Each year since 2004, the Functional Foods Center has held international conferences under the series "Functional Foods for the Prevention and Treatment of Chronic Diseases." The 7th annual conference held on December 4-5, 2010, at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, USA is entitled, "Functional Foods for the Prevention and Management of Metabolic Syndrome." The main goal of the 2010 conference is to bring together experts in medicine, biology and food industry to discuss the contribution of functional foods in the prevention and treatment of Metabolic Syndrome and its related complications.