Delivery of functionality in complex food systems: Physically-inspired approaches from nanoscale to microscale 3rd International Symposium 18 - 21 October 2009 Wageningen, The Netherlands Organised by the Graduate School VLAG, in co-operation with Laboratory of Physics and Physical Chemistry of Foods, Wageningen University

Introduction

History
This meeting is the third in a series of symposia aimed at the science and technology of food design: the application of basic scientific principles to rationally design and fabricate food with controlled physicochemical, sensory and nutritional qualities. Previous editions of the symposium were held in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 2005 and Amherst, Massachusetts, United States, in 2007. The positive response on the first two editions has provided a strong incentive for a continuation of the symposium series. With its setting in the 'Food Valley', Wageningen University will provide an inspiring background for this third event.

Background and purpose
The purpose of the symposium is to stimulate scientific discussion and interdisciplinary research in food science, food development and food technology. It will bring together a diverse group of scientists with backgrounds in food science and technology, physics, physical chemistry, biophysics, and biochemistry, who will discuss recent developments towards attractive, healthy and sustainable foods. The symposium will emphasize the rational design and fabrication of foods from a physical perspective, focusing on understanding and utilizing the basic principles of the assembly of elementary food components such as proteins, lipids, polysaccharides and colloidal particles, in relation to their phase behaviour. The symposium format is designed to be highly interactive, with ample time for informal discussions and meetings alongside the five scientific sessions.

Organisation

Scientific committee

Job Ubbink	Nestlé Research Center, Switzerland
Raffaele Mezzenga	University of Fribourg, Switzerland
Julian McClements	University of Massachutsetts, United States
Erik van der Linden	Wageningen University, The Netherlands
Erich Windhab	ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Guus Duchateau	Unilever Research, The Netherlands
Alejandro Marangoni	University of Guelph, Canada
Theo Odijk	Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
Eric Dickinson	University of Leeds, United Kingdom

Organising committee

Erik van der Linden	Food Physics, Wageningen University, The Netherlands
Job Ubbink	Nestlé Research Center, Switzerland
Els Jansen	Wageningen University, The Netherlands
Eva Oudshoorn-Gijsbertsen	Graduate School VLAG, Wageningen University, The Netherlands

Secretariat
The Graduate School VLAG
Ms. Eva Oudshoorn-Gijsbertsen
P.O. Box 8129
6700 EV Wageningen
The Netherlands
Tel. +31 317 485310
Fax +31 317 483342
E-mail: Eva.Oudshoorn@wur.nl

Sponsorship
The following organisations allocated financial support to the conference:

Programme

Programme
The complete programme can be downloaded here in pdf.

Symposium format
The main themes of each of the five sessions will be introduced by a selected number of invited speakers of international reputation. A significant number of slots will be available for contributed oral presentations as well as poster presentations. The posters will be on display throughout the conference. The Scientific Committee will select oral and poster presentations based on submitted abstracts. Participants will have the opportunity to contribute to a special issue of the peer-review scientific journal Food Biophysics.

Symposium sessions

1. Supramolecular organization in foods: glassy systems, protein assemblies and lipid phases
   Advances in phase behaviour, gelation, self-assembly, glass transitions and jamming for food (model) systems will be discussed, with emphasis on food applications. It relates details of the molecular and colloidal properties of the building blocks of food (carbohydrates, proteins, lipids) to the (non)-equilibrium phenomena on a meso- and macro-scale. Recent examples of the impact of the molecular structure of the building blocks for modelling protein assembly will be addressed. Bulk as well as interfacial phenomena will be discussed.

2. Unravelling food: molecular insights from spectroscopy, single molecule techniques and scanning probe microscopy
   Advances in measurement techniques from the single molecule to the mescopic level will be highlighted, with focus on new developments of relevance to the food field.

3. Biophysics of nutrient digestion and absorption
   Nutrient digestion and absorption will be discussed in the context of the physical and structural properties of foods, and the biophysics of the GI-tract. Single molecules and classes of molecules, meso-phase behaviour and non-equilibrium effects occurring in the food matrix during the passing through the GI-tract will be covered. In vitro and in-vivo approaches, and the modulation of nutrition digestion and absorption by reformulation of food and by the use of delivery systems will be addressed.

