The last of the three international activities developed by the students of the EuropeanMaster's Degree in Food, Nutrition and Metabolism of the School of Pharmacy and Nutrition of the University of Navarra took place at the end of August at the Basque Culinary Center, with the degree scroll Taste, Behaviour and Health Gastronomy.

This course - which together with the Nutrition & Neurosciences (Bordeaux-France) and the Nutrition Society Winter Meeting (London-UK) allows the program to count on theaccredited specialization of Master's Degree European - lasted only one workshop and included 13 national and international speakers who gave 30-minute sessions.

One of the speakers, Dr. Eva Almiron Roig, addressed the assessment of taste preferences and satiety in the talk "Taste preference and satiety assessment". "The purpose of the course," explains the researcher from the University of Navarra, "was to analyze the relationship between gastronomy and health. In particular: the interaction between the sense of taste, the physiology of appetite and metabolism, satisfaction and enjoyment during the meal".

In his opinion, the talk on physiology and measurement of taste, at position by Dr. Secundido Fernández -Dean of the School of Medicine of the University of Navarra - was particularly interesting: "I would also highlight Professor France Bellisle (INRA, France), whose lecture dealt with myths about sweeteners, satiety and weight loss; or Dr. Ana Takahata (Ajinomoto Co, Japan), who spoke about umami taste and its potential role as a vehicle for nutritional improvement of recipes". "This topic", continues Dr., "was deepened with the culinary demonstrations by the chefs of the Basque Culinary Centre, which were a unique and exceptional experience for the palate, as well as a direct sample of the integration between cultures. In this case, between Mediterranean and Japanese cultures".

"This course also provided a unique opportunity for researchers, chefs, gastronomes and students from various universities to exchange ideas and experiences and open new doors for scientific collaborations with industry," concludes Dr. Almiron, a researcher at research center in Nutrition and a registered dietitian.