Our Allergen Bureau Board of Directors provide voluntary, unpaid services to the Allergen Bureau and we gratefully acknowledge the generous support they receive from their employer companies in this capacity.
Jasmine is a specialist in food safety management within the Australian food manufacturing industry. With more than 20 years’ experience working with the food industry, she has had various roles from overseeing a NATA accredited laboratory to managing manufacturing quality systems and food safety management, for companies such as Parmalat and Coca Cola Amatil.
Jasmine currently works for BVAQ , providing technical support both nationally and internationally using her unique blend of analytical and quality assurance experience to provide businesses strategies for managing microbiological and allergen risks; assisting with factory design, equipment installation and validations; as well developing customised training covering microbiology, allergens and food safety risks. Jasmine is also responsible for delivering Allergen Bureau endorsed VITAL® training.
She currently holds professional memberships with the Australian Society of Microbiology (ASM), Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology (AIFST), and European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group (EHEDG). She is also proud to be have been the founding Co-chair, and current committee member for the Australian Regional division of the EHEDG and holds a position on the AIFST Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee.
Jasmine has been an appointed Allergen Bureau Board Director since 2018. She was a member of the Allergen Risk Review Website Working Group and is the current Project Lead for the Agricultural Cross Contact working group which has produced the updated Unexpected Allergens in Foods resource and currently is working on producing guidance on Sample and Testing of agricultural ingredients.
Jasmine has been involved in developing allergen management strategies in manufacturing environments since 2000 and brings to the Allergen Bureau an appreciation for the challenges that exist in the food industry and a passion for providing industry solutions to assist in the production of safe food choice for food allergy sufferers.
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Caroline holds the position of Regulatory Affairs Manager ANZ for IFF. Caroline’s affinity for the food industry began in dairy quite some years ago in a role with the small but thriving Tatua Dairy Cooperative in Morrinsville. Following that, moving to Auckland, Caroline took up a role with the Danish food ingredients company Danisco Ltd which was acquired by DuPont Ltd in 2011, and subsequently by IFF, her current employer. Caroline has held positions in Technical Marketing, Quality, Product Services, Regulatory and Scientific Affairs, all of which have touched the sensitive realms of allergen management in its various forms.
In the early days of the Allergen Forum, Caroline participated in VITAL and PIF Working Groups and later moved into the Allergen Bureau Allergen Exemption working group to help secure the 2016 change to STD 1.2.3 of the ANZ Food Standard Code.
Caroline brings a global ingredient manufacturers perspective to the Allergen Bureau Board. She Chairs the IFF Allergen Network delivering a globally coordinated approach to allergen management in a complex manufacturing environment.
With a Food Technology degree from Massey University and over 30 years working in the Food Industry, Debbie has had various NZ based roles covering Product Development, Quality, Purchasing and Operations for Tip Top Ice Cream, Tasti and Danisco / Dupont. These roles have included responsibilities in ANZ, ASPAC regional and global markets.
Debbie is currently working for Hawkins Watts, who represent many of the world’s leading ingredient companies with a broad product portfolio specialising in Hydrocolloids, Colours, Flavours, Emulsifiers, Fortificants and more. Starting out in an Operations and Quality role at Hawkins Watts leading their BRC Food Safety certification journey, Debbie recently moved to an IT Systems & Process role, to focus on developing smarter systems which support the Food Safety, Quality and Operational requirements of providing ANZ food manufacturers with a complex variety of food ingredients.
Debbie has had a long involvement with the Allergen Bureau, both through her previous work at founding member company Danisco / Dupont and currently with Hawkins Watts. Debbie is proud to be involved with the first Allergen Bureau Industry pilot working group in 2006, when the “VITAL” name was first suggested, and then applied her Excel skills to transform the VITAL process into the very first version of the VITAL calculator. (Though the Online VITAL calculator has been significantly improved by many others since then). The achievements of the core Allergen Bureau team over the last decade, are the incentive for Debbie to continue to be involved and further progress this very valuable work.
Debbie was a member of the VITAL Phase 2: Risk Communication (Labelling) Working Group which produced the VITAL® Best Practise Labelling Guide for Australia & New Zealand.
Debbie is a Fellow of NZIFST.
Paul is the Head of Policy & Regulatory for Woolworths, representing Woolworths on industry and government round tables and working groups, along with managing the Woolworths Own Brand quality assurance audit program. Paul has qualifications in Food Technology and Law and has more than 15 years’ experience in the food sector and retail. Having joined Woolworths in 2015, Paul has held roles in Quality, Nutrition, Policy and Regulatory.
Having always worked for Allergen Bureau member companies, Paul is committed to driving awareness of allergen management best practice and building industry guidance within the retail sector.
Paul also sits on executive committees for the Food and Beverage Importers Association (FBIA) and the Harmonised Australian Retailer Produce Scheme (HARPS).
Kirsten has worked in several different capacities across her career, R&D, Manufacturing, Research, Regulatory and Nutrition. Her current role is Regulatory, Scientific Affairs & Nutrition Manager for Nestlé Oceania.
Kirsten has been involved with the Allergen Bureau at its inception in 2005 and is passionate about delivering industry allergen management initiatives. As a former President of the Allergen Bureau, Kirsten is instrumental in driving international acceptance of the VITAL risk based program, through the work of the VITAL Scientific Expert Panel.
Kirsten considers that working collaboratively with industry stakeholders, consumer groups and Government to be key for the industry to remain competitive and successful globally.
With extensive experience working in Dairy (Unilever, Streets Ice Cream Division), Fats and Oils (Goodman Fielder, Meadow Lea Foods) and Cereals and Snacks (Uncle Toby’s) industries both in Australia and New Zealand. Kirsten’s experience with allergen issues from manufacturing, regulation and through to contact with consumer groups, gives her a unique perspective with regard to the needs of the food industry and the allergic community and the complexities of best practice allergen management.
Kirsten represents Nestlé on the Australian Food and Grocery Council’s (AFGC) Health Nutrition and Scientific Affairs Committee and takes part in many AFGC food industry working groups to drive solutions in the pre-competitive industry arena.
Kirsten has been involved with the Allergen Forum at its inception and has retained a significant interest in driving through industry allergen initiatives. Kirsten was the chairperson of the Allergen Labelling project team, initiated in 2004 which surveyed the food industry approach to allergen labelling and used this information to develop an industry allergen labelling strategy. A consistent effort by industry will result in product labels that are easier to read as well as to identify the allergen information required by the allergic consumers.
Dean Stockwell is an experienced professional with an extensive career in the food sector. Dean has graduate qualifications in food technology and governance, and postgraduate qualifications in business and industrial management and engineering. He is a chartered member of the NZ Institute of Directors (NZIOD) and is a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).
Currently Dean is Director and Principal of Dean Stockwell Consulting Ltd, a business focused on food safety governance, food safety risk assessment and management, regulatory strategy and innovation management.
Dean’s experience includes technical, production, innovation and executive management roles in the food industry, strategy and business development, and executive management of food regulation. Dean has worked on boards in both New Zealand and Australia.
Dean is a past Executive Director of the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology (NZIFST) and is Vice President of ILSI (International Life Sciences Institute Inc, Australasia, Division of SEA Region).