4. Food complexity: physics, physiology and perception
   The interaction of physics and food is complex. Physics is by definition reductionist, aimed at simplification and only in recent years has focused on complex systems and complex behaviour. Food, however, is complex, culturally-determined and related to both physiology and perception. The session addresses food complexity in a wide sense: advances in the physical description of complexity, novel understanding and ideas on the relation between consumer choice and food complexity, and on the role of complexity in the gastronomic experience.

5. Food development: technologies and ingredients to face nutritional challenges
   Novel developments in nutrition are challenging food developers because new ingredients and radical variations in product composition change the physical state and properties of food products, and thereby the storage stability, processing, and consumer preferences. In addition, many of the novel active ingredients for food are not stable in many food matrices. The session will address how physical approaches may facilitate product and technology development for nutritionally balanced and enhanced foods.

Invited speakers (confirmed)

Prof. P. Hammarström	Linköping University, Sweden
Prof. E. Gazit	Tel Aviv University, Israel
Prof. T. Odijk	Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
Prof. E. Windhab	ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Prof. G. Dietler	EPF Lausanne, Switzerland
Prof. W. Weitschies	University of Greifswald, Germany
Dr. M. Wickham	Institute of Food Research, United Kingdom
Dr. M. Foltz	Unilever Research, The Netherlands
Prof. M. Descamps	Lille University, France
Prof. L. Cipelletti	University Montpellier II et CNRS, France
Prof. M. Kleerebezem	NIZO Food Research, The Netherlands

Call for abstracts

Oral presentations and Poster presentations
Participants are invited to submit abstracts for oral presentations or for posters. Electronic submission of abstracts is required.

Young scientists are especially encouraged to submit an abstract. The scientific committee will select oral presentations based on the received abstracts. The participants of this symposium will select poster prize winners, which will be announced on Wednesday afternoon.
Go to the abstract form (provided by Wageningen Academic Publishers).

Rules for abstract submission

• Abstracts must not exceed 3500 characters (incl. spaces). Include the title and the authors in the character count.
• Do not include Tables or Figures.
• Omit professional and official titles in the author field.
• Do not use indenting.

Abstracts should be submitted before July 15, 2009. Authors will be notified about the allocation of their contribution by August 8, 2009. Abstracts submitted for consideration as oral papers, for which there is no space in the programme of lectures, will automatically be considered for poster presentation. All selected abstracts will be collected in an abstract book, which will be available at the registration desk.

General information

Date & duration
The conference will be held from 18 to 21 October, 2009.

Language
The conference language will be English.

Location
The conference will take place in the Hof van Wageningen. Wageningen is located 5 kms from the railway station of Ede-Wageningen. The conference centre can be reached by train (railway station Ede-Wageningen) and bus/taxi in less than two hours from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (for train schedules see: www.ns.nl).

The organising committee has blocked a sufficient number of hotel rooms at the Hof van Wageningen. The costs of bed/breakfast are € 76 (single room). Participants have to book their own room by sending an e-mail to info@hofvanwageningen.nl. Please mention booking code DF09. Reservation after September 15, 2009 will not guarantee accommodation.

Important dates

July 15, 2009	Deadline for submission of abstracts
August 8, 2009	Notification about assignation of oral/poster presentations
September 15, 2009	Deadline for guaranteed accommodation at the Conference Centre

Registration & payment

Registration
To register please complete the electronic reply form preferably before September 15, 2009. Registration will be accepted in the order in which registration form (and payment) is received.

Fees
Registration fees excluding hotel accommodation:

	before 15 September, 2009	after 15 September, 2009
Industry / For-Profit	€ 800	€ 850
Non-profit organsiations / University staff / Postdocs	€ 500	€ 550
PhD students	€ 350	€ 400

Payment
To secure your registration you are requested to transfer the fee to: Account number 87.49.68.283 SNS bank, P.O. Box 777, 3500 BP Utrecht, The Netherlands [IBAN: NL38 SNSB 0874 9682 83, BIC SNSBNL2A, account holder: Vlag Congressen, P.O. Box 8129, 6700 EV Wageningen].

Please add the following description: "Symposium DF2009, VLAG".

Cancellations may be made free of charge until September 15, 2009. After this date the charge will be 25 % of the fee paid or due. Substitutions may be made at any time.

Photos

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