On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the journal, the main source of diffusion of advances in all sciences related to physical characterization and sensory perception of texture, seeks to recognize the great scientific contributions and achievements of food texture with prizes in two separate categories: Recognition of the great successes of food texture research
The first is named in honor of texture researchers who have an international reputation for outstanding contributions to the discipline.
Susana Fiszman is a Research Professor at the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (IATA-CSIC) and has been one of five recipients of the Outstanding Collaborators in Texture Research Award.
Susana Fiszman is a Research Professor at the Spanish National Research Council's Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology in Valencia, Spain. She earned her degree in Chemistry from Buenos Aires National University in 1976, her Master in Food Technology from the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology in Valencia, Spain, and her PhD in Chemistry from the University of Valencia, Spain, in 1982.
She has dedicated her professional life to the study of food texture properties and their sensory perception, focusing on how to créate and modify food structures.
Dr. Fiszman has authored over 180 refereed research papers and reviews. The most cited of these (over 200 citations) is “Instrumental texture profile analysis with particular reference to gelled systems,” published in 1996 by M. Pons and S. Fiszman in the Journal of Texture Studies. She collaborates regularly on editing books in her subject área and participates actively in national and international conferences in her field of expertise. She has taught numerous courses and worked with a number of companies on subjects of common interest, mostly addressing texture-related solutions. She collaborates with the PhD Programs of both the University of Valencia and the Polytechnic University of Valencia (Spain).
Dr. Fiszman is Associate Editor of Food Hydrocolloids and a member of the editorial board of Food Research International, two of the most prestigious journals in the field of food science and technology.
She is currently also a member of several prestigious international expert panels.
Throughout her scientific career she has addressed complex topics in the field of food texture. One of these is crispness in dry, humid, and crusted products, even addressing the semantics of the terms crunchiness and crispness to discover what consumers are thinking when they consume crispy foods. Another is the design of high-fiber and reduced sugar and fat bakery products and the consequences of reformulation for consumer perceptions of texture. A further topic on which she has focused is how to use hydrocolloids to reduce oil uptake in pre-fried food without modifying the principal texture characteristics, which are the main drivers of liking for this kind of food item.
A specific area in which she has worked in recent years is the relationship between texture and expected perceptions of satiety and satiation, since these sensations are directly related to how food is processed in the mouth and to the exposure time.
She has also studied temporal aspects of food texture, from the initial mechanical properties when the food piece is intact to particle size and shape, the aggregation of the increasingly destroyed food structure in the mouth, and the evolving properties of the bolus through to swallowing, which are key issues for the texture construct.
In her opinion, reaching a full understanding of the consumption process and the mechanisms that control it will assist in defining strategies to design products that meet the needs of specific consumer groups. These mechanisms are key factors in our eating experience and sensory perception, which are directly related to health and wellbeing.