Growing health consciousness and focus on preventive health care pushed the market size of the global dietary supplements industry to an estimated $210 billion in 2025.
In this rapidly expanding market, UW-Stout food science and technology major Ayush Patel applied the skills he learned in the university labs as a quality assurance specialist intern at SMK Global, a nutritional supplement manufacturer in Parsippany, New Jersey.
Patel is interested in how science directly connects to real food production, especially in food safety, quality control, and making sure products are safe and consistent for consumers.
“This experience with SMK helped me grow both professionally and personally,” said Patel, of Anand, India. “As an international student, adapting to a new work environment and contributing to a real production system gave me a lot of confidence. It confirmed that I want to build my career in food safety and quality assurance.”
Patel was one of 24 UW-Stout students who received the university’s 2026 Outstanding Cooperative Education and Internship Program Student of the Year Award. He will graduate in May 2027.
How do you hope to make an impact in your field?
I hope to contribute to improving food safety and quality systems so that consumers can trust the products they use every day. I’m especially interested in making quality processes more efficient while maintaining high safety standards.
What were your main roles at SMK Global?
My experience at SMK gave me a better understanding of how quality systems are maintained in the industry. As a quality assurance specialist, my responsibilities included:
- Inspecting powder products and packaging
- Testing for moisture, weight, texture and seal integrity
- Verifying labeling accuracy
- Reviewing ingredients and labels in compliance with FDA regulations
- Supporting regulatory documentation
- Supported Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) compliance checks during internal audits
- Packaging line quality control, helping identify issues with filling, sealing, and labeling
- Working closely with QA, R&D, and production teams to ensure product quality and safety.
What do you enjoy most about your internship?
What I enjoyed most was being part of a real production environment and seeing how everything we learn in class actually applies. It was rewarding to know that even small checks, like label reviews, compliance verification, or packaging inspections, can directly impact product safety and consumer trust.
What was challenging about your internship, and how did you face those challenges?
Understanding and applying detailed FDA regulations was definitely challenging at first, especially in a fast-paced production environment. I improved by asking questions, reviewing official guidelines and learning from my team. Over time, I became more confident in making quality decisions and handling real-time production challenges.
How will your courses and experiences at Stout help you make an impact in your career?
Courses like Food Safety, Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) and Food Chemistry gave me a strong foundation for understanding quality systems. Lab work and hands-on experiences helped me apply concepts like moisture analysis and product stability directly during my internship.
