Food science and nutrition event a great success

The School of Food Science and Nutrition led a successful event in January, where industry professionals and academics came together to network and discuss the role of fats in health and food.

The day was well-attended, with industry figures such as Andy Keatings, ‎Global Chief Quality Officer at Kraft Heinz, Hugh Powell, External Research Coordinator at Nestlé, and Harry Barraza, Head of Open Innovation at Arla Foods amongst the attendees. Representatives from Mondelēz, Dairy Crest, Morrisons and Quorn also took part in the event.

The event programme included presentations of industry-relevant research conducted at the University of Leeds, poster sessions, and speakers from industry and academia. Keynote speakers were Dr Mohamed Gad, Head of R&D at Application Santé Lipides, Dr Stéphanie Marty-Terrade, Senior Lipid Scientist at Nestlé, and Dr Bernadette Moore, Associate Professor of Obesity, University of Leeds.

Attendees described the event as facilitating “excellent interdisciplinary collaboration” and praised the “relevant information” and “good networking opportunities” that the event provided. One attendee commented “I really enjoyed the meeting, especially the multidisciplinary nature of the approach, good work!”

Another attendee said: “Very relevant information. I am motivated to seek more contact time with the University of Leeds.”

Caroline Orfila, chair of the event and Director of Research at the University of Leeds, commented: “We were very pleased that so many industry representatives and researchers attended the event. The industrial and scientific talks stimulated many debates, and attendees took advantage of the networking breaks to discuss how the food industry can contribute to increase healthy choices for consumers.”

For more information on this event or other networking and collaboration opportunities, contact foodreseach@leeds.ac.uk