2025 World Agricultural Innovation Conference Dietary Fiber Innovation Forum Successfully Held

On the morning of October 12, the Dietary Fiber Forum of the 2025 World Agricultural Innovation Conference was successfully held. Themed “Dietary Fiber and Future Agriculture,” the forum focused on the pivotal role of dietary fiber in promoting national health and advancing agricultural transformation. It brought together top global scientific experts, industry leaders, and corporate representatives to engage in in-depth discussions on technological breakthroughs, industrial applications, and international cooperation. The forum aimed to build a new ecosystem for the collaborative development of the entire “agriculture-food-health” industry chain, with dietary fiber as the linchpin.

In his opening address, Professor Fu Wenge, Director of the MBA Education Center at China Agricultural University, stated, “The dietary fiber industry is unique. The better we eat, the more attention this industry receives. The dietary fiber sector should focus on innovation across the entire industry chain—from cultivation to consumption—to benefit more people.”

Professor, China Agricultural University, Director of the MBA Education Center,Founding Dean of the China Agricultural Innovation Academy   Fu Wenge

The Chairman of Henan Tailijie Biotech Co.,Ltd. emphasized in his speech that public awareness of nutrition and health is at an all-time high. As the “seventh nutrient,” dietary fiber serves as a vital link between agriculture, food, and health sectors. It is also a key driver in promoting supply-side agricultural reform, increasing the value of agricultural products, and ensuring public health. “We hope this forum will serve as a high-level dialogue platform to facilitate the commercialization of scientific achievements and industrial cooperation,”he added.

Chairman of Henan Tailijie Biotech Co., Ltd.  Guo Quantai

International Cooperation: Global Perspectives on Dietary Fiber Development and Challenges

Distinguished speakers, including Francesco Branca, a visiting professor at the University of Geneva’s Global Health Institute and former Director of Nutrition and Food Safety at the World Health Organization (Geneva); Simon Heck, Director General of the International Potato Center (CIP); and Arun Baral, CEO of HarvestPlus and HarvestPlus Solutions, delivered insightful presentations. They highlighted the strategic importance of dietary fiber in transforming global food systems and preventing chronic diseases, calling for enhanced cross-border scientific collaboration and policy alignment to address food security and health challenges. They also shared global perspectives and practical insights.

 Professor in the Institute of Global Health of Geneva University    Francesco Branca 

Director-General of the International Potato Center (CIP)    Simon Heck

Chief Executive Officer (CEO), HarvestPlus    Arun Baral

Scientific Frontiers: From “Willpower-Based Weight Loss” to “Non-Willpower Weight Management”

  During the forum, Professor Zhao Liping, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University and a special appointee at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, delivered a speech titled “The Seesaw Model of Core Gut Microbiota and New Technologies for Non-Willpower Weight Management.” He pointed out that obesity is not merely a result of weak willpower but rather a mismatch between human evolutionary survival mechanisms and modern society. Through two decades of systematic research, Zhao’s team proposed the “Seesaw Model of Core Gut Microbiota,” which suggests that the ecological balance between foundational functional groups (FG) and pathogenic functional groups (PG) determines whether the body operates in energy storage or energy expenditure mode. Precise nutritional interventions can restore FG dominance, activating the “energy expenditure mode” and offering a new, non-willpower-dependent pathway for weight management.

Professor Zhao Liping

Professor Wang Xin, a researcher at the Institute of Microbiology of Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Deputy Director of Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Food Microbiology Technology, and Vice Chairman of the Probiotics and Prebiotics Branch of the Chinese Nutrition Society, shared the latest research findings in her presentation titled “Exploring New Functions of Prebiotics in the Gut-X Axis.” She noted that novel prebiotic dietary fibers not only regulate gut function but also demonstrate potential in areas such as neurodevelopment and autism intervention through the “gut-X axis” mechanism, opening new avenues for expanding the functions of dietary fiber.

Professor  Wang Xin 

Applied Innovation: From Laboratory to Industry Chain

Senior Researcher Du Yuguang from the State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering at the Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Deputy Director of the National Biochemical Engineering Technology Research Center (Beijing), Vice Secretary-General of the Chinese Society of Biotechnology, Chairman of the Glycobiology Professional Committee, and Foreign Academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, presented on “Nutritional Glycobiology and the Exploration of Functional Activities of Novel Prebiotics.”

Researcher Du Yuguang

Associate Dean Xie Xinhua from the College of Food Science and Technology at Henan Agricultural University introduced “Construction, Performance, and Applications of Polydextrose-Based Multifunctional and Smart Food Packaging Films,” showcasing the broad applications of dietary fiber in cutting-edge fields such as functional activity exploration and innovative packaging materials.

Vice Dean Xie Xinhua

Industrial Practices: From Field to Table, Dietary Fiber Drives Full-Chain Innovation

    Guo Fangjie, General Manager of Henan Tailijie Biotech Co.,Ltd., shared insights in a presentation titled “From Standards to Innovation: Industrial Practices of Dietary Fiber Under the Big Food Vision.”

General Manager of Henan Tailijie Biotech Co., Ltd.   Guo Fangjie

Zang Fangyun, Executive Deputy General Manager of Shandong Huifa Food Co., Ltd., a member of the Weifang City People’s Congress, and Vice President of the Shandong Meat Association, discussed “Driving Agricultural Modernization Through the Development of Specialty Food Industries.”

Executive Vice General Manager of Shandong Huifa Foodstuff Co., Ltd.   Zang Fangyun

In the roundtable discussion on “How Dietary Fiber Links Agriculture and the Health Industry,” representatives from companies such as Sanzhenzhai, Xiangnian Food, Yongda Food, and Fangjiapuzi agreed that dietary fiber is becoming a core driver in the integration of agriculture and health industries. They shared practical case studies from raw material cultivation, deep processing, to innovative end products, and highlighted that overcoming barriers such as inconsistent technical standards, insufficient consumer awareness, and poor cross-sector coordination is key to promoting deeper industry integration.

Roundtable Discussion

Future Outlook: Advancing Technological Innovation and Industrial Integration

   The forum not only showcased the latest achievements in dietary fiber research, industrial applications, and agricultural technology but also launched several industry-academia-research collaboration projects. Experts and corporate representatives jointly called for increased policy support and research investment to promote the innovative application of dietary fiber in functional foods, medical foods, and high-value utilization of agricultural by-products.

“We hope this forum will serve as a starting point, igniting a beacon to guide the future and collectively shaping a grand blueprint for China’s dietary fiber industry,” said Guo Fangjie, General Manager of Henan Tailijie Biotech Co.,Ltd.

The forum was co-hosted by the MBA Education Center of China Agricultural University and the Glycobiology Committee of the Chinese Society of Biotechnology, and organized by Henan Tailijie Biotech Co.,Ltd. The online livestream of the event attracted over 800,000 participants.