Some of the most hotly contested issues affecting the critical relationship between food, health and nutrition will be discussed at this year’s Food Matters Live – come and join the debate at London’s Excel on 22-24 November.
How is consumer demand driving innovation in clean label? What is the future of the soft drinks industry? How is science and technology shaping the future of sustainable nutrition?
These questions and many more will be tackled in a packed line-up at Food Matters Live – the biggest ever cross-sector event to address one of the most important issues of our time: the relationship between food, health and nutrition.
Returning to London’s Excel on 22-24 November, Food Matters Live is fast becoming the pivotal business and networking event for showcasing innovation from ingredients suppliers, multinational food manufacturers, new product development experts, retailers, distributors and wholesalers in the UK and internationally.
Central to the three-day event is the Food Matters Live conference, hosted by BBC journalists Anita Anand, Jonathan Dimbleby and Sarah Montague, which provides a timely forum for discussion around some of the most complex issues to affect the food and drink industry this year.
One measure set to spark heated debate is the UK government’s decision to levy a sugar tax on carbonated drink – a move welcomed by health campaigners as a significant step in the fight against childhood obesity, but opposed by the global drinks industry as lacking in evidence.
Also set to get attention is the UK’s controversial obesity strategy: while welcomed as a starting point, it fell short for many people on its promise to be game-changing.
Mars Food, which has already advised consumers to reduce consumption of sauces high in salt, sugar and fat, will put its point of view on the role industry can play in enabling healthy diets, alongside other industry leaders from Britvic, Refresco Gerber and Mondelēz.
They join an all-star cast of 400 cross-sector speakers taking part in the Food Matters Live conference and multi-stream seminar programme, which includes ministers from the Department of Health and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra); international nutraceutical expert Dr Elizabeth Sloan; Gail Gallie, chief executive of the Jamie Oliver Foundation, which campaigned for a tax on sugary drinks; Arla Food’s head of open innovation Harry Barraza; and athlete Paula Radcliffe.
Pret A Manger’s Mark Palmer, Iceland’s Nick Canning, Marks & Spencer’s Claire Hughes and Tesco’s David Beardmore will debate what the retail sector can do to influence healthier food choices, while celebrated chef Raymond Blanc and scientist Lord Robert Winston will focus on what it will take to put sustainable diets at the top of the menu.
Meanwhile, Sophie Mitchell – former chef to model Claudia Schiffer – will join award-winning food writer Gizzi Erskine to debate the impact that self-appointed health gurus, young foodies and celebrity bloggers have on eating habits.
Experts will also discuss if so-called ‘tomorrow foods’ – such as 3D printed meals, jelly fish salads or artificial meat – will ever be accepted at scale by consumers, along with the future for clean label and the impact of Brexit on the food and drink industry.
At the same time, 80 practical and case study-rich seminars explore the future of free-from, sustainable food business, nutrition for health and wellbeing, and how to tackle obesity.
And from the packaging and marketing seminar programmes, visitors will learn about the psychology of multi-sensory packaging design, how to lure millennials through brand appeal, the growth of ‘moment marketing’ and using neuro-marketing and behavioural science to understand consumer food choices.
To put all these opinions into perspective is the Food Matters Live exhibition, featuring over 600 organisations ranging from global multinational companies to young and emerging enterprises from the UK and internationally.
Highlights from the exhibition floor include the latest innovations in clean label and functional ingredients, cutting edge products from start-up food producers aged two years or less in the Enterprise Zone, reformulated beverages in the Drink Well zone, and emerging manufacturers of between two and five years old that are starting to achieve scale in the Development Zone.
Briony Mansell-Lewis, Food Matters Live director, said: “Food Matters Live brings both sides together to find solutions and answers to the difficult and topical issues, such as the forthcoming sugar tax. With more than 15,000 visitors expected to attend, the three-day event is also fast becoming the best place for decision-makers in the food and drink industry, and those working in health and nutrition, to discover the latest products and innovation driving demand among healthy, environmentally conscious consumers.”
Food Matters Live is free to attend, including entry to the conference, seminars and all visitor attractions. Simply register through Food Matters Live’s website.
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