At the heart of each project, a question of public or private interest
For each project, the Research Center’s team treats players’ operational issues like scientific problems that need to be solved within a specifically chosen academic discipline.
On a scientific level, research therefore helps to promote conceptual knowledge by identifying the key factors of examined systems. This is done by applying a multidisciplinaryvision to the undertaken efforts. These results are shared with the international scientific community via peer-examined journal articles and through conferences. On an operational level, the work results in useable recommendations that are a genuine springboard for innovation.
The social science research group focuses on the role of social and cultural dimensions in contemporary food transitions. The work is articulated around two main themes:
1- Evolution of social relationships around food Food is often presented as a space for sharing and exchange, whether through the sharing of the meal itself (commensality) or the related activities: cooking, provisioning, etc. It is therefore considered as a way to create "social ties" and fight "isolation". However, the nature of the ties created varies greatly and needs to be better understood in order to specify the conditions under which the social ties that develop around food can contribute to healthier and more sustainable practices.
2- Acceptability of food change The requirement to change dietary practices necessarily implies the diversification of products consumed, and therefore the introduction or rediscovery of new products. This raises not only the question of cultural acceptability (how to integrate healthier and more sustainable products in a given cultural context), but also the preservation of local traditions and heritage. It also raises the question of the posture of the foodservice industry regarding these issues.
The research mobilizes mainly qualitative and comparative approaches, through disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, social psychology or geography. Quantitative approaches can also be used to work on a broader scale.
The Food Cognition Group investigates the cognitive and neural mechanisms underpinning mental representations of food and eating behavior. Our research interests extend from the perception of sensory and food-related information to behaviors and actions induced by conceptually structured mental representations of food learnt across age. Our research group is highly interdisciplinary, and tackles theoretically anchored research questions using robust methodologies in developmental and cognitive psychology, cognitive and computational neuroscience in young children and adults, sensory and culinary experts, as well as in patients suffering from eating disorders and sensory impairments. To achieve a truly multidisciplinary approach of food cognition, our team focuses its research on four core domains (Multisensory perception – Conceptual knowledge – Learning and memory – Gestures and behaviors) differently interconnected in our ongoing projects.
The Nutrition Group investigates the key factors underlying perceptions and food preferences, appetite and food intake. These factors are related to the formulation of the products and to the individual characteristics and eating behaviour, during consumption, within and across meals. Exploring these factors is essential
i) to propose reasoned approaches to food formulation that respect healthy balanced meals while being more sustainable for the environment and appreciated by consumers; and ii) ii) to design interventions aiming at improving dietary patterns and subsequently overall health and well-being.
The above research themes are addressed investigating various approaches :
• Nutrients (e.g protein sources etc.)
• Meals/food (composition, texture, cooking approach, food processing etc.) • Diet/eating patterns (frequency, time, quantity etc.) • Food/meal environment (on the go, restaurants, fast food, cafes/canteens)