ILSI entities around the world publish scientific research articles, literature reviews, gap analyses, and meeting proceedings in peer-reviewed journals and publications. Our research has a flawless track record. In fact, not one of the 1,000+ articles ILSI has published since our organization's founding has ever been retracted.
In addition, ILSI publishes books, monographs, white papers, and newsletters. Our commitment to the highest scientific standards and our adherence to rigorous scientific principles demonstrate ILSI's integrity in research.
Browse ILSI's research publications, including the latest findings and in-depth analyses that contribute to advancing knowledge in the nutrition, food safety, sustainability, and health fields. Whether you're a fellow researcher, a student, or simply curious, our scientific articles provide valuable insights into the work that drives innovation and discovery.
Below, our publications are listed by publication date, from the newest article to the oldest. You can also filter the list by title or publication type.
ILSI's Research Library:
Publication Date
Journal Articles
ILSI Europe Systematic Review: The Impact of Digestible and Nondigestible Carbohydrate Consumption for Toddlers (1–4 Years) in Relation to Health Outcomes
Nutrition Reviews, 2025
- ILSI Europe
Early dietary habits play a crucial role in shaping long-term health outcomes. Understanding the effects of different carbohydrate types on physiological markers is essential for developing evidence-based nutritional guidelines for toddlers. The aim of the article is to systematically evaluate the impact of both digestible and nondigestible carbohydrate intake during early childhood (1–4 years of age) on various health outcomes, including growth patterns, metabolic parameters, and the development of risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Research framework for food security and sustainability
Npj Science of Food, 2025
- ILSI Europe
This article presents a framework for food security and sustainability research, developed by industry, academia, and public sector experts. Key priorities for collaborative research include reassessing food system contexts and drivers, adapting food system activities, transforming food system outcomes, developing and applying food system methodologies, and adopting an ethical and just lens. The framework emphasises the need for coordinated action across multiple scales and sectors, focusing on synergies and trade-offs as opposed to isolated food activities, to address complex challenges in food security and sustainability.
Targeting cognitive resilience through prebiotics: A focused perspective
Advances in Nutrition, 2024
- ILSI Europe
This perspective article is a product of the work of an expert group within the Prebiotic Task Force convened by the International Life Sciences Institute Europe (ILSI Europe), a non-profit organization that brings together experts from academia, industry and public service to catalyse nutrition science for public benefit.
Prebiotics in food and dietary supplements: a roadmap to EU health claims
Gut Microbes, 2024
- ILSI Europe
Numerous studies have established that prebiotic ingredients in foods and dietary supplements may play a role in supporting human health. Over the three decades that have passed since prebiotics were first defined as a concept, research has revealed a complex universe of prebiotic-induced changes to the human microbiota. There are strong indications of a direct link between these prebiotic-induced changes and specific health benefits.
The definition of chemical contaminants in food: Ambiguity and consequences
Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, 2024
- ILSI Europe
Consumers may be exposed via foods to a diverse range of substances that could be considered as contaminants. However, it is not always straightforward to understand the definition of a ‘contaminant’. The present review evaluates how various categories of food-relevant substances are considered in terms of being ‘contaminants’.
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Abstract
Context: Early dietary habits play a crucial role in shaping long-term health outcomes. Understanding the effects of different carbohydrate types on physiological markers is essential for developing evidence-based nutritional guidelines for toddlers.
Objective: The aim was to systematically evaluate the impact of both digestible and nondigestible carbohydrate intake during early childhood (1-4 years of age) on various health outcomes, including growth patterns, metabolic parameters, and the development of risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Data Sources: PubMed, Embase, and CENTRAL databases were searched up to April 2022 to identify studies investigating carbohydrate consumption in toddlers.
Data Extraction: The types of carbohydrates consumed, their sources, and their associations with growth parameters and metabolic markers were extracted. Thirty-one publications, including 18 cohort studies and 2 randomized controlled trials, were included.
Data Analysis: The risk of bias was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. A narrative synthesis was performed, with a visual summary table of the direction of effects.
Conclusion: In toddlers, the negative impact on health risks later in life is more pronounced for digestible dietary carbohydrate intake in liquid forms, such as sugar-sweetened beverages and fruit juice, compared with solid forms. Higher nondigestible carbohydrate (dietary fiber) intake during early childhood showed a beneficial trend on later lipid profile. Further studies are required to comprehensively assess the effect of digestible and nondigestible carbohydrate intake in toddlers on cognitive and psychomotor development, infections, bowel function, and gut microbiota.
Read the full paper
One pager
Commissioned by the Dietary Carbohydrates Task Force
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Abstract
This article presents a framework for food security and sustainability research, developed by industry, academia, and public sector experts. Key priorities for collaborative research include reassessing food system contexts and drivers, adapting food system activities, transforming food system outcomes, developing and applying food system methodologies, and adopting an ethical and just lens. The framework emphasises the need for coordinated action across multiple scales and sectors, focusing on synergies and trade-offs as opposed to isolated food activities, to address complex challenges in food security and sustainability.
