Scientist elected as international council member

Scientist elected as international council member

12 September 2018

A CARRYDUFF scientist has been awarded membership of a prestigious international body for food science and technology.

Professor Margaret Patterson has been elected as one of the seven council members of the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST).

IUFoST represents more than 150,000 food scientists and technologists in over 60 countries throughout the world. It is a non-profit, non-governmental, global scientific organisation.

Its mission is to promote international cooperation and information exchange, provide education and training to food scientists and technologists around the world, as well as promoting professionalism among food scientists and technologists.

IUFoST plays a crucial role by supporting programmes and projects that address worldwide needs, specifically in food security, food safety and education.

Professor Patterson has a BSc in Food Science, a Master’s degree in Organisation and Management and a PhD in Food Microbiology.

She was a Principal Scientific Officer and Project Leader at the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), based in Belfast, and led a research team responsible for microbiological aspects of novel food processing technologies.

In particular, she was involved in research on high pressure processing of foods and food irradiation. 

Professor Patterson has acted as an external consultant on Food Safety for the International Atomic Energy Agency, the World Health Organisation and the Food and Agricultural Organisation.

She was also president of the Society for Applied Microbiology in 2005-2008. She then served as President of Institute of Food Science and Technology from 2013-2014.

In 2014, Professor Patterson was named by the Science Council as one of the UK’s 100 leading practising scientists and she was also awarded an OBE for services to the agri-food sector, particularly in food safety and quality.

She said: “I feel very honoured to have been elected onto the IUFoST Governing Council.

“I am looking forward to working with so many international scientists to help ensure a safe and sufficient global food supply. This is a key goal of IUFoST and is a huge challenge for us all.”