The November Webinar Series is a new programme of live, online sessions built around the topics that matter most to the food industry right now, from food safety and sustainability to innovation and emerging regulation. Each session is led by experienced voices from across the sector, giving you direct access to insight and thinking you won't find anywhere else.
Every webinar stands on its own, so you can pick and choose the sessions most relevant to your work, your team, or your interests. There's no travel and no time out of the office. Just log in and take part from wherever you are.
Whether you want to sharpen your technical knowledge, stay ahead of industry developments, or connect with the wider food science community, there's a session here for you.
Three Views on Food System Change
We're closing the series with something a little different: three expert voices, three angles on the same challenge, one session. Rick Mumford of the Food Standards Agency looks at the role regulation plays in shaping the food system. Seamus Higgins explores the deeper question of how food shapes humanity itself. Mhairi Brown of FFCC brings the citizen's perspective, based on FFCC's research into what the public actually thinks and wants.
Together, these three talks give you a rounded picture that no single speaker could offer alone: the rules that govern the system, the culture that surrounds it, and the people living inside it. It's the perfect way to bring everything from the series together.
Price: IFST Members - Free, Non-members - £100
Did you know that this event is free for IFST members? Join IFST today to save £100 on your ticket to this event. If you need some more time to think about it, contact us in the next 30 days and let us know that you've joined as a member, and we'll deduct £100 from your membership fee for your first year. Click here to become a member.
Speakers:
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Mhairi Brown - Head of Food Futures, Food, Farming and Countryside Commission
Mhairi is a Registered Nutritionist specialising in public health and food policy who is passionate about creating healthy food systems that support the health of people and the planet. She leads food and health work for the Commission. Currently, she is designing the methodology for and facilitating the Citizen Advisory Council, which is working with Defra to inform the development of the food strategy. Prior to joining FFCC, she led policy and international workstreams at Consensus Action on Salt, Sugar and Health. There, she developed and advocated for policy proposals to reduce excess and unnecessary levels of salt and sugar from foods and drinks sold in the UK, and collaborated with stakeholders in Malaysia, Morocco, China and Peru to translate this work globally. Mhairi holds a BSc in Environmental and Sustainable Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh and a Masters in International Public Health Nutrition at the University of Westminster. She is now a PhD candidate with Queen Mary University of London, evaluating food and health policies in the UK. |
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Rick Mumford - Deputy Chief Scientific Advisor (dCSA), Food Standards Agency
Rick Mumford is deputy Chief Science Advisory (dCSA) and Deputy Director of Science & Research at the Food Standards Agency (FSA), where he co-leads a multi-disciplinary team of over 160 scientists, providing risk assessment and scientific evidence to support UK food safety and standards. Current areas of focus including foodborne disease, AMR and surveillance. A virologist and molecular biologist by training, he has over 30 years’ experience, as both an applied scientist (focusing on diagnostics, biosecurity and agrifood innovation), and as a science leader, including senior roles up to executive level. An author on over 80 scientific publications, Rick is a Visiting Professor of Practice at Newcastle University. |
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Seamus Higgins - Associate Professor and Course Director in Food Process Engineering, University of Nottingham
Seamus has over 35 years of experience across global food manufacturing, engineering, and academia. His work applies systems thinking to food, integrating engineering, biology, and economics to understand how modern food systems shape human health and environmental outcomes. He is the author of Food and Us: The Incredible Story of How Food Shapes Humanity, exploring the relationship between food systems, human development, and industrialised food environments. He contributes to advanced Master’s programmes and engages industry and policymakers in food system transformation. His work focuses on one central challenge: redesigning food systems to align with the biology they are meant to sustain. He is also an Associate Professor in Food Policy and Foresight at the Food Systems Institute, University of Nottingham. An associate fellow of IChemE , and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. |
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