Dr. Ana Allende from CEBAS-CSIC (Spanish National Research Council) in Spain is a Senior Researcher with focus on safety of fresh produce. She obtained her PhD in Food Science and Technology at the University of Cartagena, (Spain). She holds several positions in (inter)-national institutions including vice-chair of the BIOHAZ panel at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), vice-director of the CEBAS-CSIC, Member of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meetings on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) Roster of Experts. She has published more than 230 research articles with more than 10,500 cites (H index 55). In over twenty years of scientific research she was involved in more than 30 international and national research projects in the area of microbial safety of fresh produce. Over the last years, her research activity has been focused on safety aspects of fruits and vegetables, specifically, on leafy greens and fresh-cut products from pre-harvest to post-harvest operations. Her research topics deal with the study of preventive and intervention strategies implemented through good agricultural practices, and the optimization of processing operations.

He is full Professor on Food Technology and the Head of the ‘Postharvest & Refrigeration Group’ of the ‘Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena’ (Spain). He chairs the TAIDA Doctorate Program on ‘Advanced Techniques for Research and Development in Food and Agriculture’ since 2011. His research interest is focused on the optimization of sustainable postharvest technologies To preserve quality and safety of whole, fresh-cut and minimally processed fruit and vegetables, including by-products revalorization and abiotic stresses to enhance phytochemicals. He participated in 28 European or National Research Programs, being principal researcher in 4 of them, and in +70 R&D Projects with companies. He has published  more than 120 manuscripts in high impact journals listed in the JCR-SCI (H=36), and more than 450 papers in total. He has directed 15 Doctoral Thesis and has 4 invention patents. Awarded with ‘Isaac Peral y Caballero’ as best researcher of UPCT (2022), Covirán Foundation and Sakata Seeds SLU awards due to his R&D and Technology Transfer activity. 

Giovanni Attolico received the degree in Information Science from the University of Bari. He worked on Signal and Image Processing, 3D Modelling, Sensory Processing and Interpretation, Robotics, Interactive and Multimodal Systems, Haptic Interfaces, as research leader in a private company (Olivetti), as visiting scientist in the Vision and Modelling Group at the MediaLab (MIT) and as senior researcher in the Multi-spectral and Hyperspectral Imaging Laboratory of STIIMA (Institute on Intelligent Industrial Systems and Technologies for Advanced Manufacturing) of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR). His current research interests are in the application of computer vision and machine learning to quality control and evaluation of agricultural products. He has been scientific group leader in research initiatives founded by public institutions and by private companies. She co-authored more than one hundred scientific papers on journals and proceedings of conferences and an international patent on a visual system for events’ detection. He acts as referee for journals in the areas of artificial intelligence, computer vision and their application to cultural heritage and food science. He serves as scientific referee for the Italian Ministry of Research and University, for the Ministry of Development and for other public institutions.

Milena Corredig started here academic career more than 20 years ago at the University of Georgia, Athens, USA, then continued in Canada at the University of Guelph where she was a Canada research chair.  She then left academia for an industrial position as R&D Vice President in Canada, and in 2018, she moved to Aarhus University, Denmark, where she holds a position as Professor in Food Technology.

To date, Prof. Corredig has published more than  300 refereed publications, in the field of food technology and physical chemistry of foods. She is senior editor of Comprehensive reviews in Food science and nutrition and food hydrocolloids,  two of the most cited journals in the field fo food science. Since 2021 she is also the Chair of the COST network Circul-a-bility, a research network dedicated to food packaging sustainability.  She advocates holistic approaches to research for developing sustainable solutions in the future. 

Dr. Francesco Orsini is a full professor at the Dept. of Agricultural and Food Sciences (DISTAL), University of Bologna, Italy. Francesco has published more than 130 scientific articles in academic journals, and is a FAO-UN consultant in urban agriculture projects in Asia, Latin America and Africa. He coordinates the European Project FoodE (Food systems in European Cities, funded by H2020) and the Research Project of National Interest V-Farm (Sustainable Vertical Farming) funded by the Italian Ministry for Research and Education. From 2018, Dr. Orsini launched the International Student Challenge UrbanFarm. From 2018, Dr. Orsini is the Chair of the Landscape and Urban Horticulture Division of the International Society for Horticultural Sciences (ISHS). Dr. Orsini was the convenor of the 3rd International Workshop on Vertical Farming (VertiFarm2024, Bologna, Italy), the 1st International Workshop on Vertical Farming (VertiFarm2019, Wageningen, The Netherlands) and the 1st International Workshop on Greener Cities for More Efficient Ecosystem Services in a Climate Changing World (GreenCities2017, Bologna, Italy). 

He is full Professor on Horticulture PHT, and serving as Head of the Department of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, and Director of Internal Quality Assurance Cell at National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship & Management, Kundli, India. He is also an Adjunct Faculty at Maharana Pratap Horticulture University, Karnal, India.
His research interest is focussed on the extension of shelf life of fresh produce and fresh-cut fruits and vegetbales. He has completed several research projects supported by ICAR, World Bank, DST, DBT, USAID etc.
Dr. Pareek has published over 100 research papers, 10 books, 3 manuals, 6 technical bulletins, 50 popular articles, and 52 book chapters to his credit.
Dr. Pareek is a series editor of ‘Innovations in Postharvest Technology’ from CRC Press, Taylor & Francis, USA.
He is Editor of seven SCI journals, namely, Scientific Reports, Journal of Food Quality, Journal of Food Biochemistry, Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, and Folia Horticulturae. Recently he has founded new journal “Food Safety and Health” as Associate Editor, and “Future Postharvest and Food” as Co-Editor-in-Chief from Wiley.
He is member of several important policy making committees and on research advisory board of important research institutions.

Researcher and Assistance Prof. at Portuguese Catholic University since 2009. Has dedicated her work to packaging technology and science, with special focus in mass transfer processes applied to safety and quality of packaged food, in particular barrier properties, chemical hazards and migration from packaging systems. More recently with works in the area of packaging sustainability, materials minimization and recycling process of packaging systems, and application of biomaterials to food packaging. Coordination of the packaging laboratory since 1990, acting as the national reference laboratory for food packaging in Portugal. She coordinates the Centre for Food Quality and Safety of UCP since 2013. Represents Portugal in the European Network of Food Contact Materials Laboratories since 2004. She integrates the Recycling Group of EFSA since 2016 and the Smart Waste Portugal Association since 2018. Under the activities of the packaging laboratory, she has been working close to packaging industry developing projects related to system optimization, product quality and safety. 

Professor Qingguo Wang has been on the faculty of Shandong Agricultural University, China since 2002. He conducts research and education on postharvest quality maintenance and handling of fruit and vegetables. His research on fresh-cut produce covers enzymatic browning control, pre-and post-cutting treatments. His research and development results on ethylene control, ethylene application and garlic scape storage techniques，etc. have been widely used by postharvest industries and handlers. He has over 140 publications in scientific journals. 

Professor Wang also contributes to national and international postharvest events and conferences. He organized the IV International Conference on Fresh-cut Produce of International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) in 2019 and the annual Postharvest Workshops in China since 1992. He is a member of Postharvest and Quality Assurance division and the chair of Fresh Cut Produce Workgroup, ISHS.