International Association for Food Protection Holds 2024–2025 Secretary Election

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Des Moines, Iowa  – The International Association for Food Protection is proud to announce Dr. Leon Gorris and
Ms. Pamela Wilger as candidates for the 2024–2025 Secretary. The elected Secretary will assume his or her position following IAFP 2024 in Long Beach, California 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 5, 2024. Election results will be announced in March on the IAFP website, in the April IAFP Report, and in the May/June issue of Food Protection Trends.

Dr. Leon Gorris is a food safety professional based in Nijmegen, Netherlands, whose career has been dedicated to food safety research and food safety management. Dr. Gorris has fulfilled roles in various stakeholder groups including government, academia, and industry. He was most recently employed with Unilever for 21 years, stationed in The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and China, where he was responsible for food innovation research, food safety risk assessment, risk management, and regulatory affairs. During this time, he also held a special professorship in food safety microbiology at Wageningen University.

After leaving Unilever, Dr. Gorris established Food Safety Futures, a consulting firm working for international clients on food safety risk assessment, risk management, and capability building. Prior to Unilever, he served with the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture in Wageningen for eight years in food research and preservation innovation research.

Dr. Gorris has been an active IAFP Member since 1999. He received the IAFP Honorary Life Membership Award in 2022; the IAFP Fellow Award in 2016; and the President’s Recognition Award in 2006. Dr. Gorris presented the John H. Silliker Lecture in 2014. He currently serves as Chair of the IAFP Membership Committee and has participated in or chaired the Nominating Committee; the International Leadership Award Selection Committee; and the Fellow Award Selection Committee.

Dr. Gorris is the immediate Past Chair of IAFP’s Water Safety and Quality Professional Development Group (PDG), and a Past Chair of both the International Food Protection Issues PDG and the Modeling and Risk Management PDG. He currently serves on the Journal of Food Protection (JFP) Editorial Board and has served on both Management Committees for JFP and Food Protection Trends (FPT).

Dr. Gorris is a formally registered, visiting professor in food safety microbiology at three universities in China.

Ms. Pamela Wilger is the Fellow Scientist-Microbiologist with Post Consumer Brands, Post Holdings in Lakeville. Minnesota. Ms. Wilger is the Technical Leader and Resource of Microbiology, Quality, and Food Safety for the manufacturing facilities, third-party laboratories, corporate leadership, engineers, R&D, supply chain, regulatory, customers, and suppliers. She plans, directs, and leads validation studies for pathogen reduction, as well as science-based solutions to minimize risk of product contamination including those related to adverse events. She writes and enhances policies, procedures, and work instructions associated with microbial safety and quality related to products, ingredients, equipment, and processes, and conducts training as needed to facilitate compliance with food safety procedures and management of microbial risks.

Ms. Wilger also provides guidance to promote environmental pathogen control to minimize risk of product contamination, and approves and manages the relationships with outside laboratories used to conduct microbiological testing. In addition, she leads the integration of Quality and Food Safety microbiology programs following business acquisitions.

Previously, Ms. Wilger spent 21 years with Cargill in its Corporate Food Safety, Quality & Regulatory Affairs Department as an Applied Microbiology and Food Safety Expert, working closely with its international businesses’ manufacturing facilities and laboratories, customers, external research institutions, governments, and non-government organizations. Prior to that position, she was with Quest International for 11 years as the facility microbiologist and lab supervisor, then as a researcher in product development of fermented hydrocolloids.

Ms. Wilger joined IAFP in 2001 and volunteered on the Local Arrangements Committee for IAFP 2001 in Minneapolis. Since then, she has been an Annual Meeting speaker, panelist, organizer, or convenor for multiple topics. She served as Program Committee Chair for IAFP 2023 after serving as its Co-Chair and a member during the previous five years. Ms. Wilger actively participates in IAFP webinars and workshops and has been in IAFP’s Mentor Program for more than 10 years. She served as Chair and Vice Chair of the Food Safety Education PDG from 2008–2012 and as the Chair and Vice Chair of the Applied Laboratory Methods PDG from 2004–2008. She was instrumental in establishing the IAFP Affiliate, the Minnesota Food Protection Association, in 2013, serving as its first Vice President before assuming the President’s role. She received the IAFP Harold Barnum Industry Award in 2018 and the President’s Recognition Award in 2021 and 2023.

Ms. Wilger received her B.S. and M.S. in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, while also working at the Food Research Institute.