Author Archive

RSC US Roadshows 2012 – Week 1: California

As week 1 of the RSC US Raodshows 2012 begins, look out for Food & Function Managing Editor Sarah Ruthven who will be visiting universities in California this week.

Starting on the 16th April, RSC Publishing will be touring the United States of America to share more than 170 years experience of publishing in the chemical sciences. Sixteen universities across the country will be hosting these one-day events, which are open to all members of the hosting institute.

Week 1 sees RSC Publishing visit four universities in California:

  • 16th AprilUniversity of California Irvine
  • 17th AprilUniversity of California Los Angeles
  • 18th AprilUniversity of California Santa Barbara
  • 20th AprilUniversity of California Berkeley

Click here to find out more…

Keep up to date with the RSC US roadshow by following the Royal Society of Chemistry on Facebook, or look out for #RSC2012 on Twitter!

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Registration for Soft Matter Approaches to Structured Foods: FD 158 – now open

Registration is now open for Soft Matter Approaches to Structured Foods: Faraday Discussion 158.

Food materials are unusual as soft matter. They are highly complex, operating on multiple length scales and phases and structured via multiple externally applied fields.

 To join a discussion with top experts in the field make sure you register now, and take advantage of the best prices:

  • Early bird discount – £50 saving on the standard fee
  • Member rate – available to RSC members
  • Student rate – available to undergraduates and postgraduates on a full time course
  • Bursaries – a limited number offered to students and younger members of the RSC in the early stages of their career – worth £150

Taking part in a Faraday Discussion is a great way to get your research work better known. You can also have your own poster abstract space at the meeting, so submit yours now.

Registration is quick and simple via our online booking system, so act today to be able to exchange views with food scientists and non-food experts from the soft matter community.

Dr Ruud van der Sman and the rest of the Scientific Committee look forward to welcoming you to Wageningen in July 2012.

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Food & Function issue 4 – now online!

The latest issue of Food & Function is now available online!

The cover of this issue highlights work by Ian Fisk and Xing Tan from the University of Nottingham, UK, who evaluated the rate of salt release in the mouth from salted potato crisps.  A panel were asked to chew a single potato crisp in a defined manner and held in the mouth without swallowing for 60 seconds, and sodium release was measured at regular intervals throughout this period.  The authors found that sodium release, and therefore perceived saltiness, peaked 20-30 seconds after chewing and that the flavouring is released in a pulse-type mechanism.  Therefore, with normal eating patterns, the perceived saltiness will be minimal and would result in a larger consumption of unperceived sodium.  Understanding this mechanism could pave the way for healthier crisps with faster delivery and release of salt.

To find out more, click here to read the Chemistry World story or on the link below to access the full article.  This article is free to access for 6 weeks!

Salt release from potato crisps, Xing Tian and Ian D. Fisk, Food Funct., 2012, 3, 376-380

You can keep up to date with the latest developments from Food & Function by signing up for free table of contents alerts and monthly e-newsletters.

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Food and cholesterol

Cholesterol is steroid of fat and although it is vital for the human body, too much cholesterol in the blood increases the risk of coronary heart disease and disease of the arteries.  Diet has a huge part to play in regulating levels of cholesterol in the body, and much research is focused on understanding the mechanisms involved. 

Food & Function provides and excellent forum for such work and below is a selection of the high quality work we have published in this area.  These articles are free to access, so why not take a look?

Stay up-to-date with the latest content in Food & Function by registering for our free table of contents alerts.

Polyphenols prevent lipid abnormalities and arterial dysfunction in hamsters on a high-fat diet: a comparative study of red grape and white persimmon wines, Jin-Hyang Suh, Anne Virsolvy, Aurélie Goux, Cécile Cassan, Sylvain Richard, Jean-Paul Cristol, Pierre-Louis Teissèdre and Jean-Max Rouanet, Food Funct., 2011, 2, 555-561

Raspberry juice consumption, oxidative stress and reduction of atherosclerosis risk factors in hypercholesterolemic golden Syrian hamsters, Jin-Hyang Suh, Cindy Romain, Rocío González-Barrio, Jean-Paul Cristol, Pierre-Louis Teissèdre, Alan Crozier and Jean-Max Rouanet, Food Funct., 2011, 2, 400-405

Mechanisms underlying the cholesterol-lowering properties of soluble dietary fibre polysaccharides, Purnima Gunness and Michael John Gidley, Food Funct., 2010, 1, 149-155

Effects of eggs on plasma lipoproteins in healthy populations, Maria Luz Fernandez, Food Funct., 2010, 1, 156-160

Hypocholesterolemic activity of onion is mediated by enhancing excretion of fecal sterols in hamsters, Lei Guan, Hau Yin Chung, Yalun Su, Rui Jiao, Cheng Peng and Zhen Yu Chen, Food Funct., 2010, 1, 84-89

Consumption of polyphenolic-rich beverages (mostly pomegranate and black currant juices) by healthy subjects for a short term increased serum antioxidant status, and the serum’s ability to attenuate macrophage cholesterol accumulation, Mira Rosenblat, Nina Volkova, Judith Attias, Riad Mahamid and Michael Aviram, Food Funct., 2010, 1, 99-109

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Science for a safer world

Monday 21 November 2011, 12.30 pm – The Chemistry Centre, London, W1J 0BA
Entrance: Free

The Government Chemist supports the measurement science of food safety from farm to fork. This function has been in place since 1842; however the food safety challenges dealt with back then are very different from today. While the analytical instrumentation used to solve complex, unpredictable problems has advanced, food safety still relies on applying the best practical methods of measurement to ensure scientific excellence.

Dr Derek Craston, the Government Chemist will explain a number of recent cases where sound measurement has been applied to resolve food incidents and ultimately protect the public. Plus, he will reveal how in 1901, following a personal request from Captain Scott, research undertaken by the Government Chemist exposed a nutritional deficit in the food supplies planned for use in Scott’s1901 scientific and geographical expedition to the Antarctic.

And looking to the future, Dr Craston will discuss emerging food risks and the science that will be required to meet future challenges.

This event will also be broadcast live on The Reaction website.

To book your place at this event, click here.

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Delivery of Functionality in Complex Food Systems

The 4th International Conference on Delivery of Functionality in Complex Food Systems was held  this week in Guelph, Canada and I was there representing Food & Function.  The conference was hosted and organised by the University of Guelph with the theme of ‘Physically-Inspired Approaches from the Nanoscale to the Microscale’.  The aim of this international symposium, now in its fourth year, is to focus on both basic science and functionality in food.  As such, the spotlight was firmly set on the delivery of functionality by exploring and manipulating the fundamental physical and chemical aspects of food.  This focus makes Food & Function a perfect partner and we are proud to be publishing a themed issue of research presented at the conference, due for publication in early 2012. 

Over three days world renowned speakers presented on ‘Engineering Self-Assembly in Food Systems Principles and Applications’, ‘Novel Structures for Engineered Bioactive Delivery’ and ‘Food Structuring as a Means to Modulate the Physiological Response of Foods’.  The oral sessions were complemented by a poster session with over 40 contributions. Food & Function board members Job Ubbink, Julian McClements and Erik van der Linden were amongst the invited speakers and Alejandro Marangoni was chair of the organising committee.

Anna Simpson, Deputy Editor Food & Function

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