- Annette Myriam
Consultant – Food Technologist
FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia
Budapest, Hungary
Ms Annette has fifteen years of professional experience in technical areas (food loss and waste, One Health issues, nutrition, food safety and quality, value chain analysis), communication and resource mobilization/partnerships in food and agriculture. She has developed her skills in humanitarian and development organizations, as well as in the context of businesses and research departments.
Myriam joined FAO in 2012 as an Associate Professional Officer with the Food Safety and Quality unit. She contributed to the development and implementation of capacity development projects at both regional and national levels, including a regional project on development of food safety policy in West Africa. During 2015 – 2018, she worked for the Global Initiative on Food Loss and Waste Reduction as a consultant at the FAO Headquarters in Rome and FAO Regional Office for Africa. Myriam was responsible for technical review of food loss assessment reports from over 15 African countries, development of technical and policy materials, as well as organization and facilitation of multi-stakeholder policy orientation workshops on post-harvest grain loss management.
Prior to FAO, Myriam worked for the private sector and for different NGOs, in Egypt and in France.
Myriam is a French national. She graduated from AgroSup Dijon in France in 2003, with an Engineering Degree in Food Science and Technology, specializing in Nutrition and Food Security. She also studied at the International Center for Higher Education in Agricultural Sciences (Master of Science/Montpellier SupAgro, France). - Batinić Sermek Marija
Head of Service
Ministry of Agriculture
Zagreb, Croatia
Born in 1984. She graduated from Gymnasium, and, in 2009 she graduated at the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology at the University of Zagreb, Study of Nutrition.
Her first work experience was in nutrition counselling at Naturhouse and Leptir Clinic, where she gained a five-year experience in making nutrition recommendations, meal plans adjusted to individual nutritional needs, diet guidelines, body composition analysis and other.
In 2013, she joined the Ministry of Agriculture, where she still works, and is in charge of drafting legislation, plans and strategies in the field of food labelling and quality, Codex Alimentarius standards and food waste prevention. Most recently, her work relies intensively on the development of policies for the establishment of an efficient food donation system and, in general, on the development of food waste prevention policy in Croatia.
She participates as the Croatian representative at work groups in European Commission and European Council. In addition, she is a member of the Platform on food waste and food losses, founded by the European Commission. She also participates as a speaker at various workshops, seminars and conferences in the field of competence.
She is fluent in English, German and Italian.
- Gassin Anne-Laure
Policy officer
Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (SANTE)
European Commission
Brussels, Belgium
Anne-Laure Gassin joined the European Commission in 2013 where she is supporting the development of policy on food waste prevention. She previously served from 2003 as Director of Communications at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) where she developed and implemented EFSA’s risk communication strategy.
Prior to that, she spent more than 15 years with the Kellogg Company, where her last appointment was as European Director with the responsibility for nutrition communications, and scientific and regulatory affairs.
She graduated from Harvard University in 1981, where she majored in biology, and was awarded a Masters in medical management and marketing in 1987 from the École Supérieure de Commerce in Paris.
- Gross-Bošković Andrea, Master of food technology and biotechnology
Adviser of Director
Croatian Food Agency (HAH)
Osijek, Croatia
Born in Zagreb. After finishing the mathematic-informatics high school. In 1995 she graduated at the Faculty of Food and Biotechnology Technology, University of Zagreb (food engineering and biochemical engineering).
First job was in a chemical company “Meteor” Đakovo as a head of Laboratories for control and development of new products. In January 2005 she started to work in the Croatian Food Agency (HAH), first as head of Risk analysis department, and after reorganization, as a head of the Risk assessment department. Meanwhile, from June 2007 to June 2008, she was on the position of acting deputy director. Since 01. 07. 2013 to 31. 05. 2108 she was HAH Director, and after the mandate, she started working as Adviser of Director.
At the Faculty of Food Technology Osijek, she is currently finishing postgraduate studies of food technology.
In the previous period, she finished a series of domestic and foreign education related to risk assessment and communication in the country and abroad as well as the implementation and control of HACCP system in the food industry.She is a member of EFSA’s work group for emerging risks (Emerging risk exchange network), as well as replacement for a member of EFSA’s work group for microbiological risks (Scientific Network on microbiological risks). She is also acting as a replacement for national representative in the EFSA’s Advisory Forum.
During negotiations, she was a member of the working group for preparation of negotiations – acquis communautaire, Chapter 12 – Food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary protection, and is full member of the Croatian Society of Chemical Engineers, Croatian Society of Food Technologists, Biotechnologists and Nutritionists and Croatian Microbiology society.
- Popović Filipović Tanja
President
Center for education and informing of consumers (CEIP)
Osijek, Craotia
For more than 12 years she has been actively engaged in consumer rights and the last five, with a special emphasis on food safety and quality, and food waste.
For eight years she was the vice-president of the umbrella organization for consumer protection – Alliance of Croatian consumer protection associations.
As a member of the National Consumer Protection Council, he has actively participated in the development of national consumer protection programs as a fundamental document for the implementation of consumer protection policy in Croatia.
She acquired the education on the implementation of communication campaigns for consumer education in Brussels, where she was also involved in the BEAC’s TRACE program – strengthening the capacity of consumer organizations.
Currently, she is working as the national team leader on the project Consumer Classroom and she is also the project coordinator on the project Global learning approach on food waste in non- formal education.
She is a member of HAH’s Management Board, a member of the GMO Council at the Ministry of Health and also a member of the Council for Civil Society Development (Government of the Republic of Croatia, Office for cooperation with NGOs).
- Vandenschrik Jacques
President
European Food Banks Federation (FEBA)
Brussels, Belgium
Born and bred in Belgium, Jacques’ education was primarily oriented toward public Health. With a master’s degree in Hospital Sciences from the Université Libre de Bruxelles, he started his career in Somalia working for the European Development Fund where he was detached to the General Hospital of Mogadishu. On his return to Belgium, he assumed a hospital manager position at a local University Clinic for six years and then accepted to lead the Human Resources department of a large industrial group in South Africa, preparing the organization for the political changes of the early 90’s. Thereafter, he founded his own business specialized in research, development and marketing of antiseptics.
During the 25 years of his stay in South Africa, Jacques was the Honorary Consul of Belgium for the Eastern Cape.
In 2007, he returned to Belgium for health reasons and became acquainted with the local food banks. He quickly took the helm of a local food bank in Tournai and was also requested to assume the vice-presidency of the Belgian Food Bank Federation. He took a decisive part in the development of an IT platform to streamline food banks, charities and beneficiaries management.In 2015, he was selected to replace Jean-Marie Delmelle as member of the Board of Directors of the European Food Banks Federation (FEBA) and was requested to assume its presidency in October 2016, position that he assumes presently and until 2021. He participated in several European platforms such as the EU platform on Food Losses and Food Waste.
Father of two and grandfather of three, Jacques enjoys classic music, reading and writing when not requested to participate in food bank activities which take most of his available time.