Author Archive

Outstanding Reviewers for Food & Function in 2018

We would like to highlight the Outstanding Reviewers for Food & Function in 2018, as selected by the editorial team, for their significant contribution to the journal. The reviewers have been chosen based on the number, timeliness and quality of the reports completed over the last 12 months.

We would like to say a big thank you to those individuals listed here as well as to all of the reviewers that have supported the journal. Each Outstanding Reviewer will receive a certificate to give recognition for their significant contribution.

Dr Lillian Barros, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança ORCiD: 0000-0002-9050-5189

Dr Shyan Yea Chay, Universiti Putra Malaysia ORCiD: 0000-0002-8624-4764

Dr Jingjing Chen, Jiangnan University

Professor Zhen-Yu Chen, Chinese University of Hong Kong ORCiD: 0000-0001-5615-1682

Professor Kevin Croft, University of Western Australia ORCiD: 0000-0003-1596-4913

Professor Hengjun Du, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Professor Nilesh Gaikwad, University of California, Davis

Dr Monica Galleano, University of Buenos Aires ORCiD: 0000-0002-7184-7896

Dr Tianlin Gao, Qingdao University Medical College ORCiD: 0000-0002-6831-1863

Professor Chi-Tang Ho, Rutgers University

Dr Gaoxing Ma, Nanjing University of Finance & Economics ORCiD: 0000-0002-5549-1367

Dr Patricia Oteiza, University of California, Davis ORCiD: 0000-0001-7462-1641

Dr Sonia Ramos, ICTAN-CSIC ORCiD: 0000-0003-2649-2616

Dr Xian Wu, Tufts University ORCiD: 0000-0002-6805-3737

Dr Wei Zhang, Lerner research institute – Cleveland Clinic ORCiD: 0000-0003-2691-2721

We would also like to thank the Food & Function board and the food community for their continued support of the journal, as authors, reviewers and readers.

 

If you would like to become a reviewer for our journal, just email us with details of your research interests and an up-to-date CV or résumé.  You can find more details in our author and reviewer resource centre

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Food Matters 2018

Food & Function had the pleasure of sponsoring Food Matters 2017 and we are back again for another year!

It will be held at ExCeL London, from 20th – 22nd November, 2018.

As the UK’s largest and fastest growing event showcasing the food and drink innovations shaping health and wellbeing, it is simply not to be missed.

Food Matters Live brings together a cross sector community of engaged industry experts – the policy makers, the innovators, the fresh start ups, the established household names, in an unmissable three day event. Join 800 exhibitors, 400 speakers and 1000s of visitors at Food Matters Live 2018.

If you are quite rightly interested in this event, then please click here for further details.

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Outstanding Reviewers for Food & Function in 2017

We would like to highlight the Outstanding Reviewers for Food & Function in 2017, as selected by the editorial team, for their significant contribution to the journal. The reviewers have been chosen based on the number, timeliness and quality of the reports completed over the last 12 months.

We would like to say a big thank you to those individuals listed here as well as to all of the reviewers that have supported the journal. Each Outstanding Reviewer will receive a certificate to give recognition for their significant contribution.

 

Dr. Wei Zhang, Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, ORCID: 0000-0002-0013-9200

Dr. Monica Galleano, University of Buenos Aires, ORCID: 0000-0002-7184-7896

Dr. Xian Wu, Tufts University, ORCID: 0000-0002-6805-3737

Dr. Gar Yee Koh, Tufts University

Professor Bradley Bolling, University of Wisconsin-Madison, ORCID: 0000-0002-4222-2467

Dr. Luis Goya, Institute of Food Science, Technology and Nutrition (CSIC)

Professor Hitoshi Ashida, Kobe University

Dr. Min Li, Purdue University, ORCID: 0000-0002-9651-1301

Dr. Lillian Barros, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, ORCID: 0000-0002-9050-5189

Dr. Huaqi Zhang, Netease Inc.

 

We would also like to thank the Food & Function board and the food science community for their continued support of the journal, as authors, reviewers and readers.

