Hot topics in food microbiology

Prof Bizhan Pourkomailian, McDonald's Restaurants

Bizhan holds an Hons. Degree in Biochemistry, PhD in Microbial Physiology from Aberdeen University, MBA from Warwick University and is a visiting professor at Cranfield University.

His professional career began in 1994 with Unilever conducting research in S. aureus, Bacilli and managing the botulinum laboratory. In 1997 he moved to Leatherhead Food International as Principal Scientist, engaged in developing, training, and auditing food safety systems across the supply chain. January 2000, he joined McDonald’s Europe as Food Safety Manager overseeing food safety systems across the European Supply Chain from land to hand. His responsibilities grew to cover packaging safety, crisis management and Social Accountability. In 2015 he was promoted to Global Director for Restaurant and Distribution. In his career, Bizhan has been responsible for establishing, maintaining, and driving for continuous improvement of food safety systems, culture, and requirements within it. He is on various advisory boards and committees with professional bodies and academia, including EFSA emerging risk, BRCGS, FSSC and ISO.

Alec Kyriakides, Independent Food Safety Consultant

Alec Kyriakides is a food safety consultant with over 35 years experience in the industry, spending 28 years managing technical operations at the retailer Sainsbury’s, prior to which he worked in food manufacturing. He is a qualified microbiologist and co-author of books on the practical control of foodborne pathogens including Salmonella spp., Clostridium botulinum, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli and Listeria monocytogenes. He is currently a Non-Executive Board Director of Campden BRI, a Board Trustee of the Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST), Chair of the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food, Chair of the FSA Root Cause Analysis Steering Committee and Visiting Lecturer at Queen’s University Belfast.

Amy Douglas, UKSHA

Amy is a Lead Epidemiologist in the Gastrointestinal Infections, Food Safety and One Health Division at the UK Health Security Agency, formally Public Health England. Since joining the team in 2016 she has moved from a research focused role to providing scientific leadership and expertise on surveillance, outbreak response and generation of evidence to inform policy for GI infections. Through this work she has gained substantial experience leading national, multi-agency investigations into outbreaks of foodborne illness, particularly Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli. She has a special interest in the highest burden GI pathogens, Campylobacter and norovirus, as well as health inequalities.

Dr Solveig Langsrud Nofima, Norway

Solveig Langsrud, PhD, is a senior scientist working within the field of food microbiology at Nofima, The Norwegian Food Research institute in Norway. Dr. Langsrud holds a a PhD from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, on the topic microbial resistance to disinfectants. She has published more than 100 scientific papers.

One of her main research interests is the question of why bacteria in general, and listeria specifically, colonize and survive in food processing environments, and particularly, how they may be tracked and eliminated by cleaning and disinfection.

Dr Jeff Banks, Food Safety Assurance

Dr Jeff Banks is a food quality and safety professional with more than 45 years’ experience. He holds a degree in Applied Biology and a PhD in Food Microbiology. After academic work he become the Microbiology Department Head at Campden Food Research. He has deep knowledge and experience in all segments of the food processing sector. He has assessed or audited over 1200 plants in over 80 countries and claims to remember all of them. He has held senior leadership positions in R&D, Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs in global food business such as DuPont, Cadbury-Schweppes, Kraft Foods and Barry Callebaut. Jeff feels equally comfortable in the board room, on the plant floor or in courts of law. He currently applies his knowledge to support clients in the food sector manage food safety and quality risks; ensure regulatory compliance and develop innovative solutions to complex technical challenges. He specialises in root cause analysis and incident management. He is an expert witness and has successfully applied his talents in legal cases in several countries for both defence and prosecution and in the International Court of Arbitration. He claims to have a 100% record of success - but still believes that prevention is much better than litigation. Over the years he has been sought out by businesses in crisis caused by microbes. Jeff has successfully resolved major microbiology incidents involving Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, and E. coli, typically during and after outbreaks of foodborne disease involving significant morbidity and mortality. Most of the time, however, Jeff works in the shadows, without publicity - the unseen hand at work – preventing problems, avoiding withdrawals and recalls and de-risking the food supply chain. As a footnote, he is a proud father of an even more famous microbiologist, Dr Emma Banks, Royal Society Fellow 2023 based at the prestigious John Innes Institute in the UK.

Indranil Ray, Reckitt plc

Indranil has nearly three decades of experience across regulatory affairs, operations, and innovation leadership at leading nutrition companies. Currently Director of Nutrition and Global Food Safety at Reckitt, he has spearheaded global transformation initiatives that elevated compliance, reduced risk, and enhanced consumer trust—particularly in infant and healthcare nutrition. A Food & Dairy Technologist with advanced management training from IIM Calcutta, Indranil is a regular speaker at international food safety conferences and actively contributes to multiple industry bodies across regions. His prior leadership roles at Nestlé and Danone, along with collaborations with global regulators and academia, position him at the forefront of shaping industry standards and policy.

Annette Sansom, Campden BRI

Annette has a wealth of knowledge and experience from working at Campden BRI since 1998, always within Microbiology.

Annette’s food and drink industry interests are: microbiology including bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoa; food safety; food spoilage; fresh produce microbiology including vertical farming and methods to describe microbial populations.