The three-day event, which starts on Tuesday, will focus particularly on the growing demands for nutritional and healthy food and beverages. For the first time, a stand-alone show for natural ingredients will also run alongside the event. Event director Greg Cherry said that this year's dual focus promised to offer attendees a comprehensive insight into the the world of healthy and nutritional products. "Putting the only dedicated natural ingredients show and the largest food ingredients show in Europe under one roof means that exhibitors and visitors will benefit from the best of both worlds," he stated. The show will also look to discuss some of the major challenges affecting food formulation in the current market, ranging from market trends to innovation. According to the organisers, topics of note will include EU health claims regulations, climate change, replacements for trans fats, salts and sugars, nutrigenomics in foods and nanotechnology use. In terms of product innovation, about 1,000 exhibitors from across the world will be displaying the latest ingredients solutions, in the hope of gaining the show's innovation award. The organisers are also targeting presentations from specific national markets in a bid to reflect the increasingly global nature of the food industry. These include individual destinations for countries and regional markets such as Bretagne, Canada, China, Egypt, Germany, Ireland, Spain, US, and Malaysia. The conference debates also reflect the trends current in the industry. A segment on natural foods sold out before the conference began. Tomorrow's series of talks include those on European legislation, nutrition profiling, trans fatty acids, natural alternatives, salt and sugar reduction, and nutrigenomics. On 31 October speakers will discuss trends in the beverages market, the ageing market, foods and drinks targeting children, and ethnic and allergen-free products. On 1 November, speakers at the conference will focus on the move toward sustainability in the sector, with talks about industry trends, sourcing ingredients, traceability, food safety Prof. Albert McGill, an associate fellow at the James Martin Institute for Science and Civilization at Oxford University, will chair the series. Chris Langley, a European manager at National Starch Food Innovation, will give an overview of the drivers and challenges relating to sustainability. Franziska Staubli, project manager at Sippo in Switzerland, is due to discuss the sourcing ingredients, and the effects of fair trade. Christian Coff, research director at Denmark-based Centre for Ethics & Law, will debate the issue of how food companies can develop and use ethical trends. In the afternoon Polly Ericksen, of the Global Environmental Change and Food Systems Project at Oxford University, will chair an hour-long session on climate change. Bob Salmon, editor of the journal Food Solutions, will chair another segment on food safety. A wrap-up session on nanotechnology will include a discussion on the trends, developments and future applications in the food sector. A team of four reporters from Decision News Media will be there to cover the event. If you have any news to communicate relating to the beverage and dairy sectors please contact Neil Merrett by leaving a message at FiE's press room or at the Ibis Hotel (+44) 207/4228400 or at npmerrett[AT]gmail.com.
