Programme 2023

Simon is a Research Fellow and food allergen subject matter expert for Mondelez International based in the UK. Since 2005 Simon has been a key advisor to the Cadbury and more latterly Kraft / Mondelēz International business on allergen control and responsible for developing policy and training. In 2016 Simon became an extended member of the Food Safety Team and is currently the Global Lead for Food Allergens and Food Allergy advising the business on both proactive allergen strategy and reactive lead for allergen incidents.   

Simon is affiliated with numerous professional bodies, industry groups and technical committees (ILSI Europe, FDF, BRC, EFSA, FSA, FARRP, GMA) and has published several articles in peer reviewed journals.  He was also principal editor for the ‘Handbook of Food Allergen Detection and Control’. He is currently chair of the ILSI Europe Food Allergy Task Force.

A Food professional with a proven track record of 16 Years of management and technical experience in the Wholesale/retail and food industry, especially in the areas of quality management, product development, supplier development, food safety systems and standards. Responsible for Quality assurance function throughout professional career while working with Wholesale/retail and FMCG. An innovative leader and passionate professional who thrives on the challenge of change and maximizing available resources to develop and achieve strategic, long-term objectives. Attributed with the key strength of Global food safety management system implementation, Compliance & Governance, Supplier Management & product development.

After graduation at Law School and a Diploma and University Master in Advanced European Studies, Michele started his career as a lawyer in international law firms with a specific focus on competition law, consumer protection and food law. During this activity he had supported many clients active in the food sector in relation to product compliance, advertisement, food safety, crisis management and trade issues.

After these experiences, Michele joined Perfetti Van Melle, a global leading company in the manufacture and trade of confectionery products very well-known among consumers thanks to its famous brands.

As Group Regulatory and External Affairs Senior Manager, he has an extensive knowledge in the food law and regulatory area and in his role Michele has achieved a significant experience in managing multi-jurisdiction projects and product launches, helping the company in developing safe and compliance products and mitigating possible risks as well as dealing with trade associations, authorities and regulatory bodies.

Michele also has in-depth knowledge of Codex Alimentarius and he follows the relevant of the Committees on behalf of his Company.

Linda is an experienced Senior Corporate Leader with 30 years in industry and over 15 years’ experience of leadership and consultancy with International Safety and Quality Management
Systems, Manufacturing and Retail and more recently sustainability being her specialist areas.

Having worked in the industry in various roles and with retail, manufacturing, food service across the spectrum of size and demographics, she has a rich mix of experiences to tap into.
She is currently Head of Technical and Food Safety at Harrods leveraging her additional extensive experience in Strategy, Change Management, Global Leadership, and Business Analysis
in the company and supply base.

Linda clearly understands the importance of management leading on Food Safety Culture and also the link between that and risk management particularly within the context of TACCP and VACCP.

As a leader, she is an advocate of performance through people and believes in investing and working together with People to find long lasting solutions. This goes straight to the heart of
maintaining a good culture.

Work experience of 20 years in leading positions in quality assurance, quality control and system management in the food sector and retail.

In addition, I managed an authorized accredited laboratory for research and development of health safety of food, cosmetics, and animal feed, and I have worked as an economic inspector in the State Inspectorate of Croatia Government.

Experience and knowledge of HACCP, IFS, BRC, ISO 14001, ISO 9001, KOSHER, HALAL Standards, In-depth knowledge of GFSI standards and legal regulations.

Also, I am a Lecturer in numerous conferences in food safety and an active member of working groups within Croatia and the EU in applying legislation and implementing food safety control standards.

Currently, I am the Director of Internal Audit for Food Safety in the Fortenova Group in Croatia.

Fortenova Group is Food and Beverage Company with over 50,000 employees. It operates in three core activities: agriculture, retail and food, and non-core operations in Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia.

My primary responsibilities are to audit the implementation of all legal requirements and internal standards related to food safety, quality control, consumer protection and the establishment of good laboratory and manufacturing practices within our manufacturing companies and retail business within our Group.

Before that, I was the Director of Quality Assurance and Environmental Protection in Ledo, a company that produces industrial ice cream and is the largest distributor of frozen food in the region.

I gained experience in retail, working for six years at the position of the Director of Legal Affairs, Quality, and Internal Control in the Mercator retail chain.

My career started in the State Inspectorate of Croatia Government, as a State Inspector for the economy for six years.

I have a master's degree in food technology from the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology,

A degree as Certified Internal Auditor, Specialist in the area of the economy from Croatian Accounting and Financial Workers Community

I am an Internal Auditor for Quality System Management (IFS, HACCP, HALAL, ISO 14001), Internal Auditor for Accredited Laboratory Management System 17025, Lead Auditor (ISO 9001), and I am also an NLP practitioner trainer.

Dr. Atanasios Moschos is a Quality and Food Safety professional with nearly 25 years of experience. He studied chemistry at Brussels University (ULB) and obtained his PhD in physical chemistry. He is also graduate in Occupational Safety and Hygiene and in Innovation Management. He was expert at the European Commission where he worked for 3 years. Since 1995, he works for Leonidas Confectionery, one of the larger “pralines” manufacturers in Belgium. As head of the Quality Department, he has a global and integrated vision of quality and safety. He participated in the Belgian association of biscuits, confectioneries and chocolate manufacturers (Choprabisco), in the verification of the official self-checking guide of the sector. He is also a member of the Regulatory and Scientific committee and the Hygiene Group of Caobisco, the European association of biscuit, chocolate and confectionery industries