If you would like to become a reviewer for our journal, just email us with details of your research interests and an up-to-date CV or résumé. You can find more details in our author and reviewer resource centre

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17th Food Colloids Conference: Application of Soft Matter Concepts

The 17th Food Colloids Conference is being held from 8th – 11th April 2018, at the University of Leeds, UK.

The subject area of the conference is physical chemistry of complex food systems with special emphasis on macromolecules that structure food. The aim is to expand knowledge on how interactions between food components create multi-phase structures on different length scales. Furthermore, the role of food processing and its influence on these interactions and structures shall be addressed. Another key area of the conference will be how fundamental knowledge can be used to better understand behaviour of food structures during oral and gastrointestinal processing and to create novel structures with the aim of delivering functionality in the multifarious sense of the word (e.g. nutrition, health, controlled release, texture and taste).

Themes

The main theme of this conference is ‘Application of Soft Matter Concepts’ and the following scientific sessions will cover a series of topics illustrating the interplay between fundamental colloid science research and more applied soft matter research.

  • Interfacial design
  • Relating structure to properties (macro-meso-micro-nano)
  • Biopolymer interactions
  • Colloidal aspects of eating and digestion
  • Processing of novel structures for functionality

Key Dates

  • Early Bird Registration Ends: 16th February 2018
  • Last Registration for Authors (Presenters): 23rd February 2018

Register here

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Food Matters Live 2017

Food & Function is pleased to be sponsoring Food Matters Live 2017.

Food Matters Live is the UK’s fastest growing cross-sector event showcasing innovation in the food and drink industry and it returns to London’s ExCeL from 21 – 23 November 2017. Register for free entry.

Food Matters Live is delighted to unveil the education programme for 2017…
Celebrated chef Heston Blumenthal, former Sainsbury’s CEO Justin King and neuroscientist Baroness Susan Greenfield will head up an all-star cast of 400 speakers across 100 free-to-attend conference and seminar sessions at Food Matters Live 2017. Read more.

New highlights for 2017 include…

The Awards – designed to celebrate inspiring innovation and creativity from across the food and drink industry.

Match – a matchmaking service offering both exhibitors and visitors the opportunity to pre-arrange meetings onsite at Food Matters Live.

Food futures seminars– These new seminars will focus on the innovative products, processes and new technologies shaping the future of food and drink production and business.

Join 800 exhibitors and 400 speakers at Food Matters Live 2017, providing you with everything you need to keep your business at the cutting edge of innovation, in an unmissable three-day event. Find out more www.foodmatterslive.com

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Atomic Force Microscopy and Food Workshop

afm-workshop

The Atomic Force Microscopy and Food Workshop will be held from 9th – 10th November, 2017, in Auckland, New Zealand.

Immediately following DOF17 there will be a 1.5-day workshop at the University of Auckland on the use of Atomic Force Microscopy in food and nutrition research. The workshop aims to attract 20-30 participants across a broad range of research areas.

The main focus is to provide participants with practical experience of analysing food materials using the latest AFM techniques and equipment. In addition, participants will learn about recent progress in the field from leading international AFM experts working in the areas of foods, biomaterials, and soft matter systems.

The workshop will cater for beginners and AFM experts alike. We also anticipate involvement of advanced users seeking exposure to new analytical approaches.

Confirmed Keynote Speakers:

Unique aspects of force included within microscopy

Patrick Gunning, Quadram Institute Bioscience (f. Institute of Food Research), Norwich, United Kingdom

The combination of high-res visualisation of ultrastructure with force measurement is the major impact of AFM. The potential of force spectroscopy to probe the specifics of receptor-ligand interactions at the single molecule level is promising. For example, factors such as bond lifetimes, distances, and the number and nature of the energy barriers involved in single receptor-ligand interactions, are all within the realm of AFM measurement. My presentation will include explanations of the fundamental aspects of AFM’s force spectroscopy and demonstrate the ability that this combination has successfully enabled exploration of structure-function relations in food science. It features several aspects; food material science, digestion, satiety, bioactivity and my most recent investigation of the role of the gut microbiome.

