Oldways and the International Pasta Organization (IPO) organized a Scientific Consensus Conference on the Healthy Pasta Meal in Rio de Janeiro on October 25-26, 2010. Held in conjunction with the IV World Pasta Congress, the Scientific Consensus Conference featured scientists from 13 countries exchanging information about their latest research on carbohydrates, nutrition, health, and pasta. The most important outcome of the conference was the creation of a Scientific Consensus Statement, summarizing this research exchange in a form that can be used by doctors, health professionals, dietitians, scientists, media, the food industry, and consumers. An intense, lively discussion, moderated by Oldways, resulted in this comprehensive Consensus Statement, released in four languages (English, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish) at the concluding plenary session of the IV World Pasta Congress. The statement serves as an important expansion and update of an earlier 2004 Pasta Consensus Statement developed and released at an Oldways conference in Rome, with scientists from six countries. Click here to download the 2010 Healthy Pasta Meals Scientific Consensus Statement:

  • Short version, in four languages (English, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish)
  • Long version, with background information, in English only

Click here to download the Scientific Consensus Conference Program (4.4M PDF), including scientists’ bios and abstracts, scientific references, culinary references, and sponsor/supporter acknowledgements. Access the scientists’ presentations by clicking on each one, below: 
• Introduction to the Conference (download 656K PDF) Sara Baer-Sinnott, Oldways, Boston, USA Background and context for the healthy pasta meal and this conference
• Pasta: A High-Quality Carbohydrate Food (download 1M PDF) Cyril Kendall, PhD, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada How low-glycemic foods like pasta improve metabolic control.
• Obesity is Not About Carbohydrates (download 1.3M PDF) Kathy McManus, MS, RD, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston, USA A 2-year weight trial shows similar results with varying macronutrient ratios
• Low-Carb Diets May Not Be Safe (download 1.1M PDF) Pietro Antonio Migliaccio, MD, Societa Italiana di Scienze dell’Alimentazione (Rome, Italy) Comparison of health benefits of the Med Diet and impact of low-carb diets
• Importance of Total Diet, and Pasta’s Role in a Healthy Total Diet (download 1.6M PDF) Jaime Rozowski, PhD, Catholic Univ. of Chile, Santiago, Chile How total diet, especially the Med Diet, helps prevent chronic disease
• Pasta’s Role in Encouraging Consumption of Other Healthy Foods (download 1.93M PDF) Emilce Ulate, MSc, University of Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica The positive role pasta can play in achieving diet balance and variety • 
• The Quality of Diet and Food Security in Colombia (download 452K PDF) Oscar Fernando Herrán Falla, ND, MSc, Industrial University of Santander, Bucaramanga, Colombia How pasta and other healthy foods can improve health at all economic levels
• Dietary Guidelines for Carbohydrates in Mexico (download 208K PDF) Hector Bourges, MD, PhD, National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition, Mexico City, Mexico How social, cultural, and biological factors impact eating behavior
• Dietary Guidelines for Carbohydrates: the European Perspective (download 484K PDF) Nuno Borges, PhD, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal EFSA 2010 guidelines for carbohydrates, and the role of pasta
• Guidelines for Carbohydrate Consumption in Turkey (download 3.3M PDF) Gulden Pekcan, PhD, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey Translating guidelines to food and diet, in Turkey and with the WHO
• Pasta’s Contribution to Reducing Obesity (download 2.2M PDF) Marta Garaulet Aza, PhD, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain A balanced diet, including quality carbohydrates, aids long-term weight loss
• Pasta’s Contribution to Reducing Malnutrition (download 600K PDF) Sergio Britos, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina Simple pasta meals as an affordable, nutritious food to reduce malnutrition 
• Pasta: Affordable, Healthy Eating Worldwide (download 348K PDF) Cynthia Harriman, Oldways, Boston, USA Costs of pasta meals in 13 countries; overall affordability of healthy diets. 

Thanks also to these additional scientists and nutrition communicators who made oral presentations (no PDFs) and/or contributed to our consensus discussions: Rosamaria Da Re, PhD, Mauá Technology Institute, São Paulo, Brazil Vanderli Marchiori, Nutritionist, São Paulo, Brazil Christian Millman, Taste of Home, Wisconsin, USA Kyle Potvin, Oldways, Boston, USA Maria Teresa Strumendo, MD, Societa Italiana di Scienze dell’Alimentazione (Rome, Italy) Nidia Solbeyh Vargas, NutricionTotal.org, Caracas, Venezuela