Where heritage meets science: NRF-SAASTA engages young minds

For learners in Mbombela, Heritage Day came with more than traditional food, dance and music. It was also a lesson in science, from understanding food labels and nutrition to discovering how milk can transform into amasi and cheese.

The practical lesson formed part of a Heritage Day celebration hosted by the Penreach Shalamuka STEAM Centre in collaboration with the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) and NRF-SAASTA.

The event brought together learners from four secondary schools for a day that combined science engagement, cultural expression and a traditional cooking and quiz competition.

For NRF-SAASTA, the event highlighted the importance of taking science beyond the classroom and connecting scientific knowledge to decisions young people and their families make every day.

A key feature of the programme was an interactive session on food safety, nutrition and food labelling led by Prof Rina Swart, Head of the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition at the University of the Western Cape and Nutrition Lead for the DSTI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security.

Swart unpacked the information consumers encounter on food packaging, explaining the difference between expiry, best-before and sell-by dates.

She explained that expiry dates indicate when a product may no longer be safe to consume, while best-before dates generally refer to the quality, taste and texture of a product. Sell-by dates, meanwhile, are primarily used by retailers for stock management.

Learners and educators were encouraged to look beyond the prominent date printed on a package and pay attention to storage instructions, warning labels, ingredient lists and nutritional information.

Swart also used milk to demonstrate how scientific knowledge can help consumers understand food transformation and reduce unnecessary waste. Depending on processing, storage and food-safety conditions, fresh milk can be transformed into products such as amasi, cottage cheese and harder cheeses.

The discussion also focused on added sugars and nutritional information, with learners encouraged to examine food labels rather than assuming that products with high energy content are necessarily nutritious.

The science lesson was complemented by a traditional cooking competition in which two representatives from each participating school competed across three rounds, preparing breakfast, a main meal and dessert using fresh local ingredients supplied by the Penreach STEAM Centre.

To ensure impartiality, teams were identified by numbers during adjudication.

The judging panel comprised Swart; Prof Magwaza from the University of Mpumalanga’s Horticultural Sciences and the South Africa-German Bilateral Research Chair in Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems for Food Security (SARChI SuReFooDS); and Dr Ali Ali, a Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry at the University of Mpumalanga and affiliate of the DSTI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security.

Between the cooking rounds, learners celebrated South Africa’s cultural heritage through traditional dances, poetry and musical performances, reinforcing the connection between indigenous knowledge, food and scientific understanding.

The day’s programme concluded with an awards ceremony led by Given Mashabane, Director of the Penreach Shalamuka STEAM Centre, followed by a general science quiz that was open to learners, teachers, media representatives and other attendees.

Mayibuye Secondary School was named the overall competition winner, while White River Secondary School won the cooking competition. Portia Shabangu Secondary School took the quiz title.

The event demonstrated how science engagement can be woven into everyday experiences, giving young people an opportunity to see the relevance of scientific knowledge in the food they eat, the choices they make and the cultural practices they celebrate.

Through its participation, NRF-SAASTA helped reinforce the message that science is not confined to laboratories and textbooks. It is also found in the kitchen, on food labels, and in the knowledge that communities use every day.