European Selenium Conference: “Selenium in animal and human health – Nutrition inspired by nature”

[Dublin, IRELAND] – Selenium deficiency in Europe and how this affects food quality, food safety and ultimately human health will be among the issues addressed at this year’s European Selenium Conference: “Selenium in animal and human health – Nutrition inspired by nature” taking place in Prague on 10 June 2008.

The annual event, hosted by global animal health and nutrition company, Alltech, will unite leading selenium specialists from around the globe. This year’s conference will focus on new research showing the benefits of organic selenium for pigs, poultry and dairy performance as well as its role in human nutrition and the potential prevention of diseases such as cancer prevention, Alzheimer’s, and HIV/AIDS.

“Selenium deficiency is a global problem which manifests itself in the increased susceptibility, of animals and humans alike, to diseases as well as the decreased productivity and reproductive performance of farm animals. This conference will look at European selenium status as well as discussing innovative new ways of maximising the undeniable benefits of this essential trace element”, said Professor Peter Surai, of the Scottish Agricultural College.

Topics addressed include:

• “Selenium in human nutrition: requirements and needs”, Prof. Margaret Rayman , University of Surrey, UK;
• “Selenium in food and feed: nature’s best design?”, Prof. Gerhard Schrauzer, University of California, San Diego, USA;
• “Selenium status in the Czech Republic”, Prof. Josef Illek et al., Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic;
• “Selenium status in Greece”, Dr. Athanasios Pappas, Athens University, Greece;
• “Selenium status in Turkey”, Dr. Filiz Karadas, Van University, Turkey;
• “Selenium status in Ukraine”, Prof. Sergey Melnichuk, National Agricultural University, Ukraine;
• “Selenium in poultry nutrition”, Dr. Peter Spring, Swiss College of Agriculture, Switzerland;
• “The role of selenium in optimising pig performance: An update”, Dr. Wallace Henry, Consultant, Ireland;
• “Impact of organic selenium on dairy and beef cows”, Dr. Darren Juniper, Reading University, UK;
• “The horse and carriage: Selenium & vitamin E”, Prof. Peter Surai, SAC, UK;
• “Nutrigenomics: An essential tool to truly understand Selenium”, Dr. Richard Murphy, Alltech, Ireland;
• “European regulatory issues surrounding Selenium”, Dr. Gerard Bertin, Alltech, France;
• “Looking ahead”, Mr. Steve Elliott, Head of Human Selenium Division, Alltech.

Sel-Plex® from Alltech is organic selenium produced by Saccharomyces cerevisiae CNCM I-3060. Organic selenium is more digestible than inorganic forms and better retained, which enables the animal to build nutrient reserves against periods of increased demand without risking toxicity. Sel-Plex has received authorisation as a nutritional feed additive for use in all species’ diets from the European Union (EU) under EU regulation 1750/2006.

Alltech is the proud sponsor of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 2010™ to be held in Kentucky, USA.

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