 

Analyzing Polymers, Filaments, Biomacromolecules and Fibrous Objects via the open-source code FiberApp

Raffaele Mezzenga, ETH Zurich, Department of Health Science & Technology, Schmelzbergstrasse 9, LFO E23, 8092 Zurich

Biological semiflexible polymers and filaments such as collagen, fibronectin, actin, microtubules, coiled-coil proteins, DNA, siRNA, amyloid fibrils, etc. are ubiquitous in nature. In biology, these systems have a direct relation to critical processes ranging from the movement of actin or assembly of viruses at cellular interfaces, to the growth of amyloid plaques in neurodegenerative diseases. In technology and applied sciences, synthetic macromolecules or fibrous objects such as carbon nanotubes are involved in countless applications. Accessing their intrinsic properties at the single molecule level, such as their molecular conformations or intrinsic stiffness, is central to the understanding of these systems, their properties, and the design of related applications. In this talk I will discuss the features and potential of FiberApp in analyzing polymers, fibrils and filamentous objects. FiberApp is a new open-source tracking and analysis software based on a cascade of algorithms describing structural and topological features of objects characterized by a very high length-to-width aspect ratio, generally described as “fiber-like objects”.

Imaging challenges in bionanotechnology

Jenny Malmstrom, Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Auckland, New Zealand

In our research group we are interested in the interface between materials and biological systems – such as proteins and cells. Structured or organised surfaces with nanoscale features are important in a range of fields ranging from energy and computing to controlling cellular adhesion. The precise organisation of proteins at surfaces is one route to creating such engineered interfaces. Proteins exist with an enormous structural and chemical versatility and lend themselves well to be functionalized with different moieties. The ability to rationally engineer proteins enables the use of proteins as carefully designed nanometer sized building blocks.

I will present work from our group focussed on using protein-protein interactions to build up higher order structures, and in particular to order these structures. Proteins like Lsmα and peroxiredoxin self-assemble into robust doughnuts whose pore size can be tuned specifically to encapsulate metal complexes or nanoparticleand then assemble further into tunnels to create magnetic, electrical or optical nanorods. This work describes how we are harnessing this potential to create functional arrays of these self-assembling protein rings. We have explored ways of arranging these protein rings, for example through templating using a self-assembling block copolymer, or through specific binding to a patterned surface. Furthermore, the protein core has been used to template the synthesis of small (~3 nm) magnetic nanoparticles. Throughout all of this work, imaging is an important characterisation tool and I will show how we use AFM (including magnetic force microscopy) and other techniques to understand our systems.

Nanoindentation of hierarchical biological materials: from polysacchride gels to living cells

Gleb Yakubov, ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Walls, School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, Australia

Atomic Force Microscopy is widely used to characterise the micromechanics of complex biological systems including cells. The attraction of using AFM for nanoindentation is its ability to measure very low forces and its operational versatility, as well as the potential to include in situ imaging. However, interpretation of force indentation curves may present a significant challenge especially for biological materials and systems that are heterogeneous and comprise a number of morphological features, each having a unique set of micromechanical properties.

Here, I present a novel Multi Regime Analysis (MRA) algorithm that tackles these challenges enabling deconvolution of highly complex force indentation profiles. The MRA approach combines both well established and semi-empirical theories of contact mechanics within a single framework. The fundamental finding is that each structural contribution to the mechanical response can be incorporated in series with other ‘mechanical resistors’ using a vector field of deformations mapped onto the experimental values of force. This simplification enables interpretation of the micromechanical properties of materials with hierarchical structures as well as automated processing of large data sets, which is particularly indispensable for biological systems.

Further, I will illustrate the applicability of MRA for characterising the micromechanics of a broad range of soft materials including plant cell and polysaccharide microgels. In particular, I will show the unique capability of MRA to map micromechanical properties and to evaluate elastic moduli of anisotropic materials with complex hierarchical structures.

