Interest Group in Food Lipidomics

Why food lipidomics?

Lipids are essential nutrients and functional ingredients of food. However, lipids are not receiving adequate attention compared to proteins and carbohydrates, due to lack of proper understanding of their composition and significance to food quality and human health. The complexity of food lipidomes, with a diverse range of lipid molecules and specific compositions, poses a significant challenge for lipid analysis, resulting in limited knowledge about them. Advancing the research on food lipidomes and accurate integration of lipidomic information in food and nutrition is urgently needed for precise dietary recommendations and health evaluations. Further, a strong science-based foundation is essential for advancing food production, quality, nutritional science, and meeting consumer expectations for well-informed dietary decisions.

Food lipidomics encompasses a broad range of topics related to the study of lipids in food and their impact on human nutrition and health, which is essential to contribute to leverage the knowledge on food lipids, supporting dietary recommendations and consumer choices, and more sustainable food production in a broad societal perspective.

Goals

Build up a collaborative network of researchers and professionals who share a common interest in advancing research, fostering collaboration, and promoting knowledge exchange in the field of food lipidomics. Networking activities will leverage food lipidomics, including lipid analysis techniques, lipid metabolism, lipid biochemistry, lipidomics applications in food science and nutrition, and the role of lipids in human health and disease.

The food lipidomics interest group can play a significant role in advancing scientific knowledge, promoting innovation, and research and development in industry, ultimately contributing to improvements in food quality, safety, and human health.

Main lines of interest

  • Method Development and Standardization in Lipid Analysis
    Optimization of lipid analysis techniques for food samples, as well as the standardization of protocols to ensure consistency and reproducibility.
  • Mapping Food Lipidome Addressing Diversity And Complexity For Healthy Diets
    Full identification and quantification of all types of lipids present in different food sources covering fats and oils from plants, animal origins, and marine species.
  • Functional Lipids and Nutraceuticals
    Investigating the bioactive properties of specific lipids, their bioavailability and potential health benefits in promoting overall wellness and managing chronic diseases.
  • Novel And Alternative Sources Of Dietary Lipids
    Exploring novel sustainable alternative sources of dietary lipids, such as algae, insects, microbial lipids, lipids from underutilized special crops (e. g. chia seeds, hemp seeds) and by-products such as avocado pits or grape seeds, as promising avenues for diversifying lipid sources in the diet.
  • Impact of Processing and Storage
    Investigating how food processing techniques, such as oil extraction & refining, cooking, frying, baking, and fermentation, as well as storage, affect the lipid content, composition, and nutritional value of foods.
  • Lipid Oxidation In Food
    In-depth research on the molecular mechanism of chemical and biochemical reactions involved in oxidation of lipids in food, complex interaction of different components in food matrix, impact of antioxidants, impact on food quality and health implications.
  • Lipidomes And Sensory Properties Of Food
    Understanding the impact of molecular structures of individual lipid classes and the overall lipidomic profile on sensory properties (structure, taste, and flavor) of fats and oils and food products.
  • Lipidomics in Food Authentication and Traceability
    Using lipidomics approaches to authenticate food products, detect adulteration and fraud, and trace the geographical origin or production methods of foods through lipid biomarkers and fingerprinting techniques.
  • Education And Training
  • Exploitation And Communication

Who we want to target

Academia – Research and education/training

Stakeholders – Food industry, food producers, nutrition, quality analysis & control labs, regulation, and standardization agencies

Activies

  • Website
  • Regular meetings of Board or core group
  • Webinars, seminars, and conferences
  • Joint research, joint funding application, cost actions
  • Joint researcher training (doctoral researchers and postdocs)
  • Researcher mobility, student & teacher exchange (ERASMUS, EC2U, and other)
CA19105 – Pan-European Network in Lipidomics and EpiLipidomics

CSO Approval Date: 24 March 2020
Start Date: 13 October 2020
End Date: 12 October 2024
EpiLipidNET aims to build and maintain a multidisciplinary pan-European network of researchers, clinicians and enterprises working in the field of lipidomics and epilipidomics to boost a hub of research excellence, advanced knowledge and technology transfer, to promote high level of training for young researchers and facilitate clinical translation.