Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
Internship Position
Company Information
Company Name
Location
On-Site Supervisor
Natural Extracts Industries Ltd
Lab activities to be conducted at McGill University.
On-site activities to be conducted at company premises in Moshi, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.
Juan Guardado, Director
Jay Akkireddy, General Manager
Internship Information
Length of Position
8 Months (can be divided into two 4-month segments)
Approx. Start Date
29th September 2014
Approx. End Date
29th May 2015
Weekly Hours
8 to 40 hours, depending on the stage of work
Salary
To be negotiated (a living stipend would be provided)
Position Details
Job Title
Job Description
Food Technologist
Natural Extracts Industries Ltd (NEI), a start-up social enterprise, is pioneering the
sustainable flavour production industry in Tanzania, starting with vanilla and other flavour
extracts. The company works in all areas from cultivation, to post-harvest processing, to
value-add manufacturing and to international sales and marketing. The supply chain
currently integrates over 900 farmers from Kilimanjaro, Morogoro, Tanga and Kagera
regions. Currently, products include natural flavours, such as: (i) liquid extracts from vanilla,
orange and cacao; and (ii) solid flavours like gourmet-grade bourbon vanilla pods. The
company is embarking on a product development effort to expand its range of food flavours
and nutrients products, particularly from tropical crops found in Tanzania.
As part of this effort, NEI is looking for a food technologist to spend two 4-month periods
assisting the team to develop (i) visually clear extracts of citrus (orange, lemon, pineapple)
and berry (raspberry, strawberry) fruits for flavouring water, and (ii) a moringa-based ready-
to-drink nutritional beverage to address the low income market segment that can act as a
food supplement for women and children.
These internship periods would be further divided into a research stage and a development
stage. The research stage would be conducted on-campus (part-time for 1-2 months) and
the development stage (full-time for 2-3 months) at the company’s facilities in Tanzania.
Preferred Disciplines
Responsibilities
Educational / Academic
Requirements
Required Skills /
Experience
Work Conditions
The intern must already have achieved an undergraduate BSc and be progressing toward an
MSc or PhD in food technology, food science or other related field.
• Conduct flavours R&D: researching extractives from various types of tropical plants for
use in the local food industry, including bakeries, beverage manufacturers and dairies.
• Conduct nutrients R&D: Researching traditional nutritional and medicinal plants used by
the native peoples (e.g., the Masaai), identifying active ingredients, developing
extraction protocols and designing an end product suitable for the local and regional
markets.
• Advise the management team on new equipment and technology necessary for the new
products.
• Design standard operating procedures and quality control methods for new products
developed.
• Write standards to be adopted by the Tanzania Food and Drug Authority (TFDA).
• Identify supply chains capable of meeting supply needs for the new products.
• Train NEI’s in-house food scientist in various methods of production techniques, food
flavour development and analytical methodologies, within a resource-constrained
context.
• The intern’s academic focus should be on flavours and/or nutrients and knowledge of
nutraceuticals and food biotechnology would be preferred.
• Excellent analytical skills, particularly in solvent-based extraction methods, food
constituent analysis using spectrometry, and cost-benefit process modeling.
• Excellent data presentation and report writing skills, for mapping efficiency levels and
writing procedures and standards.
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively with non-native English speakers;
• Excellent hands-on training skills to an adult audience is necessary;
• Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment and be sensitive to foreign culture;
• Have an interest in exploring and adding value to local flora with a combined commercial
and social impact philosophy.
• The intern will begin by working remotely at McGill University in order to have access to
laboratory facilities.
• Subsequently, the intern would travel to Tanzania for 2 months to work full-time in
developing the product and proceeding with pilot-scale implementation. The company’s
150 sqm facilities are located in a semi-rural setting, with pilot-scale production lines and
a small quality control lab.
Applicants for this position may apply to:
Contact Person
Juan Guardado, HR@nei-ltd.com, +255 768 973 372
Application Deadline
12th September 2014