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Keller and Heckman Participating in EU Study on the Effectiveness of Personalized Nutrition

Keller and Heckman LLP is now a member of a consortium that is investigating the potential of designing diets tailored specifically for an individual, based on his or her physical and genetic make-up. The 4-year study on personalized nutrition, titled "Food4me," is being funded by the European Union (EU). 

As studies have shown that individuals respond differently to various nutrients, Food4Me will evaluate the possibility of designing improved diets based on a person's genetic make-up rather than applying overarching dietary guidance to the population as a whole. All aspects of personalized nutrition will be considered, including consumer needs and perceptions, the application of nutrigenomic research (studies of the effect of food on gene expression), technology for implementation, and ethical and legal issues. A major component of the project is a large multi-center human intervention study.

Keller and Heckman—along with the University of Lund in Sweden—will investigate the ethical and legal aspects of personalized nutrition. The assessment of the ethical and legal issues will help shape the framework for the outcomes of the consumer studies, business models and human intervention research.

Keller and Heckman's involvement in the project is being coordinated by Brussels-based partner Jean Savigny. Professor Mike Gibney, of the Institute of Food and Health, University College Dublin, is responsible for organizing Food4Me. A webinar of Professor Gibney introducing the project is available here. For more information on Food4Me, please download the brochure below.