Read the full paper
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Abstract
This perspective article is a product of the work of an expert group within the Prebiotic Task Force convened by the International Life Sciences Institute Europe (ILSI Europe), a non-profit organization that brings together experts from academia, industry and public service to catalyse nutrition science for public benefit. An expert group was conceived in October 2023 to discuss the evidence base on the use of prebiotics to promote cognitive functioning, with a focus on highlighting knowledge gaps and proposing a list of recommendations to guide this specific area of research forward. To address this, we evaluated existing systematic reviews and meta-analyses of human intervention studies that examine the effects of prebiotics on cognitive functioning. These are predominantly conducted in healthy participants under basal conditions and have, to date, revealed limited effects. In this perspective, we propose that prebiotics should be investigated as agents to promote cognitive resilience by testing their effects on cognitive performance under certain cognition-taxing factors that individuals encounter across their lifespan. These include stress, poor sleep outcomes, sedentary behaviour, and unhealthy dietary patterns, all of which have been shown to be associated with altered microbiome and impact global cognition or specific cognitive domains. In addition, we recommend identifying vulnerable populations that are either sub-clinical or that struggle chronically or periodically with one or more cognition-taxing factors, to better uncover the boundary conditions for prebiotic effectiveness. By broadening the scope of research to include diverse populations and challenging conditions in daily life or experimental settings, we can expand our understanding of the role of prebiotics not only in cognitive health or impairment, but also as potential preventative agents that may promote cognitive resilience during aging and in response to various lifestyle-related challenges.
One-pager
Read the full article
Commissioned by the Prebiotics Task Force
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Abstract
Numerous studies have established that prebiotic ingredients in foods and dietary supplements may play a role in supporting human health. Over the three decades that have passed since prebiotics were first defined as a concept, research has revealed a complex universe of prebiotic-induced changes to the human microbiota. There are strong indications of a direct link between these prebiotic-induced changes and specific health benefits. However, at the present time, the EU has not permitted use of the term 'prebiotic' in connection with an approved health claim. This paper is the outcome of a workshop organized on the 25th October 2023 by the European branch of the International Life Science Institute (ILSI). It provides an overview of the regulatory requirements for authorized health claims in the EU, key areas of prebiotic research, and findings to date in relation to prebiotics and digestive, immune, metabolic and cognitive health. Research gaps and documentation challenges are then explored and a roadmap proposed for achieving authorization of 'prebiotic' in the wording of future EU health claims.
Introductory video
Read the full article
Commissioned by the Prebiotics Task Force
[post_title] => Prebiotics in food and dietary supplements: a roadmap to EU health claims
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Abstract
Consumers may be exposed via foods to a diverse range of substances that could be considered as contaminants. However, it is not always straightforward to understand the definition of a 'contaminant'. The present review evaluates how various categories of food-relevant substances are considered in terms of being 'contaminants'. To this end these categories of food borne constituents are evaluated against the various criteria encountered in the available definitions of a food contaminant, including unintentional presence, harmful, existence of regulatory limits, and stakeholder perception. The categories of chemicals considered include: phytotoxins, mycotoxins, (heavy) metals, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), processing aids, process related contaminants, food contact materials (FCMs), pesticides and veterinary drugs. The evaluation revealed that usage of the term appears complex, and may differ between stakeholders. A common proposed definition of the term 'contaminant' could be 'a substance considered to require control measures due to the unacceptability of its context within a food'. Use of a dimension of harm results in equivocal outcomes because risk depends on the level of exposure. As the term 'contaminant' has influence on risk management including public policy, the motivations for applying the term should be subject to more detailed analysis and understanding.
One-pager
Read the full paper
Commissioned by the Food Contaminants Task Force
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Abstract
Context: Early dietary habits play a crucial role in shaping long-term health outcomes. Understanding the effects of different carbohydrate types on physiological markers is essential for developing evidence-based nutritional guidelines for toddlers.
Objective: The aim was to systematically evaluate the impact of both digestible and nondigestible carbohydrate intake during early childhood (1-4 years of age) on various health outcomes, including growth patterns, metabolic parameters, and the development of risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Data Sources: PubMed, Embase, and CENTRAL databases were searched up to April 2022 to identify studies investigating carbohydrate consumption in toddlers.
Data Extraction: The types of carbohydrates consumed, their sources, and their associations with growth parameters and metabolic markers were extracted. Thirty-one publications, including 18 cohort studies and 2 randomized controlled trials, were included.
Data Analysis: The risk of bias was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. A narrative synthesis was performed, with a visual summary table of the direction of effects.
Conclusion: In toddlers, the negative impact on health risks later in life is more pronounced for digestible dietary carbohydrate intake in liquid forms, such as sugar-sweetened beverages and fruit juice, compared with solid forms. Higher nondigestible carbohydrate (dietary fiber) intake during early childhood showed a beneficial trend on later lipid profile. Further studies are required to comprehensively assess the effect of digestible and nondigestible carbohydrate intake in toddlers on cognitive and psychomotor development, infections, bowel function, and gut microbiota.
Read the full paper
One pager
Commissioned by the Dietary Carbohydrates Task Force
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