1. Event name
NARO 5th International Symposium on Food and Health
"Health and Gastronomy"
2. Date and Time
February 12 (Thursday), 2026 13:00～17:30 (JST)
3. Venue
Iino Hall & Conference Center (Tokyo, Japan)
The symposium was held on-site only. Archived videos are available for a limited time from March 17 to April 17, 2026.
4. Organizer and supporters
(Organizer) NARO
(Supported by) Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF); Dijon Métropole; Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; Embassy of France; VITAGORA; Engineering Academy of Japan
5. Participants
Registered participants: 234
Participants on the day: 139 (from 3 overseas countries)
6. Symposium Overview
Opening Remarks
In his opening remarks, Dr. Kyuma, President of NARO, outlined NARO's commitment to promoting the social implementation of advanced technologies with the objectives of ensuring food security, strengthening industrial competitiveness, and achieving both increased productivity and environmental conservation. He highlighted that "Food and Health" is positioned as a priority research area within NARO. Furthermore, he expressed his expectation that the symposium would serve as a platform for sharing the latest research aimed at extending healthy life expectancy, while fostering international collaboration and innovation.
Mr. Mauguin, President & CEO of the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), emphasized the importance of advancing the understanding of the relationships between nutrition, preferences, sensory perception, and health. He expressed his expectation that further joint research initiatives and deeper exchanges would be fostered through collaboration across diverse fields, including fermentation and sensory science.
Dr. Heimovaara, President of the Executive Board of Wageningen University & Research (WUR), emphasized the importance of integrating perspectives from taste and sensory science, technological innovation, gut microbiome research, and the One Health approach. She expressed her expectation that international cooperation, in collaboration with NARO, would contribute to the realization of sustainable food systems that bring about health and joy.
Mr. Sakaida, Director-General for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research Council Secretariat (MAFF), emphasized that food culture contributes significantly to national competitiveness and the expansion of exports. He also highlighted the potential of personalized diets tailored to individual needs and preferences, as well as food technology, and expressed his expectation that cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural collaboration would foster research advancement and the creation of new business opportunities.
Keynote Lecture
Vice President Lemanceau of Dijon Métropole gave a keynote lecture in which he introduced the initiatives being implemented in Dijon Métropole. He presented ProDij, the territorially driven food transition policy promoted by Dijon Métropole, which simultaneously addresses interconnected environmental, economic, social, and urban-rural cohesion challenges and aims to build a virtuous cycle in which "better eating" drives "better producing." He also noted that the policy identifies school catering, commercial catering, and home food consumption as key areas of practice and seeks to realize healthy, sustainable, and accessible food systems through a systematic, collaborative approach involving citizens, research institutions, and economic stakeholders. He further presented a series of practical, participatory initiatives--implemented in collaboration with partners such as INRAE, university hospitals, OPAD, and VITAGORA--in which target groups are actively engaged in the design process.
Session I: Maintaining and Improving Health through Diet
This session featured presentations on two main themes: the effective utilization of nutrients and health-promoting substances in foods, and the use of gut microorganisms for maintaining and improving health. Regarding the former, presentations introduced the development of a novel detection method for biologically active Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) and its application to the design of healthy diets, as well as initiatives in nutritional care through hospital meals focused on Japanese cuisine. Regarding the latter, the latest research on unlocking the role of the gut microbiota was presented, together with food development approaches aimed at promoting health based on these findings, followed by active discussions.
Speakers: Dr. KOBORI Toshiro, Leader, Institute of Food Research, NARO/ Ms. TORIGOE Junko, Senior Manager, Institute of Science Tokyo Hospital/ Dr. Hauke SMIDT, Professor, Wageningen Microbiome Center, WUR/ Dr. OGAWA Jun, Professor, Kyoto University
Session II:SAnalysis of Gastronomy
This session introduced analyses and initiatives related to gastronomy from multiple perspectives. From the perspective of basic taste science, the presentation addressed diurnal rhythms in taste buds and taste sensitivity. From the perspectives of sensory evaluation and psychology, consumer perceptions of tastiness and healthiness were presented. From the perspective of food product development, initiatives aimed at integrating palatability and health through vinegar were presented. In addition, from the perspective of digital technologies and future frameworks for food, the Digital Food Platform initiative was introduced. These presentations were followed by active discussions.
Speakers: Dr. MOCHIZUKI Hiroko, Deputy Leader, Institute of Food Research, NARO/ Dr. Sophie Nicklaus, Scientific Director, INRAE/ Mr. YOSHIMOTO Joto, Team Leader, Central Research Institute, Mizkan Holdings Co., Ltd./ Dr. KIMURA Eiichiro, Professor, Institute of Science Tokyo
Closing Remarks
In her closing remarks, Dr. Suzuki, Vice-President of NARO, summarized that today's symposium presented a wide range of topics related to maintaining and improving health through food, giving a strong sense of the expanding possibilities for the future of food and health. She also expressed her expectation that the circle of research aimed at well-being--including the harmonization of gastronomy and health--would continue to grow. She concluded by expressing her hope that the discussions held during the symposium would lead to new collaborations and further research development, serving as a catalyst for jointly shaping the future of food, health, and gastronomy.
