The Hon Mark Butler
Parliamentary Secretary for Health
24 June 2009
Food Standards Australia New Zealand Board Appointments 2009
The Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Mark Butler, today announced four new appointments and three reappointments to the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Board, the independent statutory agency that develops food standards and joint codes of practice with industry for the content and labelling of food sold in Australia and New Zealand.
Mr Butler said that these appointments, made with the agreement of the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council, would ensure stability and a strong consumer voice in the development of food standards for Australia and New Zealand.
“Our rigorous food regulatory system provides assurance about the safety of foods sold in Australia and New Zealand, protects the health of the public, and ensures that consumers are informed,” said Mr Butler.
Ms Jenni Mack, Dr James Murray, Dr David Roberts and Associate Professor Winsome Parnell are new appointments to the Board.
“Ms Jenni Mack's extensive background in consumer affairs and policy will be an asset to the Board,” said Mr. Butler. Ms Mack represents consumers on several government and non-government boards, and chairs CHOICE, one of Australia’s peak consumer organisations. Her consumer work has spanned areas such as food, chemicals, financial services, licensing, enforcement, compliance and standards setting.
Dr James Murray has expertise, both nationally and internationally, in diseases transferred from animals to humans, veterinary public health and on-farm food safety as well as his experience in the prevention, management and control of emerging infectious diseases. His skills encompass policy, program development and delivery. In 2008, Dr Murray was a recipient of the Order of Australia.
Dr David Roberts has extensive experience in food policy and regulation. He has worked with both government and non-government organisations on food policy and regulatory matters, as well as food processing and standards setting. He is currently the Chair of the NSW Branch of the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology.
Associate Professor Winsome Parnell has been appointed for a period of two years as a representative of the New Zealand Government. She is an Associate Professor at the Department of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, New Zealand, and is currently the Nutrition Director for the 2008/09 New Zealand Adult Nutrition Survey.
Professor Katrine Baghurst, Dr Michele Allan and Mr Peter Boyden have been reappointed for four years.
“These reappointments reflect the valuable contribution and expertise each member has brought to food regulation over the past four years,” said Mr. Butler. “They maintain the strong representation of public health, nutrition, and food science and technology issues on the Board.”
Mr Butler thanked retiring members Dr John Craven, Mr Peter Milne, Dr Pamela Williams and Ms Hikihiki Pihema for their contribution to the Board.
“Their achievements and service have been substantial and their expertise has helped ensure the Board's effective and efficient operation,” he said.
Attached is the full list of members and their background details.
Media contact: Lisa Sedgwick (02) 62774414
Background information
Ms Philippa Smith AM was appointed Chair of the FSANZ Board in July 2008. Ms Smith is a former Commonwealth Ombudsman, CEO of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia and the inaugural Chair of the Consumer’s Health Forum. She currently serves on the boards of a number of organisations, including the Australian Institute of Public Health and the Sax Institute. Ms Smith has developed strong strategic skills and extensive experience in ensuring effective accountability and governance structures across a number of portfolios.
Mr Steve McCutcheon was appointed CEO of FSANZ in October 2007. Prior to his appointment, Mr McCutcheon held a number of senior executive positions in the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. During that time he led the team that developed the new food regulatory framework for Australia and New Zealand under the auspices of the Council of Australian Governments. He also led the Australian delegation to annual sessions of the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
Dr Michele Allan has strong leadership experience across many facets of the food industry including a CEO position in a publicly listed food company. Her areas of expertise include leadership, manufacturing strategy, organisational strategy, risk and insurance leadership, food safety systems implementation, food packaging innovation and commercialisation. Dr Allan has held senior executive positions with Amcor Limited, Bonlac Foods, Bioinformatics Centre of Excellence Tasmania, Kraft Foods and ICI. She has held board positions within both the private and public sectors. She currently holds board positions at William Angliss Institute, CaroMelOcean Limited and the Standing Committee for Audit and Risk with the Department of Primary Industries Victoria.
