Three student teams from the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (AES) take top honours at IFT FIRST in Chicago, with product ideas built for global impact.
Three student teams from AES proved they belong among the next generation of food innovators, earning top honours at the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Student Association competitions, held July 6, 2026, in Chicago as part of IFT FIRST, one of the largest international congresses in food science and technology.
Professor Salwa Karboune, a faculty member in the Department of Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry within McGill's Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (AES), has been named Chevalière in the Ordre des Palmes académiques, France's oldest civilian honour. Established in 1808, the order recognizes individuals who have rendered exceptional service to education, culture, or international scientific cooperation with France.
Each year, McGill's Office of the Vice-President (Research and Innovation) hosts the Bravo Gala to celebrate faculty members and researchers who have earned major provincial, national, and international prizes. This year, the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (AES) is proud to have nine members honoured among McGill's brightest research leaders. Their work spans food safety, plant science, nutrition, material engineering, animal science, ornithology, and agricultural communication.
The Macdonald Campus community gathered on Friday, April 10, to celebrate the life and legacy of the late Professor Varoujan Yaylayan, PhD., who was a cherished faculty member of the Faulty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences’ Department of Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry.
Imagining, designing, and developing a food product just as it would be done in industry within the framework of a prestigious international competition, was the challenge taken on by Cole, Jackie, and Deniz, students in McGill University’s Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
McGill’s Department of Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry is celebrating an outstanding achievement by its students: all three McGill teams entered into this year’s Institute of Food Technologists Student Association (IFTSA) competitions have been selected as finalists. The teams will represent McGill at the IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo in Chicago in July 2026—one of the largest and most influential gatherings in the global food science community.
A new NSERC CREATE initiative, MIXCHEM, is reshaping how Canada prepares researchers to confront the growing challenge of complex chemical mixtures in the environment. Prof. Stéphane Bayen, a leading voice in Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry, is helping drive this interdisciplinary program, which blends cutting‑edge analytical training with hands‑on experience across industry, government, and academia.
An interdisciplinary team including researchers at McGill University has found a range of unexpected chemical contaminants in human milk samples from Canada and South Africa. The chemicals include traces of pesticides, antimicrobials and additives used in plastics and personal-care products. The findings were published across five papers.
Gamma irradiation, an industry-standard sterilization method for medicinal and recreational cannabis, does not fully eliminate toxic fungi or their chemical residues, a McGill University study has found. Current testing practices may also miss contamination, raising concerns about health risks for vulnerable users, particularly those with weakened immune systems.
Chemicals used to replace bisphenol A (BPA) in food packaging can trigger potentially harmful effects in human ovarian cells, according to McGill University researchers.
A new study examined several chemicals commonly used in price stickers on packaged meat, fish, cheese and produce found early signs of potential toxicity.
Dear Macdonald Campus Community,
It is with great excitement and gratitude that I begin my journey as the new Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and Associate Vice-President of the Macdonald Campus at McGill University. As I begin my term, I’m excited to connect with each of you - professors, lecturers, staff, learners, students, alumni, donors, and allies. Thank you for the trust you have placed in me.
In March 2025, the GEFSES program hosted its annual international symposium, "Harnessing Genome Editing for Resilient Agriculture," in Ludhiana, India. The event was held in collaboration with Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) and Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU).
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced plans to phase out some food dyes, most of which remain allowed in Canada. CBC News spoke to experts about the safety of these dyes and how they are regulated in Canada.
Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Alumni Ibrahim Kasujja has built on his success at McGill’s Dobson Cup startup competition to help improve the school diet in his native Uganda
Ibrahim Kasujja’s journey began during the COVID-19 pandemic when he started his master's in human nutrition at McGill University remotely from Uganda.
McGill University researchers have developed an AI-powered method to verify the origin of honey, ensuring that what’s on the label matches what’s in the jar. The breakthrough offers a potential solution to a long-standing problem.
“Honey is one of the most fraud-prone commodities in global trade. It often involves mislabelling where it was produced or the types of flowers that bees collected nectar from,” said lead author Stéphane Bayen, Associate Professor and Chair of McGill’s Department of Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry.