AFM with soft colloidal probes – understanding droplet and bubble interactions

Rico Tabor, School of Chemistry, Monash Univeristy, Melbourne, Asutralia

Understanding the interactions between droplets of oil and gas bubbles is central to tuning the desired properties of foodstuffs such as ice cream and mousse, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, and in mineral flotation and separation. Fundamentally, the interaction between dissimilar fluid interfaces is an interesting problem, as they may charge and deform to different extents, and can potentially experience a range of exotic forces due to the composition of the intervening fluid.

We have developed new methods to use the atomic force microscope (AFM) to analyse collisions between pairs of bubbles and oil droplets – of around 100 microns diameter – in various conditions.1,2 From surfactant-free interfaces where the native charge of the air–water and oil–water interface can be examined, to complex fluids where the granularity of the background fluid creates hysteresis and structural forces, almost all combinations of soft colloid can be interrogated.

Crucially, by combining the data obtained from AFM with other techniques such as confocal microscopy and small-angle neutron scattering,3 a complete picture of the role of solution structure and droplet interacts can be obtained. Now we seek to delve further into the realms of macroscopic and microscopic rheology to better understand the relationships between the rarefied single interaction forces measured using AFM and the bulk properties of the complex and multicomponent fluids that are central to food processing.

Us and Them: Inhomogeneities in Polysaccharides and their Gels Studied by AFM

Bill Williams, Bill Williams Institute of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University, New Zealand

The emergence of patterning in biological systems is of fundamental interest. Here we first describe how the molecular patterning of a polysaccharide substrate influences its single molecule stretching behaviour and describe work designed to facilitate such AFM experiments by the end-tethering of species of interest. Secondly .we briefly review AFM work on the moduli mapping of plant tissues and describe our parallel studies on biomimetic gels that reveal large length-scale inhomogeneities in mechanical properties.






Click here to register for AFM and Food 2017

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7th International Symposium on Delivery of Functionality in Complex Food Systems

The 7th International Symposium on Delivery of Functionality in Complex Food Systems is being held from 5th – 8th November, 2017, in Auckland, New Zealand.

Associated with the Symposium will be a workshop on Atomic Force Microscopy and Food, to be held on November 9-10, 2017 at the University of Auckland.

The DOF2017 symposium will be, as the previous DOF meetings, the primary platform for presenting new scientific developments in complex food systems, and their applications to food engineering design, food functionality and food consumption, the concepts of complexity and emergent phenomena in food science (introduced at DOF2015) and two new hot topics: replacements for animal-derived proteins; and effects of food structures on the microbiome of the human gut.

The topics for the scientific sessions are:

  1. Novel structures for delivery of bioactives in foods
  2. New and emerging processes and ingredients for delivering functionality
  3. Natural and biomimetic food systems – structures and functionality
  4. Food synergy to deliver enhanced functionality
  5. Delivery to the microbiome
  6. Implementation of delivery systems in food products
  7. Complexity and emergent phenomena in food science
  8. Interactions between delivery systems and the human body (sensory, digestion, release, bioaccessibility and bioavailability)
  9. Functionality of animal-derived proteins and their substitutes and extenders

Speakers:

Hot topics will be presented by invited world-renowned experts, and the latest research findings will be presented in short talks and poster communications.

            
                Dr. Wang                           Prof. Relkin                              Prof. Wahlqvist                            Prof. Yada
            
            Prof. Ross                             Prof. Singh                           Prof. McClements                      Prof. Jiménez-Flores
            
           Prof. Livney                    Prof. Dr. Mezzenga                               Dr. Ubbink                            Malcolm Lawn
 key-dates

              Click here to register

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Burgers with a side of fluorescent nanomaterials

Scientists in China have found carbon dots on grilled hamburgers.

Intensively heating meat generates toxins such as benzene or polyaromatic hydrocarbons, which increase a person’s risk of developing cancer. Mingqian Tan, from Dalian Polytechnic University, wanted to find out whether heterocyclic amines, which are present in these types of toxins, react any further at the high temperatures typically found in barbecues to form carbon dots.

