Join experts from ANSTO and industry to explore how nuclear science is securing our food future.
Food is vital for our health and wellbeing, but food fraud is a growing global issue. From false labelling to product substitution, fraud costs the global food industry an estimated $40–50 billion USD each year. Even worse, unsafe or contaminated food makes 1.6 million people sick every day.
Today, consumers and regulators expect clear proof of origin. However, traditional methods such as paper-based documentation, genetic testing and chemical profiling can be incomplete, leaving exporters, retailers and consumers exposed to risk.
Join leading experts from ANSTO, government and industry as they unpack the science and technology tackling food fraud and explore how innovation is helping ensure safety, traceability and trust in the global food system.
Register now for this important discussion.
📅 Date: Wednesday 10 December
⏰ Time: 12 noon AEDT
📍 Online | Free Registration
Be part of the practical science movement protecting Australia’s future — register now.
Featured speakers
Dr Debashish Mazumder, Leader of Food Provenance Research, ANSTO
Under Dr Mazumder’s leadership, ANSTO has developed traceability technologies, including field-deployable handheld XRF scanning techniques, to verify the origin of food products. These cutting-edge tools, rigorously validated on seafood and native bushfoods, address critical traceability and biosecurity challenges in trade. These tools help industry safeguard the integrity of their supply chains. Dr Mazumder collaborates with government agencies, industry partners and academic institutions across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, focusing on food origin and related environmental research.
Erik Poole, Head of Product and Quality, Sydney Fish Market
Erik took up a role in quality assurance with Sydney Fish Market in 2005. Prior to this, he worked as a qualified skipper, operating fishing vessels in Papua New Guinea and the Northern Territory, and completed a fisheries science degree at AMC in Tasmania.
Erik is now responsible for overseeing SFM’s QA, food safety, and engagement with stakeholders in the seafood industry, particularly related to quality standards, grading, and technical projects.
Dr Stephen Pahl, Seafood Safety and Market Access Program Leader – Food Sciences, South Australian Research and Development Institute – SARDI
Dr Stephen Pahl is a chemical engineer with research, product development and process improvement expertise within the food, bioproducts and nutraceutical sectors. He obtained his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Adelaide before joining SARDI in 2012.
His core research activities are directed towards food safety and product innovation within the Australian seafood and food manufacturing industries. Dr Pahl also provides technical support to SafeFish on seafood post harvest operations and advice to support Australia’s seafood trade and market access negotiations and helps to resolve barriers to trade.
Dr Patricia Gadd, Science Research Leader and Instrument Scientist, ANSTO
Currently, Patricia Gadd leads the Water Resource Sustainability Program within the Environment Research and Technology Group, whilst running the Itrax Core Scanner Laboratory at ANSTO. She is a much sought after expert in X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF). Patricia developed a world-first non-destructive technique to evaluate tissue. Her use of this technique on seafood profiles led to a new and growing research field at ANSTO, seafood provenance.