Ask any of the tenants at the LSU AgCenter’s Food Incubator program about in-house food scientist Luis Espinoza, and you’ll hear nothing but kind words.
“We couldn’t do what we do without him,” says Lindsey Kelly, a tenant who works on the locally made Re: dressings and marinades. “He’s always on hand, willing to answer questions. His expertise is amazing and invaluable.”
At the incubator, Espinoza helps local, budding food ventures get their products onto grocery store shelves by teaching tenants things like product consistency on a molecular level, food safety, inspection guidelines and market development.
He’ll be honored next Tuesday at the Institute of Food Technologists’ Annual Meeting and Food Expo in New Orleans for earning his certified food scientist designation. Incubator Director Gaye Sandoz says the certification now gives the incubator program access to one of only three certified food scientists in the state.
“For LSU to have him on staff sets us apart from other food innovation centers,” Sandoz says. “He has been a huge asset to jump starting the innovation and structure of the incubator.”
Espinoza started working with tenants when the incubator opened last summer. The 42-year-old Honduran has two master’s degrees and a bachelor’s in chemical engineering. He first came to Baton Rouge in 2001 to study environmental engineering. After his scholarship ended, he returned to Honduras to work in the food industry and treat wastewater.
In 2008, he decided to return to Baton Rouge to get a Ph.D. in food science, which he completed last year. When Sandoz approached him to help out with the AgCenter’s new incubator program, he couldn’t turn down the opportunity.
“I love to come and help people make it in these tough times,” he says. “I’m there to ease the transition of going from kitchen to the incubator, which is this huge space with all these facilities and equipment.”
Incubator tenant Elke Ellzey of Elkarita says Espinoza’s work ethic and guidance helped her through the first three runs of her 100% natural, non-alcoholic juice-based mixer. He put in late hours to help Ellzey work on her product. “I don’t know if just anyone would do that,” she says.
Espinoza says he wanted to get his certification to gain another level of credibility. The process wasn’t easy.
“To get this certification, you have to have at least five years of experience, then go through a process and apply for it,” he says. “This isn’t a standardized test. You send your answers to a committee, and then they decide if you need to retake the test. In food science, there’s so much you don’t know. There are no books on topics like product development. If you want to do well, it’s about your pure experiences.”
Lili Courtney, the owner/creator of Delightful Palate condiments and an incubator tenant, says Espinoza’s experience, precision and diligence helped improve her product.
“I don’t even like to process if he’s not there,” she says. “He’s such a mentor. He knows every little aspect of my product. Safety, inspection, food technology … there’s not one leaf he doesn’t turn over to see if you are doing it right or not. He’s my anchor in the processing lab for sure.”
