She listens to Taylor Swift and Zach Bryan, reads the scientific journal Hydrocolloids and enjoys a medium-rare filet. From the R&D lab to consulting with clients aiming to commercialize food products, she is adept at finding solutions. Meet Rachel Mitacek, MGP food scientist and passionate foodie.
When did you start at MGP, and what was your first job here?
I started at MGP in April 2022 as a Senior Scientist in Ingredient Solutions R&D, which is still my title today.
What is your educational background?
I got my undergraduate degree in Food Science at Oklahoma State University, then stayed at OSU for my Master’s degree in Meat Science, where my research focused on muscle biochemistry and retail case color throughout aging. I went on to get my PhD in Food Science in 2023 from the University of Minnesota, where I studied novel plant proteins and protein chemistry.
Why do you do what you do?
I am passionate about food and how we choose to nourish our bodies. I am fascinated by protein chemistry and how it changes given various growing, processing, and environmental conditions.
What part of your job do you consider crucial that others might overlook?
In my job it is crucial to work cross-functionally with sales and operations to ensure that what we are doing in R&D is translating from benchtop to commercial scale to make a product that meets consumer and market demands.
What album do you listen to when you’re home cooking?
I am always listening to a mixture of Taylor Swift, Zach Bryan, Morgan Wallen, Tyler Childers, and Noah Kahan, and my favorite podcast for cooking or on my commute to Atchison is Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard and Monica Padman.
What’s your favorite dinner?
I love to treat myself to a medium rare filet, mashed potatoes, and brussels sprouts, but my favorite weekly meal is my husband’s chili.
What blog, podcast, website or book do you go to for education on the industry?
I follow foodbusinessnews.com for all business-related things within the industry, and where I keep up on innovations and new research from publications in various journals such as Hydrocolloids and Food Chemistry.
What do you do exceptionally well?
I am decently good at rallying a team and getting people to come to group decisions on solutions.
Who has had the most influence on your career?
I have been lucky to have many influences on my career. When I was little, it was Alton Brown for introducing me to food science. As I entered my undergraduate program and throughout my master’s career I was influenced by my advisor Dr. Ranjith Ramanathan, who continues to influence me. In my time in Minnesota, I had many great influences such as my advisor Dr. Pam Ismail, and my mentor and good friend Dr. Chelsey Hinnenkamp, among many others.
What has been the most rewarding part of your time at MGP?
Introducing the new Ingenient Inclusions® line of extruded crisps that can be used in the snack and nutrition bar industry. I started that project in April 2022 with a wide direction of “snack crisps” in which we had to so some initial market research to figure out what types of crisps we wanted to make and how they would be novel in the industry. I dwindled down the ideas for the crisps into three categories: alternative botanicals; ancient grains; and high protein. The first formulations of these crisps included chickpea, buckwheat, sorghum, millet, high protein pea, and high protein hemp. The first round of crisps was used for sensory analysis and to gauge the market interest and get some feedback from our distributors in the snack space on the function, size, flavor, and price. We then used that information to work through several more iterations of crisps to finally end up with what we are currently commercializing, which includes millet, white rice, brown rice, high protein pea, high protein pea & hemp, and high protein pea & canola. Throughout all of this I have been working with operations to scale up production, as well as marketing to make marketing materials that we use to showcase these new products at trade shows, such as IFT, and sales to meet with potential customers. My colleague Senior Scientist Jennifer Dunn Carlson has been instrumental in utilizing these products in various applications, especially some delicious nutrition bars to showcase their texture and flavor.
What’s the biggest difference in your career today versus when you started?
When I was first getting involved in the food industry as an intern, the big pushes and trends were towards gluten-free. While gluten-free is still prominent, it seems like the big pushes are towards sustainability, plant-based diets, and high protein. Additionally, when I first started in 2013, textured plant proteins were used as meat extenders within animal proteins to help cut cost. The use of textured plant proteins then moved to plant-based meat analogs which didn’t use any animal-based protein. Now we are seeing a return of textured plant proteins as a mixture with animal-based protein as extenders again, but more so to cut the amount of meat consumers are eating for their concerns over health and sustainability.
How would you describe MGP to someone who is unfamiliar with us?
I always explain that MGP and Luxco are now one company and we have essentially two sides to the business: alcohol and food ingredients. Through our ingredients business we offer specialty and modified wheat starches and proteins, as well as our flagship RS4 dietary fiber, named Fibersym®. Additionally, we offer textured wheat and pea protein in several different shapes and sizes, as well as our new line of crisps with options for ancient grains, legumes, rice, and high protein. Although our ingredients segment is large, we are a fairly small and powerful team on the R&D side.
What’s the biggest misconception about your job and MGP?
When I tell people that I am a food scientist that works with meat alternatives people assume that I am vegetarian or vegan, when I eat my fair share of meat, eggs, dairy, and other animal-based products.
What is something great about MGP that no one knows about?
We have a state-of-the-art extrusion plant with a lot of capabilities to customize products for customers. Additionally, we have an incredible test facility at the Tech Center in Atchison, Kansas, where we work with a lot of customers on their projects to help them get their products commercialized.