Session time

Session description

13:30 - 14:00

Highlighting the key trends and future directions for innovation in the digestive health space

• Digestive health is increasingly being recognised as having a positive impact on overall well-being
• Exploring how consumers are embracing a wider variety of products to achieve gut wellness
• Consumers look for products that are natural and easy to understand which presents opportunity for fermented food and beverages

Speaker:  Nicole Jansen, Insights & Innovation, Innova Market Insights (Netherlands)

14:00 - 14:30

Digestive tract discomfort: an opportunity for probiotics

• Relieving abdominal pain and probiotic mechanisms        

• Probiotics relieving constipation and their mechanism.        

• Upper-digestive tract discomfort and probiotics

Speaker: Dr. Arthur Ouwehand, Technical Fellow - Global Health & Nutrition Sciences, DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences (Finland)

14:30 - 15:00

Highlighting the role of food and nutrient synergy for digestive health and vitamin as well as mineral absorption

• Reviewing the impact of different habitual diets and nutrients from plant and animal sources on digestive health and function.        

• Exploring the considerable differences in digestive processes of vitamins and minerals from food and chemical sources, including ferritin iron, pro vitamin A, and folate.        

• Outlining the importance of food and nutrient synergy during the digestive stages for efficient absorption of vitamins and minerals.

Speaker: Dr Madhavan Nair, Scientist, Retd. National Institute of Nutrition, Vice President, Nutrition Society of India (India) 

15:00 - 15:30

Refreshment break

15:30 - 16:00

Exploring the application of probiotics : a gut health journey

• From a culture collection to identification and characterisation of probiotics

• Potential mechanisms of action of probiotics promoting digestive health         

• Some examples of current translational research with probiotics

Speaker: Dr Nabil Bosco, Healthy ageing team leader, Nestle Research (Singapore) 

16:00 - 16:30

Presenting insights from half a century of research on the health benefits of the probiotic Bifidobacterium longum

• Exploring the functional health benefits of the probiotic strain, Bifidobacterium longum BB536, in humans

• Understanding how this probiotic confers multiple beneficial effects on humans through its interaction with the gut microbiota        

• Outlining key clinical findings of Bifidobacterium longum that provide proof of efficacy for a better-informed application of human probiotics

Speaker: Chyn Boon Wong, Research Associate, Morinaga Nutritional Foods (Asia Pacific) Pte. Ltd. (Singapore) 

16:30 - 17:00

Exploring the opportunities of bio-processed okara for value-added healthy food products

• Exploiting biotechnology to break down and convert macromolecules in okara using selected combinations of enzymes and/or microorganisms.        

• Highlighting the advantages of biocatalysts breaking down insoluble dietary fibre and protein into soluble fibre/sugars and peptides/amino acids, reducing gritty mouthfeel and enhancing digestibility.        

• Developing vegan (non-dairy) probiotic drinks containing dietary fibre, free amino acids and free isoflavones, helping to maintain a range of health benefits

Speaker: Dr Lin  Jing, Researcher, Food Science and Technology Programme, National University of Singapore (Singapore)