Dr Leon Gorris

Food Safety Futures, The Netherlands

Secretary 2007 – 2010, 2018 – present | ICMSF delegation head for Codex Alimentarius Committee on Food Hygiene since 2006 | Member since 2001 | Consultant 2000

Dr Leon Gorris is a free-lance food safety expert residing in The Netherlands. He has been providing advice and consultancy to public organisations (Universities, Intergovernmental Organisations, Governments, NGOs, Scientific Associations, and other Public Associations) on all aspects of food safety management, including microbiological and chemical hazards in food. Leon has participated in a range of scientific and technical discussions, developments of tools and publications, food safety capability building workshops and conferences around the globe. Previously, Dr Gorris has held several jobs at Unilever, lastly being director for Regulatory Affairs, with specific responsibility for food safety regulations globally. He joined Unilever in 1997 and has been based in the UK, Shanghai and the Netherlands. From 1990–1997, Dr Gorris worked at the Agrotechnological Research Institute (ATO-DLO) in Wageningen, which was part of the Agricultural Research Department, Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries, the Netherlands. From 2002–2012, he held a part-time professorship serving as the European Chair in Food Safety Microbiology at the University of Wageningen, The Netherlands. He is currently a visiting professor at three Universities in China: China Agricultural University’s School of Food Science and Nutrition in Beijing, Shanghai Ocean University and the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology. Dr Gorris represents ICMSF at Codex Alimentarius and in interactions with FAO and WHO. Dr Gorris is an IAFP fellow, was awarded the IAFP International Leadership Award in 2007, and selected to present the John H Silliker Lecturer in 2014. He is past-chair of the Food and Water Safety science cluster and EXCO member of ILSI Southeast Asia Region. He is the past-chair of the Risk Analysis taskforce and the Publication Committee of ILSI Europe and a past member of its Scientific Advisory Committee. Current engagements include member of the FAO/WHO Joint Expert Meetings on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA; rosters 2018-2027), on the NSHR (non-staff human resources) Roster of AGFF (Rome) and REU (Budapest) of FAO – Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2020-2023), member of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of Risk Monitoring and Evaluation of the Expert Committee on Food Safety, member and co-chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee of CHIFSS (Capability Harnessing Initiative on Food Safety Science), India, and member of the International Scientific Advisory Panel of the New Zealand Food Safety Research Centre.