Preventing food losses and waste to achieve food security and sustainability

Professor Elhadi M. Yahia is Emeritus Professor (Investigador Nacional Emerito) at the Autonomous University of Querétaro, Mexico. He is also a Courtesy Professor at the University of Florida, USA. Professor Yahia has published 20 books in 3 languages and more than 400 book chapters and articles on post-harvest handling of fresh produce. He has worked at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) where he helped launch the Global Initiative on Food Loss and Waste Reduction. He has served as a consultant to many organizations such as the FAO, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the World Food Logistics Organization (WFLO), USAID, USDA and ICARDA. He is member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences, the New York Academy of Sciences, The Scientific Research Society (Sigma Xi) and The Scientific Advisory Council (SAC) of the World Food Logistics Organization.

Professor Elhadi M. Yahia is Emeritus Professor (Investigador Nacional Emerito) at the Autonomous University of Querétaro, Mexico. He is also a Courtesy Professor at the University of Florida, USA. Professor Yahia has published 20 books in 3 languages and more than 400 book chapters and articles on post-harvest handling of fresh produce. He has worked at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) where he helped launch the Global Initiative on Food Loss and Waste Reduction. He has served as a consultant to many organizations such as the FAO, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the World Food Logistics Organization (WFLO), USAID, USDA and ICARDA. He is member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences, the New York Academy of Sciences, The Scientific Research Society (Sigma Xi) and The Scientific Advisory Council (SAC) of the World Food Logistics Organization.

Dr Silvia Gaiani is a Food Loss and Waste Specialist for the Food and Agriculture Organisation, Rome. She has previously been a research fellow at the University of Bologna and has worked as a consultant for WMO, the Italian Research Council, and a number of NGOs. She has conducted researches on the field in Japan, Canada, UK, Denmark and Finland and has authored scientific articles and a book entitled Transforming Food Waste into a Resource.

Dr. Dima Faour-Klingbeil is a research fellow at the University of Plymouth, UK and is an expert in food safety and regulatory systems, a compliance auditor for food industries in the EU and the Middle East across different food categories, and the principal consultant and advisor at DFK for Safe Food Environment. Dr. Dima developed an operational framework & a regional food assurance mechanism for setting up the Arab sustainable and Good Agriculture Practices certification scheme (ArabG.A.P) as the consultant for a regional United Nations organization (UN ESCWA). She is a member of the Joint FAO/WHO Experts Working Group on the Safety and Quality of Water Used in Food Production and Processing, an author of several scientific articles in international peer-reviewed journals, and an invited speaker and advisor at various local, international and UN meetings.

Reiner Jedermann finished his Diploma in Electrical Engineering in 1990 at the University of Bremen. After two employments on embedded processing of speech and audio signals, in 2004 he became a research associate in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Bremen. He finished his Ph.D. thesis on decision tools for freight supervision in late 2009. His current research focus is the analysis of spatial temperature profiles and the implementation of automated remote quality monitoring of fruits in containers and refrigerated warehouses.

Dr Brenes-Peralta is a Researcher and Associate Professor of the Agribusiness School from Tecnológico de Costa Rica. She coordinates the Costa Rican Food Loss and Waste Network-SAVE FOOD COSTA RICA, together with colleagues from TEC, FAO Costa Rica and almost other 30 members from public institutions, private sector and citizen initiatives. She is also part of the Latin American and Caribbean Food Loss and Waste Network of Experts, and participates in boards, groups and scientific committees related to research, extension, and public policy for different agri-food chains in production, value-adding strategies and sustainable food systems, including the subcommittee working on the SDG 12.3.1 indicator for Costa Rica.