As manager of Niagara College’s student-run Benchmark restaurant and stakeholder in family company Olson Food Concepts, Michael Olson wears two hats with Niagara Research.

Olson Food Concepts is the industry partner in a number of projects at Niagara Research, such as the Garde Manger Temperature Monitoring System.

That project saw students develop a temperature monitoring device intended for food safety in commercial kitchens and retail operations. It is a web-based system that automatically collects and graphs temperature in perishable food holding areas like refrigerators, freezers and hot cabinets. It has been licensed to Quickservice Software and will be released Fall 2011.

“Smemories” is another project Olson was involved with that involved both Niagara College and Sheridan College, analyzing the correlation between positive food aromas, wellness and memory in older adults.

Sheridan college undertook extensive research in identifying the food aromas most associated with well-being and measured the time of positive mood after experiencing the smells. Funding for commercialization will drive the project to the next level, said Olson.

Olson is also doing a study titled “Tersano” of the potential benefits of treating food produce with ozonated water to prevent food-borne illnesses stemming from causes such as E coli. Water treated with ozone has a temporary sanitizing effect greater than that of bleach but with no chemical residue or cost, said Olson.

Olson is a full time professor at the Canadian Wine and Food Institute at Niagara College, contributes to periodicals and loves to teach the next generation of Canadian Chefs.