IFST Autumn Conference 2025 (AC25)

Chair: Judith Batchelar OBE, FIFST - Deputy Chair, Environmental Agency 

Judith is a biochemist, nutritionist, has Honorary Doctorates from Harper Adams University, and Jharkhand Rai University, is a Fellow of the Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST), the Royal Society of Arts and Manufactures (RSA), a liveryman at The Worshipful Company of Butchers, and Associate at the Royal Agricultural Societies of England. Starting her career in pharmaceuticals and teaching before finding her true vocation in food and farming, she worked in the food and drink industry for over 40 years, first in manufacturing at Bass and Mars, before moving into retail at Marks and Spencer and eventually Sainsbury’s, as Director of Sainsbury’s Brand. Today Judith is Honorary President of the British Nutrition Foundation, Chair of the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Co-Chair of the Eco Working Group that is part of Defra’s Food Data Transparency Partnership, Chair of MicroSalt, and a Non-Executive Director of Monaghan Mushrooms and Daemon. Judith is a Trustee of The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, The Food Foundation, and an ambassador for the Woodland Trust and Farm Africa.

Keynote Speaker: Tim Lang PhD, FFPH, Hon DSc - Professor Emeritus of Food Policy, Centre for Food Policy, City St George's, University of London

Tim is Professor Emeritus of Food Policy at City St George’s, University of London. After hill farming in Lancashire in the 1970s, he worked on food policy across health, environment, politics and culture. He set up and directed the Centre for Food Policy in 1994, a prime source of research and education on food system dynamics. Since Brexit, his focus has been the UK, writing Feeding Britain (Pelican 2021). His current attention is on the state of civil food resilience. His Just in Case report was published by the UK’s National Preparedness Commission in February 2025.

Sarah Wynn - Managing Director, Climate Change and Sustainability, ADAS

Sarah has spent the last 20 years working in the agricultural sector, helping improve sustainable production of crops and livestock.  Her focus in recent years has turned to reducing the climate impact of food production through both emissions reductions and carbon removals.  This work has led to towards increased understanding of how woodland, soils and natural habitats can be used to store and capture carbon to balance residual emissions.

Sarah has developed tools and measurement approaches to quantify the carbon storage and removals from different habitat types. She also worked with BASIS to develop the ‘BASIS Certificate in Greenhouse Gases, Carbon, and Climate Change Mitigation’ qualification.

Sonalika Jain - Research Partner, RSSL 

Sonalika is Research Partner at RSSL, driving innovation in the food sector through building and nurturing strategic R&D collaborations and leveraging government funding. Together with an MSci Chemistry from Imperial College London and chartership from the Royal Society of Chemistry, she brings 8+ years of analytical science experience within the food and pharmaceutical industries, and most importantly, a passion for building impactful partnerships. As Project Lead & Network Manager for NFX UK, she is committed to fostering effective collaboration across the Novel Foods ecosystem, to advance regulatory science and position UK as a global leader within the growing sector.

Dr Kelly Vere MBE - Director UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy 

Kelly is the University Director of Technical Strategy at the University of Nottingham and a leading advocate for technical skills and careers in higher education and research. She began her career in 1999 as a Junior Medical Technician and now drives the strategic direction of the University’s 500+ technical colleagues. Kelly founded and leads the Technician Commitment, a sector-wide initiative promoting visibility, recognition, career development, and sustainability for technical professionals, with over 120 institutional signatories. She also led TALENT, a £5 million Research England-funded programme advancing technical careers, which included the TALENT Commission, a landmark study on the UK’s technical workforce. Now leading the new UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy (ITSS), Kelly continues to champion the technical community, shaping policy and opportunities across the sector.

Early Bird Rate

 until 31 July

Full Rate

from 1 August