Welcome to the 8^th International Maillard Symposium web site.  The meeting will be held in Charleston, South Carolina, on August 28 – September 1, 2004. 

This milestone meeting will mark the 25^th anniversary of the first Maillard Symposium organized by a group of food chemists and biomedical scientists in Uddevalla, Sweden in 1979.  That conference, like those that have followed every 3-4 years, was convened because of the increasing recognition of the role of the Maillard or browning reaction in both food chemistry and living systems.  In food technology the Maillard reaction plays a central role in the development of color, aroma, flavor, texture and nutritional value of cooked and processed foods.  In humans, the Maillard reaction contributes to the increased fluorescence, color and cross-linking of extracellular proteins during normal aging.  Acceleration of these reactions is implicated in the development of diabetic complications and in inflammatory processes linked to neurodegenerative diseases and atherosclerosis.

The Agenda on the Program page above illustrates the wide scope of the meeting. Participants include scientists and administrators from government, academia, research institutions and industry, approximately equally drawn from Europe, Asia and North America.  The scientific program will take place over 4 days.  Each morning begins with sequential plenary lectures in food and biomedical sciences, presented in joint session for all attendees.  Following the plenary lectures there will be parallel break-out sessions focused primarily on food or biomedical sciences or interdisciplinary areas, such as nutrition and toxicology.