Gums and Stabilisers for the Food Industry

Gums and Stabilisers for the Food Industry is a biennial conference (see the official website) held in Wrexham, North Wales, since 1981, on the application of hydrocolloids (polysaccharides and proteins) in the food industry. Presentations at the conference cover recent advances in the structure, function and applications of gums and stabilisers, how these materials are used in industrial processes, and also educational material on the subject. The proceedings of each conference have been published (see below), with the most recent (9th through 16th conferences) published by the Royal Society of Chemistry. The conference series is organized by the Food Hydrocolloids Trust.

History of the conference

The intention of the conference series is to provide a forum for the free exchange of ideas between academia and industry and to promote the use and understanding of hydrocolloids in foods. Because hydrocolloids are sourced and used in all of the continents except Antarctica, and many types (such as resins, seed gums, and certain alginates) are obtained from specific countries or climate zones, the conference attracts an international attendance from Europe, Asia, North America, Australia, Africa and the Middle East.

The first conference series was held at Glyndŵr University in Wrexham in 1981, chaired by Professor Glyn O Phillips (also of Glyndŵr University), and all subsequent conferences have taken place at the same location and with the same chairman. Th eonly exception to this was the 2011 conference, held in Wageningen in the Netherlands. Until 2008, Glyndŵr University was known as the North-East Wales Institute of Higher Education (NEWI).

Gums and Stabilisers for the Food Industry

Date of conference: July 1981

Editors: G. O. Phillips, D. J. Wedlock and P. A. Williams

Published by: Pergamon Press Ltd., Oxford Vol 6 (1982). ISBN 0-08-026843-9.

Gums and Stabilisers for the Food Industry 2

Date of conference: July 1983

Editors: G. O. Phillips, D. J. Wedlock and P. A. Williams

Published by: Pergamon Press Ltd., Oxford (1984). ISBN 0-08-029819-2.

Gums and Stabilisers for the Food Industry 3

Date of conference: July 1985

Editors: G. O. Phillips, D. J. Wedlock and P. A. Williams

Published by: Elsevier Applied Science Publishers (1986). ISBN 0-85334-423-X.

Topics: Part 1: Analysis, structure and properties; Part 2: Applications; Part 3: Interactions; Part 4: Recent developments – future trends.

Gums and Stabilisers for the Food Industry 4

Date of conference: July 1987

Editors: G. O. Phillips, D. J. Wedlock and P. A. Williams

Published by: IRL Press, Oxford, (1988). ISBN 1-85221-087-7.

Topics: Part 1: Analysis, structure and properties; Part 2: Gelation and rheological properties; Part 3 Applications; Part 4: Emulsion stabilisation; Part 5: Current developments.

Gums and Stabilisers for the Food Industry 5

Date of conference: July 1989

Editors: G. O. Phillips, D. J. Wedlock and P. A. Williams

Published by: Oxford University Press Ltd., Oxford, (1990). ISBN 0-19-963061-5.

Topics: Part 1: Gum arabic and other gum exudates; Part 2: Starch; Part 3: Gelatin and other food proteins; Part 4: Pectin; Part 5: Microbial polysaccharides; Part 6: Cellulosics and seed gums; Part 7: Marine polysaccharides.

Gums and Stabilisers for the Food Industry 6

Date of conference: July 1991

Editors: Phillips G. O., Williams P. A. and Wedlock D. J.

Published by: Oxford University Press Ltd, Oxford (1992). ISBN 0-19-963284-7.

Topics: Part 1: End use considerations; Part 2: Structure and rheology; Part 3: Synergism; Part 4: Processing; Part 5: Emulsions stabilisation; Part 6: Low calorie products; Part 7: New developments.

Gums and Stabilisers for the Food Industry 7

Date of conference: July 1993

Editors: Phillips G. O., Williams, P. A. and Wedlock D. J.

Published by: Oxford University Press, Oxford (1994). ISBN 0-19-963465-3.

Topics: Part 1: Characterisation; Part 2: Emulsions and foams; Part 3: Processing; Part 4: Health and nutrition; Part 5: Rheology; Part 6: Interactions; Part 7: Applications.

Gums and Stabilisers for the Food Industry 8

Date of conference: July 1995

Editors: Phillips G. O., Williams, P. A. and Wedlock D. J.

Published by: Oxford University Press (1996). ISBN 0-19-963627-3.

Topics: Part 1: The role of hydration processes in product formulation; Part 2: Stabilisation of chilled and frozen products; Part 3: Biopolymer characterization; Part 4: Biopolymer interactions; Part 5: Incompatibility and phase separation of biopolymers; Part 6: Practical applications of mixed biopolymers; Part 7: High pressure and high temperature processing; Part 8: Functionality of hydrocolloids in low moisture products; Part 9: New materials and emerging techniques.

Gums and Stabilisers for the Food Industry 9

Date of conference: July 1997

Editors: Williams, P. A. and Phillips, G.O.

Published by: Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK (1998). ISBN 0-85404-708-5.

Gums and Stabilisers for the Food Industry 10

Date of conference: 5 to 9 July 1999

Editors: Williams, P. A. and Phillips G.O.

Published by: Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK (2000). ISBN 0-85404-820-0.

Topics: Polysaccharide characterization; Polysaccharide gelation; Mixed biopolymer systems; High solid systems; Proteins and emulsions; Recent developments, future trends.

Gums and Stabilisers for the Food Industry 11

Date of conference: 2 to 6 July 2001

Editors: Williams, P. A. and Phillips G.O.

Published by: Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK (2002). ISBN 0-85404-836-7.

Topics: Market overview; Structure, characterization and interactions; Rheological aspects; Hydrocolloids in real food systems; Interfacial behaviour and gelation of proteins; New materials; Hydrocolloids and health.

Gums and Stabilisers for the Food Industry 12

Date of conference: July 2003