pick up your passport.

You can either pick it up from VFS office on specific date and time period (very easy for Hyderabad residents), or you have to wait 2 more days for the courier service to deliver it to you.

If picking up from VFS office –

Usually between 3 and 5 pm. I would recommend going at 3 pm.

Take only the following documents

• Copy and original of HDFC green receipt
• White confirmation receipt (Item II-2, listed above)
• Copy of passport – Bio page and any pages with observations
• Any form of ID

Rejected cases:

Three of the four people ahead of me were rejected of H1B visa. One common trait among them was mess nature of arranging documents. Situation 1: The officer asked for LCA (Labor certification application and relevant diplomas, the applicant took long time to sort through and was completely lost in the messy document pile). Situation 2: The officer asked the applicant why was a primary company not sponsoring his H1B, the applicant showed a number of documents to support his importance for his consultancy rather than answering more specifically. Situation 3: The parents didn’t have the Payslip copies of their child, didn’t exactly know the company name their Son was working for, No W-2 or 1040’s of their son. I felt sorry for the old couple.

Useful links:

Genral information regarding Hyderebad – US: http://hyderabad.usconsulate.gov/

VFS website: https://www.vfs-usa.co.in/USIndia/Index.html