On the third and last day a plenary session was organised to discuss the results of the scientific discussion sessions in view of the needs from the food industry. Prof. Hans van Trijp presented these on behalf of Unilever. In his presentation, titled "A business perspective on superior texture understanding" he stressed the importance of involving 'the consumer'.
Then each moderator presented his agenda for the future:
For sensory science it is advised to focus more on:
- knowledge of in mouth physiological and physical processes
- understanding of interactions
- individual variation
- post-first bite processes
- determinants of attitudes and preference in the elderly
- preference development in children
For the physical sciences attention needs to be given to:
- dynamics of in mouth processing
- materials parameter selection
- scaling effects
- education
- importance of saliva in testing
For physiology work is needed on:
- saliva (quantity, composition)
- tongue mechanics
- first bite
- bolus, physical properties
- effects of pathology on processing and swallowing
- peculiarities of ageing population and of children
Also some general recommendations were given: Integration of existing knowledge of the three disciplines and integration of future research with respect to texture are vital. Also the need for education to implement this was stressed.
In the following discussion a forum commented on these recommendations. Although this meeting had a focus on food texture, the topic should not and could not be dealt with in isolation. Clearly, an integrated approach is needed. Also avenues need to be explored on how to gather the input from the consumer in further prioritising research. As a final conclusion, however, it was generally felt that integration of the disciplines gathered at the meeting can and will lead to new breakthroughs in the area of food texture research.
For more information on this and the following Food Summit contact WCFS.