Food Microbiology

Biography

Dr. Leon Gorris is Director for Regulatory Affairs for Unilever, specialized in food safety. He joined Unilever in The Netherlands in 1997 and was based in the UK from 2001-2010 and in Shanghai from 2010-2014.Before joining Unilever, Leon worked at the Agrotechnological Research Institute (ATO-DLO) in Wageningen, The Netherlands, which then was part of the Agricultural Research Department, Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries, The Netherlands (1990 – 1997). Previously, he conducted a post-doc at the Department of Microbiology, Catholic University of Nijmegen (now called Radboud University), The Netherlands (1989 – 1990).His education & professional experience include an MSc in Biology (1982) and a PhD in Microbiology (1987) at the Catholic University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands. From 2002–2012, Dr. Gorris held a part-time professorship and served as the European Chair in Food Safety Microbiology at the University of Wageningen in The Netherlands. He is currently a visiting professor at China Agricultural University’s School of Food Science and Nutrition in Beijing, Shanghai Ocean University and the University of Shanghai for Science and technology. He is a member of the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods (ICMSF), responsible for coordinating Codex matters for ICMSF. In 2014; he was elected as co-chair of the IUFoST International Expert Panel on Food Safety.

Research Interest

Food safety management in food chains; Design of safe foods and implementation of design in operational practice; Hygienic design of food plants and processing equipment; International food safety management policy developments; Developments in assessments of risks associated to foods; Concepts of acceptability and tolerability of risks in foods