Professor Katrine Baghurst has been involved in research and translation of research to practice in nutrition in both Australia and New Zealand for the past 30 years, including at the CSIRO Human Nutrition Division. Her extensive experience makes her a specialist in relation to determining food choice, consumer needs, current dietary patterns in the community, and nutritional and food education. Professor Baghurst is a member of the National Health Committee of the National Health and Medical Research Council, an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Medicine, University of Adelaide and currently works as a Nutrition Consultant.
Mr Peter Boyden is an internationally experienced CEO with extensive general management and marketing experience gained in consumer foods businesses in Australia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Greece. His most recent role was Managing Director and regional board member of the Unilever Australasian foods business and board member of the Australian Food and Grocery Council. He is a business mentor for senior executives and is a non-executive director of Meat and Livestock Australia, Stuart Alexander and Dairy Innovation Australia Ltd. His areas of responsibility have included the management of consumer marketing, product and packaging development, food production and general management where he has focused on strategy development and portfolio management.
Dr Laurence Eyres has expertise in food science and technical management and his present research and professional speciality is quality assurance, and research and development of food products, particularly oils and fats. He has worked in industry for over 30 years and brings a food technology, industry and New Zealand perspective to the Board. He is currently Business Development Director, Food and Nutrition, at Auckland University
Ms Jenni Mack has worked in consumer affairs since 1993 when she was Executive Director of the Australian Federation of Consumer Organisations. Her work has spanned food, chemicals, telecommunications, energy and financial services policy incoporating areas such as industry self-regulatory and co-regulatory practices, professional standards and codes of practice. Ms Mack has worked closely with regulators and government agencies on good regulatory science, community education, licensing, best practice enforcement and compliance schemes, and community and social research projects.
Dr James Murray has extensive experience in food safety and veterinary science. He holds numerous high level positions including Non-Executive Governing Board Member at the Australian Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, and president of the World Animal Health Organisation. Dr Murray has extensive experience in the field of agricultural food safety and standards, zoonoses and emerging threats.
Associate Professor Winsome Parnell is currently the Director of Nutrition for the National Nutrition Survey, New Zealand. She has extensive experience in human nutrition and infant feeding practices in New Zealand and the Pacific. Dr Parnell has been involved in various consultations including for FSANZ on Nutritional Claims on Foods in 2000. Her work has included providing technical advice to government, industry and public health organisations on nutrition matters.
Dr David Roberts is a Food and Nutrition Consultant with extensive experience in health and science. He has expertise in public health, food science, food allergy, human nutrition, food safety, food industry, food processing/retail, government and regulation. Dr Roberts has held senior positions at the Australian Food and Grocery Council and the University of Newcastle and served as the NSW Branch Chair of the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology.
Dr Peter Williams brings to the Board a strong background in public health, human nutrition, food service management and consumer studies. Dr Williams is an Associate Professor in the School of Health Sciences at the University of Wollongong and led the regulatory affairs work of the National Centre of Excellence in Functional Foods. Before his employment at Wollongong, Dr Williams was the Director of Scientific and Consumer Affairs at Kelloggs for three years and previously worked as the Chief Dietician and Food Services Manager at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Dr Williams served a two-year term as President of the Dieticians Association of Australia from 2001 and has served on National Health and Medical Research Council working parties for the review of Dietary Guidelines for Australia and the review of recommended nutrient intakes.
Ms Dianne Yates is a former Member of Parliament in New Zealand, retiring in her 15th year in the House. She chaired the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Select Committees, as well as the Government Administration Select Committee and the Education and Science Committee. She also served for three terms on the Regulations Review Committee of the New Zealand Parliament and has been a member of the Health Select Committee. The Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Act in New Zealand was a private member's bill in her name. Prior to Parliament, Ms Yates had a career in teaching and education management. She continues to serve the community on the local Waikato Institute of Technology Council, Trust Waikato, and the New Zealand Learning Media Limited.