The education at Vitafoods Europe Conference (May 10 to 11, 2016) is exploring the four categories that are most interesting to attendees, according to a survey Informa Exhibitions conducted with last year’s audience.
This year, education will focus on healthy ageing, which was selected by more than a quarter of respondents (26 percent), digestive health (23 percent), cardiovascular health (22 percent) and weight management (21 percent).
The program includes “an excellent line-up that is our strongest ever, with a clear focus on applied science, business growth strategies, quality assurance and regulation that is sure to help delegates meet their business challenges," according to Chris Lee, Vitafoods portfolio director.
Weight Management
On 10 May, Dr Jörg Hager, head of nutrition & metabolic health unit at the Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences will chair a session with speakers professor Julian Mercer from the University of Aberdeen’s Rowett Institute of Nutrition & Health. He will outline findings from the EU-funded Full4Health study, which has been looking into the psychology of eating habits and how this influences consumer demand.
Dr. Angela Bonnema, senior nutrition scientist at Cargill, and Soraya Shirazi-Beechey, professor of molecular physiology & biochemistry at the University of Liverpool, will follow, presenting results from Project Satin—SATiety INnovation, an EU-funded study of nutrients and ingredients that promote satiety and could therefore help to curb obesity. The session will include a practical focus on how the findings of the research can be implemented in the nutraceutical industry.
Heart Health
Also on May 10, Dr. Paul Kroon, research leader at the UK’s Institute of Food Research, will reveal findings from BACCHUS, an EU-funded project that investigated how the bioactives found in food could offer cardiovascular health benefits.
Healthy Aging
The fourth EU-funded project to feature at the conference will be NU-AGE, a major healthy ageing research initiative involving a consortium of 30 companies and organizations from 17 EU countries. A presentation on the findings will be delivered by project coordinator professor Claudio Franceschi from the University of Bologna in Italy. This will take place in a healthy ageing session chaired by the University of Geneva’s Dr. Astrid Stuckelberger, president of the Geneva International Network on Ageing at the World Health Organization.
Day one of the conference will also feature sessions focusing on cognitive health and infant health. On day two, attention will switch to marketing strategies, product safety and regulatory issues. In the morning, Katrina Lytton, UK Nutrition Lead at KPMG, will give unique insight into the future of “intelligent food," and she will also address the six key areas that drive innovation and create a competitive advantage.
Kicking off the afternoon session will be a panel discussion debating the merits of incorporating pharmaceutical standards in the functional nutrition industry. Chaired by Jo Pisani of PricewaterhouseCoopers, the panel will include David Mela, senior scientist with Unilever’s R&D operation, and Inga Koehler, senior manager regulatory affairs at Pfizer Consumer Healthcare.
Later in the day, regulatory experts EAS Strategies will present a special extended and in-depth three-part session exploring a roadmap for bringing new nutritional ingredients to the EU market. The conference will close with a look at the regulatory aspects of packaging, including the tricky issue of intellectual property, from law firm Bird & Bird.
The Vitafoods Europe Conference will run alongside the first two days of the Vitafoods Europe exhibition at Palexpo, Geneva (on 10 and 11 May 2016). Over the course of the two-day conference, attendees will be able to take their pick from a total of 45 presentations and expert panel discussions delivered by speakers from 13 countries. To register for a pass, visit vitafoods.eu.com/pr-conference.