‘Scientists are aware of the presence of harmful toxins produced during food processing; however, our knowledge about their overall formation and potential toxicity is still insufficient,’ says Tan. ‘Carbon dots are harmful to human health due to their unique nano-effects, including their small size, high reactivity and phototoxic effects. We believe that these properties can cause damage to DNA and the cellular membranes,’ he adds.


Read the full article in Chemistry World >>>

This paper is free to access until 10th August 2017:

Presence and formation of fluorescence carbon dots in a grilled hamburger
Yao Li, Jingran Bi, Shan Liu, Haitao Wang, Chenxu Yu, Dongmei Li, Bei-Wei Zhu and Mingqian Tan
Food Funct., 2017, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C7FO00675F

Do you fancy submitting an article to Food & Function? Why not submit to us here today or alternatively email us with your suggestions!

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IPC2017

IPC2017 is being held from 20th – 22nd June, in Budapest, Hungary.

There are 10 reasons why you have to attend IPC2017. The main topics of IPC2017:

Prebiotics – How does it work and how to develop a novel prebiotics.
Human milk oligosaccharides as a prebiotics and immune modulator.
How to get an approval for probiotics with health claims. Approaches to get approval from EFSA and other countries.
How to identify functional probiotics. Development of novel screening system and evaluation procedure to identify functional probiotics.
How probiotics work? Elucidation of underlying mechanism of actions.
What are the effector molecules mediate health benefits of probiotics. How to identify and how to evaluate the functionality.
How to characterize probiotic strains. Genetics, functional genomics of probiotic strains.
How to formulate the probiotics to keep maximum effectiveness.
Clinical trial of probiotics. What are the current statues of health benefit of probiotics in diverse disorders.
Future probiotics. Novel function of probiotics.

IPC2017 offers the chance to meet a mixture of both leading scientists in the field and emerging young scientists. The conference’s many plenary, keynote and highlight speakers will be organised into thematically ordered sessions.

Click here for full programme

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International Symposium on Bioactive Peptides (ISBP 2017)

Brief Background

Functional bioactive peptides are an important constitute of functional foods. In addition to providing sources of amino acids for growth and maintenance, bioactive peptides have vast potential for improving human health and preventing chronic diseases through their impact on the gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, immune, and nervous systems. Our understanding with regard to preparing bioactive peptides from their parental proteins, absorption and bioavailability, metabolism, their mechanisms of action in the prevention of chronic diseases and promotion of human has made substantial progresses over the last three decades.

 

Purposes of the symposium:

-To discuss the newest developments and perspectives on bioactive peptide research

-To learn about the trends and opportunities in developing bioactive peptides products

-To network and develop collaborations and partnerships among the researchers, the academic and the industry    participants

-To promote technology transfer for commercialization of bioactive peptides

 

Topics

1) Bioactive Peptides and Human Health: Opportunities and Challenges

2) Bioactive Peptides Preparation, Absorption and Metabolism

3) Mechanisms of Actions of Bioactive Peptides

4) New Bioactive Peptides Product Development and Regulation

 

Important Dates

-Call for Abstract Closes: May 1,2017

-Notification of Acceptance Deadline: May 5,2017

-Early bird Registration Closes: May 10,2017

-Onsite registration: May 26,2017

-Conference: May 27,2017

 

Organiser 

Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

 

Co-Organisers

1) University of Alberta, Canada

2) Zhejiang University & University of Alberta Food for Health Joint Research Center

3) Alliance of antibody-based novel drug research and industrialization, Zhejiang University

 

Themed Collection

Food Function is proud to be publishing an online themed collection to feature papers from the conference and to highlight the latest bioactive peptide research. The deadline for submission is 30th July, 2017. Please visit the journal website for more details about scope, or contact us if you have any questions.

 

Chair

Dr. Jianping Wu

www.isbp2017.org

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