ISA Symposium at the French Nutrition Days 2024

There is a global consensus on the need to reduce excessive sugar consumption. This has led to an increased interest in the use of low/no calorie sweeteners as a strategy to reduce sugar intake, with a parallel assessment of the science on their safety and benefits. The Symposium proposed by the International Sweeteners Association (ISA) aims to inform delegates of the latest scientific developments on low/no calorie sweeteners and the physiology of sweet taste with the participation of three multidisciplinary speakers.

Dr. Stéphane Pirnay will review fundamental principles and protocols for the evaluation and re-evaluation of the safety of sweeteners by health authorities such as the Joint Scientific Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) at the international level, as well as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in Europe. He will also address the role of the European Commission, which is drafting – following the publication of a positive scientific opinion by EFSA – a proposal for the authorisation of the use of the sweetener in question in foods and beverages on the European market.

Dr Sandrine Chometton will review the state of knowledge on the modalities of the perception of sweet taste in humans. Although humans have an innate preference for sweetness, the physiology of sweet taste in humans is complex. Recent research has provided a better understanding of the mechanisms involved, and in particular the role of receptors, in the perception of sweet taste.

Dr Julie-Anne Nazare will present the latest data on the impact of low/no calorie sweetened foods and beverages on satiety and appetite, in particular those from the European SWEET project. This project, funded by the European Commission under Horizon 2020, aims to study the long-term benefits and potential risks of sweeteners and sweetness enhancers in the context of public health and safety, obesity and sustainability (https://sweetproject.eu/).

Please find below the detailed scientific programme of the ISA Symposium at JFN 2024:

ISA SYMPOSIUM (SY06) – Thursday, 5 December 2024, 12:15 – 13:45 CET

Room: Marie Curie – B

Title: Recent data on the safety and impact of low/no calorie sweeteners on appetite and on the physiology of sweet taste

Moderator: Dr Jean-Michel LECERF, Institut Pasteur de Lille, France

Programme:

• 12h15 – 12h20: Introduction from the moderator Dr Jean-Michel Lecerf
• 12h20 – 12h40: “Procedures for the evaluation of low/no calorie sweeteners by the European (EFSA) and international (JECFA) health authorities and approval by the European Commission” – Speaker: Dr Stéphane PIRNAY, Alfortville, France
• 12h40 – 13h00: “The physiology of sweet taste in humans” – Speaker: Dr Sandrine CHOMETTON, CSGA Dijon, France
• 13h00 – 13h20: “Do low/no calorie sweetened foods and beverages impact appetite and satiety? A review of clinical evidence and new results from the European SWEET project” – Speaker: Dr Julie-Anne NAZARE, CRNH Lyon, France
• 13h20 – 13h45: Questions and answers session moderated by Dr Jean-Michel Lecerf

Dr Jean-Michel LECERF, Institut Pasteur de Lille, France

• Specialist in endocrinology and metabolic diseases.
• Member of the management board of the French Nutrition Society (Société Française de Nutrition).
• Creator of the Nutrition and Physical Activity Service of the Longevity Health Prevention Center (Centre Prévention Santé Longévité) of the Institut Pasteur de Lille.
• Associate Professor and Medical Director of the Longevity Health Prevention Center at the Institut Pasteur de Lille.

–

Dr Stéphane PIRNAY, Alfortville, France

• Chief executive officer of the toxicology expertise agency and analysis laboratory EXPERTOX.
• Expert toxicologist (European Registered Toxicologist – ERT).
• Doctor of Pharmacy and Doctor of Science in Toxicology.
• Head of teaching at the Paris V and Paris XI Faculty of Pharmacy.
• Member of European Commission working groups.
• Expert at the Court of Appeal of Paris and the Administrative Court of Appeal of Paris and Versailles.

Dr Sandrine CHOMETTON, CSGA Dijon, France

• Thesis in Neuroscience (2015) under the direction of Dr Pierre-Yves Risold, concerning the morphofunctional organisation of the posterior lateral hypothalamus in rodents (University of Franche-Comté, Besancon, France).
• Postdoctoral Fellow (2016-2019) at Université Laval in Quebec, Canada, in the laboratory of Dr Elena Timofeeva. Research on the study of the neurological bases for eating disorders, with a focus on the reward circuit and the Relaxin-3/RXFP3 system.
• Second postdoctoral fellowship (2019-2023) at the University of Southern California in the laboratory of Dr Lindsey Schier. Her works: detection of glucose by the taste system, study of the role of the hypothalamus in the specific craving for glucose.
• INRAE Tenure-Track Junior Professor Chair at the Centre for Taste and Feeding Behavior (CSGA) since November 2023, in the group “Sugars – Sweet Perception and Receptors”.  Her work focuses on the taste receptor-dependent or non-dependent mechanisms involved in the perception of different sweet compounds in the taste system and brain, as well as the sensory and metabolic interactions underlying food choice and appetite in the rodent model.

–

Dr Julie-Anne NAZARE, CRNH Lyon, France

• Doctor of nutrition and psychology.
• Director of the Human Nutrition Research Centre (Centre de Recherche en Nutrition Humaine – CRNH) Rhône-Alpes.
• Associate professor of psychology at the University of Lyon 1.
• General Secretary of the French Association for the Study and Research on Obesity (Association Française d’Etude et de Recherche sur l’Obésité – AFERO).
• Research topics: eating behaviour, postprandial metabolism, obesity, cardiometabolism
• EU SWEET Project: Dr Nazare and the Rhône-Alpes CRNH are part of the 29-partner consortium of the European SWEET project. This project is funded by the European Commission as part of the Horizon 2020 initiative to develop and review evidence of the long-term benefits and potential risks of sweeteners and sweetness enhancers (S&SEs) in the context of public health and safety, obesity and sustainability (https://sweetproject.eu/).

The French Nutrition Days – Journées Francophones de Nutrition (JFN) is an annual, interdisciplinary and interprofessional scientific meeting dedicated to nutrition that is jointly organized by the French Nutrition Society (FR: Société Française de Nutrition – SFN) and the French Society of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (FR: Société Francophone Nutrition Clinique et Métabolisme – SFNCM).

In recent years, the JFN has become an essential event in the field of nutrition, bringing together nearly 2,000 participants and experts in physiology, biology, food sciences and nutrition. This year, JFN 2024 is taking place at the Palais de la Musique et des Congrès in Strasbourg, France, from 4th to 6th December 2024.

For more information about the JFN 2024 Conference including its scientific programme, please visit the Conference website by clicking here.