Webinar: Insights and Trends in Food Standards with Matt O'Mullane

This presentation will examine food standards, with a focus on emerging trends and innovations in food regulation. Key topics include the regulation of cell-cultured and genetically modified foods, and food labelling, with an emphasis on transparency and consumer protection. Additionally, the role of surveillance in monitoring food safety and ensuring adherence to standards will be highlighted. Consumer research will be integrated to assess public perceptions and preferences on these issues. The presentation aims to provide a comprehensive look at the evolving landscape of food regulation.

Matt O’Mullane is the General Manager of the Food Safety Branch at Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) and has worked across the Australian government for nearly 25 years, including over 10 years at FSANZ. He has extensive experience in human health risk analysis and the regulation of food, chemicals, pesticides, veterinary medicines, and GMOs. Matt was a toxicological adviser to the World Health Organisation (2011-2017), the Australian Delegation Leader to the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods (2018-2022), chaired FSANZ’s Advisory Committee on Novel Foods (2017-2022) and was secretary of the Gene Technology Technical Advisory Committee (2022-2024). Prior to joining government, he was a research scientist in the university and private sectors and led innovations in cancer drug development and disease detection and undertook research in human virology and plant biochemistry. Matt has a first-class honours degree in virology and a PhD in cancer cell biology from the University of Wollongong.