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GNS 2010: A Major Event in Taste, Nutrition & Health

http://www.bulletins-electroniques.com/actualites/62205.htm

After the success of the 2009 Congress on 'From Birth to Old Age', which drew a high percentage of foreign participants, the 2010 Taste-Nutrition-Health Congress (GNS 2010), which will be held on March 23 and 24, 2010, in Dijon, already promises to be fascinating. GNS 2010 on Food, Nutrients and Well-being is in sync with the relevant issues for VITAGORA competitive cluster members. A showcase for the cluster, GNS 2010 will also be addressing topical questions asked by researchers, industry operators, healthcare players as well as citizens.

"The Congress has found its audience," exclaimed Merck Médication Familial General Manager Christophe de la Fouchardière, GNS President. Ninety percent of the more than 400 people attending the 2009 Congress said they were satisfied and intended to go to the upcoming event. The rising number of foreign participants, accounting for 13% of congress-goers, was also cause for satisfaction. The conferences were among the most popular events at the Congress. The Speakers' Corner, a special feature at GNS, were also well attended. This is a special occasion where Congress delegates are informed by specialists, especially on every aspect of the ever-changing regulations in France and in Europe. The B-to-B meetings at the Congress increased, with more than 300 appointments in two days. Drawing on this success, GNS organizers have decided to deploy the same format for the 2010 Congress.

Controversial Topics Fueling Discussions

"Having reached its maturity, the Congress has carved out its place in the yearly calendar of national and international events on these issues," the President stated. The 2010 'crop' is already slated be productive. The event will feature two morning sessions alternating plenary conferences (four) and short talks. "There will be more talks (first held in 2009) than last year, " explained Congress Scientific Committee President Michel Narce. The afternoons will also alternate round table discussions and workshops. "This year, we wanted every round table to deal with a controversial topic and fuel a real debate between participants," he said. One of the round table discussions will be addressing the bioavailability of antioxidants, a controversial issue among specialists, as the absborption of excessive quantities of antioxidants lead to unwanted side effects. "Our goal is to report on each of the topics, present the findings of the latest studies and feed the discussion."

The other round tables will deal with 'Measurement scales of the quality of life', 'Ready-to-eat foods, between convenience and health', and 'Developing functional food products: formulation and marketing'. AgroParisTech Associate Professor Véronique Bosc who works on human behavior when in contact with solid surfaces at UMR GENIAL (Joint Research Unit on Food Processing Engineering) will show how packaging can facilitate the preservation of ready-to-eat, processed or non-processed foods. She will address the example of how the public authorities' encourage consumers to eat fruit and vegetables, which are so healthy. In the ready-to-eat environment, fruit and vegetables are increasingly precut and packed for easy eating. "However, optimizing convenience does entail additional spoil risks for the products. Understandably, packaging is important and must be finely tailored to product features," she underscored.

AgroSup Dijon Professor Philippe Cayot, who is also Director of the EMMA (Water, Active Molecules, Macromolecules, Activities) Unit, Bourgogne University, will be dealing with functional foods, i.e., healthy foods. Although they bear the potential promise of a bright future, they cannot be developed through standard distribution channels. Their effectiveness implies special production techniques using high cost technologies. "So, marketing specialists will have to invent new distribution channels for these products. The approach is all the more urgent as nutrition doctors are becoming wary of the products," he reported. This round table on March 24 will certainly trigger a fascinating, heated debate between specialists in the different sectors.

A Greater Focus on the Academic World

The GNS 2010 workshops attended by renowned specialists , which focused more on physicians at the earlier events, will strive to attract not only the medical world, but the food-processing industry, as well. "Industry operators in this sector expressed an interest in the practical workshops during the last Congress," Michel Narce recalled. If the GNS 2010 organizers goal is to foster its audience's loyalty and continue to develop international attendance, they also intend to build ties with the academic world, with a focus on doctoral and postdoctoral students and young researchers. "We want to give them the opportunity of becoming involved through oral communications or posters," the Scientific Committee President said. So, Congress registration will be free of charge if the lead author of a poster is a student or young researcher.

In 2009, the posters were a great success with doctoral students from the four corners of France. A contest was organized and more than 60 posters were submitted. The organizers are hoping draw even more this year. "This is an opportunity for students to submit their work, take part in the Congress, and build their networks. They can also attend business meetings and meet industry operators, including some who may just recruit them," pointed out Christophe de la Fouchardière. All the ingredients have been sown to make the Fifth Taste-Nutrition-Health Congress - like the earlier congresses - a wonderful crop that will satisfy researchers, academics and industry operators alike.

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GNS 2010 - http://www.gout-nutrition-sante.com

Code brève
ADIT : 62205

ADIT - Jean-François Desessard - email: jfd@adit.fr

eTech France numéro 237 (8/02/2010) - ADIT / ADIT - http://www.bulletins-electroniques.com/actualites/62205.htm