Interview with Intern Benjamin, A Molecular Biology & Physiology Student

Meet Benjamin Van Loy. Benjamin is a twenty-five-year-old student molecular biology & physiology. We interviewed him about his internship at Kemin Food Technologies EMEA in our Belgian office. 

Why study biology, Benjamin?

I’ve always been interested in nature and animals. I’ve been reading books about it all my life, I’ve visited every zoo in Belgium and I was a frequent visitor of pet stores when I was a child. Especially exotic insects fascinate me. 

Why did you choose Kemin for your internship?

I chose Kemin for multiple reasons. Firstly, I read a very positive testimonial from another student who did an internship here. Secondly, I wanted to broaden my field of work. I had already done an internship in the medical sector and now I am also gaining my first experience in the food sector. It will increase my chances on the labour market. Moreover, the office is not far from where I live!

Any first lessons, Benjamin?

It feels good to bring the techniques I learned at university to practice. I’m really surprised to see how much attention is paid to food, in order to keep it fresh as long as possible. 

Which projects do you work on?

I work on the development of clean label ingredients to replace preservatives in mayonnaises & salad dressings and salted herring. Clean label ingredients can be plant extracts or traditional kitchen ingredients that all people recognize. Take for example the herring experiment I’m doing. Every fish contains bacterial flora. If you touch the fish, new bacteria are added. These bacteria have an influence on the shelf life of the herring. Under the same conditions, we compare herring with preservatives with herring that contains clean label ingredients. 

Tell us about your future plans?

In my opinion, it’s interesting to know something about everything as a student. It will give you more career opportunities. In the long run, it’s better to specialize and to know everything about something.