A rising population has enlisted Professor Johannes le Coutre, who has been recognized for his leadership and groundbreaking research in developing novel food sources. In recognition of his outstanding achievements, Professor Johannes le Coutre from UNSW Sydney has been elected a Fellow of the International Academy of Food Science and Technology (IAFoST) and contribution to the global food industry.
The International Association for Food Science and Technology (IUFosT) is the global umbrella organization for food science and food safety, and IAFoST is a subsidiary of it. IUFosT has a standing invitation to send recommendations to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Prof. le Coutre shares his gratitude, “It’s a great honor to be elected a Fellow of this prestigious and highly impactful organization. The IUFosT is fully dedicated to the advancement of food science and technology and to bringing experts together to help solve some of our most pressing societal challenges relating to human sustenance.”
UNSW Dean of Engineering Professor Julien Epps congratulated Prof. le Coutre on his election. “Johannes is a visionary in food security. He’s dedicated to creating innovative ways to ensure that food production is ethical, accessible and sustainable – for everyone – into the future. His election to the IUFosT is a testament to the enormous respect he commands in the international food community, which values his extensive experience, insights and advice on how we can ensure we can feed the global population as it proliferates.”
Prof.le Coutre shares, “I believe we will still be eating meat in 30 years’ time, although less of the meat being consumed will come from livestock. There are simply not enough cows on this planet to meet the projected food production demands and we can’t ignore the looming environmental challenges posed by the agriculture and the food industry. We’re going to need to change what we eat and how we grow it over the next two decades so we can diversify our sources of protein.”
Prof. le Coutre is responsible for UNSW’s food program, works at the school of chemical engineering in Sydney and is a food and health specialist. Currently, his team is working on a cell culture that produces food derived from traditional animals, but without the animals. The development of alternative protein-producing technologies is his next step as he seeks to reduce the environmental impact associated with agriculture and improve global food security.
Before his 2019 arrival at UNSW, Professor le Coutre spent 19 years working in Nestlé’s UK-based taste physiology research programmer in Switzerland where he developed and led the initiative. He has initiated several major global research projects and his work has won several RandD awards. A sought-after expert on food safety, he often advises and comments on it in Australia. He is a Fellow of Food Standards Australia New Zealand. (FSANZ) and the leading open access journal in the field of FRONTIERS founder in nutrition. Prof. le Coutre will be officially invited to IAFoST at the World Congress of Food Science and Technology in September in Rimini, Italy.
