Black History Month: Kanaan Selasie Doe-Addo
Program: Master of Food Science
February 2025 – Kanaan Selasie Doe-Addo is working towards a career as a research and development scientist, where he hopes to be on the leading-edge of developing new, sustainable food and packaging products.
He developed an interest in food systems during his undergraduate degree at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana. He learned about food science, technology, and the importance of protecting and harvesting indigenous crops.
In addition, in his third year, he had an internship at the Department of Food Processing and Engineering at the University of Ghana, in Legon, Ghana. There, he worked in the analytical, wet, and dry labs.
He had the opportunity to work on several food processing research projects that explored indigenous crops. This included egusi seeds, which come from cucurbit plants such as melons, squash and gourds.
“Egusi melon seeds are rich in protein and are drought resistant,” says Doe-Addo. “We studied the nutritional composition and new processing techniques with the goal of alleviating malnutrition in Ghana.”
“I became interested in promoting sustainable food systems, particularly crops that are underutilized in Ghana and other sub-Saharan Africa countries. The UBC Master of Food Science program aligns with that, especially when it comes to the field of sustainability and also processing.”
Other projects included studying the physico-mechanical properties of newly developed cowpea varieties, drying kinetics of mango and pineapple, and the production of brukina, a millet-based fermented diary beverage.
Doe-Addo came to UBC’s Master of Food Science program as a Mastercard Foundation Scholar. He was drawn to the workplace practicum offered, as well as some of the unique projects underway at UBC, such as upcycling blueberry waste into biodegradable packaging materials.
One remarkable difference between the food science programs in Canada and Ghana is the focus on food safety in Canada, he says. In Ghana, although safety is taken into account, the focus is mostly on efficient food processing and reducing waste during the process.
He is excited to be at UBC, in a cutting-edge environment where food and sustainability are heavily researched. When he graduates, Doe-Addo hopes to work on alternative sources of protein and developing new products, using inputs that are indigenous to Ghana.
“I think it’s time to look at alternative protein sources. Why don’t we look at edible insects as a source of protein instead of over-relying on animal meat, which in the long-run won’t be sustainable.”
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Tagged with: Equity Diversity Inclusion and Indigeneity, Master of Food Science