Prebiotics Sandpit Programme

(last update: 10/10/2023)

Tuesday 25 October 2023

As of 8:30      Registration & Welcome Breakfast

10:00 – 11:30   Workshop Opening [Room 4.4]

  • Welcome and introduction by ILSI Europe Executive Director
    Isabelle Guelinckx, ILSI Europe, BE
  • Introduction to workshop & outline of the day
    Philip Calder, University of Southampton
  • Understanding the Microbiota, Prebiotics, and their Impact on Health
    Gemma Walton, University of Reading
  • Prebiotics: definition and navigating the EU regulatory landscape
    Seppo Salminen, University of Turku
  • Navigating the global Regulatory Landscape of Prebiotics
    Kathy Musa Veloso, Intertek
  • Metagenomics: A way to substantiate causality links with several health benefits
    Alessandro Busetti, Metabolon

11:30 – 12:00   Networking Break

12:00 – 13:30   Parallel Sessions 1 & 2

Sandpit 1 - Digestive health [Room 4.4]
Session chair: Kieran Tuohy

  • Prebiotics for gut health, what we know, what we think we know, and what we still need to find out!
    Kieran Tuohy, University of Leeds
  • Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction: A role for prebiotics?
    Lesley Houghton, University of Leeds
  • Scientific requirements for prebiotic health claims related to the digestive system
    Alwine Kardinaal, NIZO
  • Q&A + Interactive sandpit

Sandpit 2 - Metabolic Health [Room 5.3]
Session chair: Ellen Blaak

  • Prebiotics as modulators of metabolic health: from mechanisms to proof of concept in human intervention studies
    Nathalie Delzenne, UCLouvain
  • Prebiotic fibers as part of precision nutrition strategies to improve metabolic health
    Ellen Blaak, University of Maastricht
  • Prebiotics, Microbiota, and Metabolic Health Claims: Meeting the Challenge Head-On
    Annegret Nielsen, A&R
  • Q&A + Interactive sandpit

13:30 – 14:30   Networking Lunch

14:30 – 16:00  Parallel Sessions 3 & 4

Sandpit 3 - Immune health [Room 4.4]
Session chair: Paul de Vos

  • Feeding the gut immune barrier with complex carbohydrates
    Paul de Vos, University of Groningen
  • Prebiotics and the human immune response
    Philip Calder, University of Southampton
  • Progressing from Research to Regulation: Unlocking Immune Health Claims with Prebiotics
    Annegret Nielsen, A&R
  • Q&A + Interactive sandpit

Sandpit 4 - Cognitive Health [Room 5.3]
Session chair: Louise Dye

  • The potential for prebiotics to influence cognitive performance
    Louise Dye, University of Leeds
  • Reviewing the validity of using prebiotics to maintain and improve cognitive health
    Philip Burnet, Oxford University
  • Health claims on cognitive functions in the EU – current regulatory status & path forward
    Justyna Pałasińska, Pen & Tec
  • Q&A + Interactive sandpit

16:00 – 16:30  Networking Break

16:30 – 17:30    Plenary debrief of the parallel sandpits  [Room 4.4]

  • Sandpit 1: Digestive health (Kieran Tuohy)
  • Sandpit 2: Metabolic health (Ellen Blaak)
  • Sandpit 3: Immune health (Paul de Vos)
  • Sandpit 4: Cognitive health (Louise Dye)
  • Workshop wrap-up (Philip Calder)
  • Closing (Isabelle Guelinckx)