Smart Foods, Coming To A Supermarket Near You

Smart food: Coming to a Supermarket Near You

Foods that reduce weight in the obese; packages that can tell you how fresh and nutritious its contents are; foods that can prevent disease. These are all part of a future being discussed by international scientists in Sydney from 31 October to 3 November.

Dozens of the world's top experts in the molecular make-up of food are in town to attend the Neutrons and Food workshop, hosted by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO)

Co-chair of the meeting and Project Leader of Food Science at ANSTO's Bragg Institute, Dr Elliot Gilbert said that science is going to have a huge impact on what we find in our supermarket trolleys in the future.

"The already existing cholesterol reducing margarines are just the beginning of foods with special benefits that are developed by scientists. Starches that could prevent cancers and functional foods that could combat Alzheimer's have got scientists all over the world looking more closely at food than ever before. The potential to benefit the health and welfare of people is enormous," says Dr Gilbert.

"Neutrons have the ability to unravel the complexity of food at the molecular level and this is key to our understanding." Australia is now playing a leading role in this research with the use of ANSTO's state of the art instruments attached to the OPAL research reactor. Visiting scientists to the conference will also be staying on in Sydney to further their research at ANSTO.

The Neutrons and Food workshop will take place from Sunday 31 October to Wednesday 3 November 2010 at the Amora Hotel Jamison in downtown Sydney.

For media information please call ANSTO 9717 9208 / 0429 074 527.

SOURCE: ANSTO