International Association for Food Protection Holds 2021–2022 Secretary Election

Thursday, January 28, 2021

Des Moines, Iowa - The International Association for Food Protection is proud to announce Mr. Mark Carter and Dr. Leon Gorris as candidates for the 2021–2022 Secretary. The elected Secretary will assume his position following IAFP 2021 in Phoenix, Arizona in July and will serve a five-year term of successive positions. Electronic ballots will be provided to all Association Members, and the election will remain open through March 2, 2021. Election results will be announced in April on the IAFP website, in the May IAFP Report, and in the May/June issue of Food Protection Trends. 

Mr. Mark Carter is the CEO of MC Squared Enterprises Inc. (MC²), an independent consulting firm with in-depth expertise in life science business, food safety, and technology development and deployment. MC² works with organizations that are focused on improving public health. 

Mr. Carter has extensive international business and technical experiences. He most recently served as Chief Operating Officer at Matrix Sciences as well as the Executive Vice President of Corporate Development, where he was responsible for Matrix Sciences & Acquisitions activity. He previously held positions as CEO of QCL and Corporate Vice President of Research & Development with the Silliker Group Corporation (now Mérieux NutriSciences). He has served within the food industry as Section Manager for Microbiology and Food Safety at Kraft Foods and Corporate Laboratory Group Leader at McKee Foods Corporation.

An active IAFP Member since 1993, Mr. Carter has served on the Maurice Weber Laboratorian Selection Committee, the Food Protection Trends Editorial Board, the Nominating Committee, the Journal of Food Protection Management Committee, and the Tellers Committee. He was a co-founder of the Sample Prep working group and actively participates in both the Applied Laboratory Methods
and the Food Sanitation and Hygiene Professional Development Groups. His commitment to the Association also includes participation and organization of numerous technical symposia and
poster presentations. He currently serves on IAFP’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council.

Mr. Carter is a graduate of the University of Georgia with a B.S. in Microbiology and holds an M.S.A. from Columbus State University. He is a registered clinical and public health microbiologist with the American Academy of Microbiology. 

Dr. Leon Gorris is a food safety professional from The Netherlands, serving more than 35 years in food research and food safety management for industry, government, and academia. Dr. Gorris worked for 21 years for Unilever, stationed in The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and China. Previously, he was with the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture in Wageningen for eight years and the Radboud University in Nijmegen for six years. Currently, he is a food safety consultant working on numerous projects for public and private customers, from food safety education and capability building to operational risk management and food safety control.

Dr. Gorris is recognized internationally for his expertise in several food safety domains including general food microbiology, microbial physiology and ecology, food technology, food safety management, food safety legislation, and food safety standards such as microbiological criteria. Throughout his various positions, he actively collaborated and shared his food safety expertise through a number of international organizations and associations, including the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods (ICMSF); the FAO-WHO Joint Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA); the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI); the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST); the China Institute for Food Science and Technology (CIFST); and the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP). He has also held a part-time professorship in food safety microbiology at Wageningen University for 10 years and is currently a registered visiting professor at three universities in China.

Dr. Gorris has been an active Member of IAFP since 1999. He received the International Leadership Award in 2007, the IAFP Fellow Award in 2017, and presented the John H. Silliker Lecture at
IAFP 2014. Dr. Gorris has served on the Journal of Food Protection (JFP) Editorial Board throughout the majority of his IAFP Membership. He also has been a member of the Management Committees of both JFP and Food Protection Trends (FPT). He is a current member of 12 Professional Development Groups (PDGs) and Committees and serves as Vice Chair of the Water Safety and Quality PDG and the Membership Committee. He has served as Vice Chair and Chair of the Microbial Modelling and Risk Analysis PDG and the International Food Protection Issues PDG. In addition, he has been a member of several Awards Selection Committees.

Dr. Gorris holds an M.Sc. in Biology and a Ph.D. in Microbiology from Radboud University (formally the Catholic University) in Nijmegen, The Netherlands.