Sterling has 35 years of experience working in the field of food safety and global supply chain governance. He started his career in government before a successful track history in retail. Sterling’s experience as a regulator, retailer, brand owner and food manufacturer has given him a unique perspective of the challenges of the global food supply network.
He has previously served as Vice President of the Institute and, until recently, chaired its Food Safety Special Interest Group. He was awarded the Honorary Fellowship of the Institute in 2020 for his contribution to the food sector. He is also a member of the CIEH food expert panel and sits on the IFST, CIEH and FSA COVID advisory groups.
Helen Munday is a trustee and Immediate Past President of the Institute of Food Science and Technology. Helen has a wealth of experience of the international food supply chain including 35+ years of international experience with major food companies (such as Mars and Coca-Cola) and the UK’s Food and Drink Federation. She also has experience of Governmental organisations thanks to her time with Innovate UK. Helen now runs her own small farming and food business, producing flour in a water mill in the South West of England.
Alec Kyriakides is an Independent Food Safety Consultant. Prior to this, he was Head of Product Quality, Safety & Supplier Performance at Sainsbury’s where he worked for 28 years. Prior to Sainsbury’s, he worked in the manufacturing industry including the dairy and brewing sectors. His responsibilities include the management of specialist teams collectively responsible for the safety and quality management framework for Sainsbury’s.
He was a member of a number of industry and government committees and sat on the government Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food (ACMSF) for 10 years. Alec is the author of books on the microbiological safety of foods including Campylobacter, Salmonella, E. coli and Clostridium botulinum.
Ben has over 18 years experience in the food industry working across both manufacturing and retail, he is a fellow of the IFST and is an active member of the Food Safety SIG. He started his career at Bakkavor where he was selected for their technical graduate scheme and throughout his 8 years there he worked in a variety of technical roles covering Quality Assurance, Process Development and Site Technical Management in the chilled convenience food sector. His last role was site Technical Manager at the Bakkavor Desserts site in Newark. He joined Tesco in 2012 as a Technical Manager in the Convenience department and during his time at Tesco he covered Technical Manager positions responsible for the majority of chilled prepared foods areas. Tesco gave him the opportunity to progress his career and lead technical teams as Head of Technical across a number of diverse and interesting categories including Frozen Food, Bakery, Dairy, Impulse, Beers, Wines and Spirits and Chilled Prepared Foods. His current position is Head of Technical for Tesco Central Europe which covers the Tesco businesses in Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. In this role he leads the technical teams responsible for food and non-food technical, store standards, technical operations, packaging, sustainable diets and general merchandise.
Wayne is Associate Professor in Food Insights and Sustainability, at the National Centre for Food Manufacturing, University of Lincoln. Wayne has delivered sustainability research since 1998, starting out as an agronomist for Levington Agriculture he has worked at CSIRO Australia, the EC Joint Research Centre and the OECD Paris. He leads the Food Insights and Sustainability Research agenda at NCFM, working with food and beverage manufacturers so that we can align practice and business with climate-neutral actions and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. He frequently publishes thought-leading articles, supports Early Career Researchers and delivers transformative food system research.
Anita has worked in the food industry for over 30 years, spending the first 13 years in manufacturing before moving into the out-of-the-home retail sector. Her current role involves looking after the technical aspects of drinks, supporting both technical and safety teams around the globe and ensuring that they maintain the standards and constantly improve. Anita was recently involved in implementing a new recipe management system into the business. She leads allergen management within their business. She is also a founding member of the Industry Exchange Group, which seeks to share best practices across the out-of-the-home sector for topics such as allergens and new legislation.
Sam Jennings FIFST is a Director of Berry Ottaway & Associates Ltd, a consultancy providing scientific, technical and UK/EU regulatory support to the food industry. She has almost 19 years of experience in advising industry and governments internationally, specialising in food supplements and functional foods.
Maureen Edmondson, OBE, BSc, PhD, FIFST, CSi, FIAFoSt, FECSS. Maureen was educated in Food Science at Queen’s University of Belfast and worked in Universities in NI and Melbourne Australia before joining the Mars company where she worked for 20 years. She was Director of International Scientific Affairs at Mars Inc until 2000. She served six years as the Chair of the Northern Ireland Food Advisory Committee and as a Northern Ireland Member of the Food Standards Agency Board. Maureen is Chair of the Patient and Client Council, the Ofcom Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland, the Board of Governors of Edgehill Theological College and is a visiting Professor at the University of Ulster School of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences. She is a Past President of IFST.
In her role as the Independent Assessor, she acts as an observer, acting on behalf of the members to ensure that the Board of Trustees and the Executive operate according to the Institute’s charitable principles. Maureen is also a member of the Volunteers' Advisory Group.
Valia has enjoyed a full and varied career in the food sector and is currently Senior Lecturer at the National Bakery School at South Bank University.