Sugar in Foods to be Discussed at Symposium

By Johnny Morgan, LSU AgCenter

Promoting the development of sustainable, value-added foods and beverages will be the subject of an LSU AgCenter Audubon Sugar Institute symposium at the Lod Cook Conference Center on June 6 and 7. 

The symposium is part of a series of meetings for the advancement and development of sugar crop research. 

Registration will begin at 7:45 a.m. The event will conclude at 4:30 p.m. 

Lunch is included in the $80 registration fee, and students can register for the discounted price of $20. 

The program will include discussions about new directions for sugar products, said Gillian Eggleston, head of the Audubon Sugar Institute. Some of the topics will include the use of sugarcane and sweet sorghum in the production of food products and the antioxidant activities of sweet sorghum and rice. 

Presentations will be from food and beverage experts who work with sugarcane and sweet sorghum. They will include: 

  • Gillian Eggleston, director and professor, AgCenter Audubon Sugar Institute.

  • Giovanna Aita, associate professor, AgCenter Audubon Sugar Institute.

  • Louise Wicker, professor, AgCenter School of Nutrition and Food Sciences.

  • Doug Bice, market development director, United Sorghum Checkoff Program, St. Louis, Missouri.

  • Matt Heckemeyer, CEO, Heckemeyer Sweet Sorghum Syrup, Sikeston, Missouri.

  • Marvin Moncada, food scientist and plant manager, AgCenter Food Incubator.

  • Stephen Boue, research chemist, USDA Agricultural Research Service Research Center, New Orleans.

  • Sweet sorghum student competition presenters sponsored by the United Sorghum Checkoff Program. 

Optional technical tours on June 7 will go to the AgCenter Food Incubator on the LSU campus and the AgCenter Audubon Sugar Institute in St. Gabriel. Breakfast will be served prior to the tours. 

To register for the symposium, visit the website at https://bit.ly/309XBXI.


don molino