Healthy Ageing APAC Summit: Experts from Japan to shine the spotlight on nutrition and food opportunities

03-Apr-2018 - Last updated on 03-Apr-2018 at 05:28 GMT

The event will take place in Singapore this June.

Japan has long been at the forefront of product development and research around healthy ageing, and two experts from the country will be sharing their insights at our Healthy Ageing APAC Summit in June.

The event, organised by NutraIngredients-Asia and FoodNavigator-Asia, will take place in Singapore on 12 and 13 June.

The Asia-Pacific region is currently home to about 60% of the world's population of older people, defined as those aged 60 and above. The number of older people in the region is expected to more than double from 547 million to nearly 1.3 billion by 2050.

The summit will assess the opportunities these dramatic demographic shifts can offer the industry in terms of creating innovative and nutritious products for both the older consumers of today and tomorrow.

Two of the keynote speakers will be joining the event from Japan.

Firstly, Naomi Suzuki from manufacturer NUTRI Co will discuss Sophisticated Engay Food — Easy to swallow food from Japan that looks and tastes like the real thing.

'Engay' is Japanese for 'swallowing', something that can become increasingly difficult as people age. In fact, more Japanese people die each year from choking than from traffic accidents.

NUTRI Co is at the forefront of engay food development in Japan, a process where products can be reformulated and reshaped into their original form, but with the risk of choking eliminated.

In this talk, Suzuki will discuss how the food is created, and explain why Engay food should be provided in hospitals and nursing homes across the region.

Microbiota impact

She will also be joined by Dr Bejit Ideas, from the Japan Anti-Aging Society, who will discuss how the microbiota make-up of centenarians can lead to new healthy ageing solutions.

He will reveal how studies on the microbiota of the centenarians of Okinawa and their signalling pathway revealed that they have particular gut bacteria profiles responsible for their longevity.

In his presentation, he will assess how these results will lead to the development of new, innovative health food solutions to aid brain plasticity and protect against sarcopenia.

Other confirmed speakers include the head of the Blackmores Institute, Dr Lesley Braun, Swisse's head of government relations, Justin Howden, and the deputy head of Nestle's Research Center in China, Yu Kai.

Gary Scattergood, editor-in-chief of NutraIngredients-Asia and FoodNavigator-Asia, said: "Asia-Pacific's ageing population and longer overall life expectancy means the demand for nutrition and food products suitable for the elderly population will soar, while younger people are increasingly aware that the nutrition and health choices they make today will affect their quality of life in older age.

"Therefore, this event will bring together businesses, policymakers and academics to evaluate the role the nutrition and food industry can play to meet these needs across the generations."

The event will take place at the Hilton Singapore, and will be accompanied by a host of networking opportunities, including round-table lunches and an evening cocktail reception.