Organized by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and hosted jointly by the Peking University College of Engineering and the Functional Food Society of China, the Food and Function International Symposium was held at Peking University on November 27. The symposium aims to strengthen international academic exchanges in food science, and especially to help bridge the communication between domestic researchers and the Royal Society of Chemistry, UK.

Professor Steven Feng Chen, Associate Dean of the College of Engineering and expert in food science, chaired the symposium. Member of Chinese Academy of Engineering Professor Chen Junshi, Dean of the College of Engineering Professor Dongxiao Zhang, Managing Editor of RSC journal Food & Function Dr. Sarah Ruthven attended the symposium.

Eight internationally renowned scholars delivered keynote talks on their frontier research in food and nutritional sciences with an emphasis on “food nutrition, safety and human health”. Participants were from over 30 universities, research institutions and companies from domestic and abroad. The abstracts they contributed included mini-reviews from established professors as well as research findings from a large number of young scholars and postgraduate students.

With a global approach, participants shared their latest research outcomes and discussed a variety of topics, such as chemical and biological activity of food ingredients, natural products,  the impact of processing on food safety, food and dietary supplements and human health, biotechnology as well as functional foods.

“These studies reinforced the scientific basis for functional foods and provided important guidance for  researches on food science and technology. It also has important implications for improving health and the quality of life,” said Steven Chen.

Prof. Steven Feng Chen, Chair of the Food& Function International Symposium

Prof. Dongxiao Zhang, Dean of the College of Engineering

Dr. Sarah Ruthven, Managing Editor, Organic Applications, RSC, UK

Prof. Kevin D Croft, School of Medicine and Pharmacology, University of Western Australia

Group Photo