San Pablo CEU-Carrefour University Chair in Food and Nutrition was constituted in 2018 and is directed by Prof. Gregorio Varela Moreiras, Nutrition and Bromatology Professor at the University. The agreement through which the Chair is created has the purpose of promoting new training, dissemination and research projects in the thematic area of nutrition, and always from the perspective of a healthy and sustainable food model.
Regarding training initiatives, the Chair carries out various Training and Refresher Courses in Food, Nutrition and Health for the technical and executive staff of the Carrefour company. These courses have a theoretical-practical character and are taught by the teaching staff of the Nutrition and Bromatology area, dealing with contents that are agreed with the training and HR managers of the company. This exemplifies the collaboration achieved between this private company and our university in the face of the common goal of trying to respond to the needs that society always demands.
Below, the training actions already carried out are detailed, which in their successive editions were given to more than 300 managers and directors of Carrefour, with a very satisfactory assessment:
UPDATE DAYS IN HEALTHY EATING AND BROMATOLOGY:
I UPDATE
- ‘Healthy eating’: eating guidelines and lifestyle; conditioning of eating habits and consumer science; myths and errors in food; opportunities for improvement and dietary-nutritional advice.
- ‘Ingredients and reformulation of products for a healthier diet’: current status of intake of critical nutrients (sugar, fat, salt); proposals for improving the composition of food and beverages; reformulation strategies implemented in other countries; processed and nutritional value; nutritional labelling workshop.
- ‘Processed and Preservation’: nutritional messages and claims; processing and food safety; new fashions and dangers in food.
II UPDATE
- ‘A journey through the Heathy Food Pyramid’: challenges and opportunities for the improvement of the food production and health: opportunities for the reformulation of food; applied biotechnology to the vegetal origin food production.
- ‘From theory to practice: what do you need to talk about these days?’: food and COVID-19; foods "without" (sugars, gluten, lactose, meat); trends in packaging and food packaging; developments in Nutri-Score nutritional labelling and Eco-score.
I DAY OF COACHING OF KNOW HOW FOR MANAGERS
Theme: ‘Food and Nutrition in the Spain of the XXI century: challenges and opportunities’
Other planned training activities are the following:
III UPDATE IN HEALTHY EATING AND BROMATOLOGY
Theme: ‘The environmental impact of food production: a present and future challenge’
II DAY OF COACHING OF KNOW HOW FOR MANAGERS
Theme: ‘Food and Nutrition in the Spain of the XXI century: can and should. Personal and collective responsibility’
Continuing with the second objective of the Chair, the following dissemination actions on Food, Nutrition and Health are planned aimed at Carrefour consumers. They will be taught in the Carrefour centers themselves with simultaneous streaming, and for the moment the following sessions have been planned:
‘Food and Nutrition in the elderly: how to take care of ourselves?'
'Food and Menopause'
'How we should feed our children'
'Errors and myths in food and nutrition'
It is planned to carry out the realisation of scientific conferences and meetings of experts in the field of food and health aimed at customers and collaborators also with an informative purpose.
Finally, the research projects promoted by the Chair aim to analyse the market situation and consumption of food in Spain, to facilitate the design and implementation of strategies that promote a healthy and sustainable food model among consumers.
Specifically, the following studies have already begun:
- Comparative study of purchasing habits and nutritional impact by food groups years 2019 vs. 2020
- Survey of eating habits and lifestyles post-Covid 19.
- Study of the consumption of reformulated and/ or new formulated foods (according to the AESAN Food Composition Improvement Plan) in the so-called critical nutrients (added sugars, salt and saturated fats).
- Study on the consumption of ultra-processed according to the different types of consumers in Spain.
- Study of Nutri-Score front labelling and its impact on consumer choices.