IFT President-Elect

Gunnar Sigge, PhD
Departmental Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Food Science, Stellenbosch University

Gunnar Sigge is currently Associate-Professor and Head of the Department of Food Science, Stellenbosch University, South Africa. His research interests include food processing, food processing wastewater treatment, sustainable water-use in the food industry, food safety of irrigated fresh produce, and novel disinfection systems for food and irrigation water.

Gunnar most recently served on the IFT Board of Directors from 2021-2024, and has also served on the Divisions Champions Team, the Inclusive Systems Review Task Team, the International Division leadership team, and the IFT Strategic Retreat. He has been an active leader in the South African Association for Food Science and Technology (SAAFoST) since 1997, including three terms as Cape Branch Chair, on the SAAFoST Council since 1999 and was SAAFoST President from 2010–2013, during which time they established the SAAFoST Foundation and launched the magazine South African Food Science and Technology (FST). Gunnar has also been involved with several other scientific organizations including the International Water Association (IWA), the Water Institute of South Africa (WISA), and the South African Society for Dairy Technology (SASDT).

IFT Board Members

Arti Arora, PhD
Senior VP, Scientific & Regulatory Affairs, The Coca-Cola Company

Arti Arora leads Global Scientific and Regulatory Affairs (SRA) at The Coca-Cola Company. She oversees the Company’s scientific and regulatory advocacy strategies; science initiatives to ensure safety and efficacy of ingredients, products and packaging used in the portfolio; and regulatory compliance programs. Arti has been with the Company since 2005 in various roles in SRA across nutrition and health, food safety, regulatory and policy, and SRA leader for North America.

Arti has been actively engaged in IFT since her student days, including having served as a student representative and later as chair of the Great Lakes Section, in various leadership and award jury roles, and most recently as a trustee for Feeding Tomorrow for six years. She serves or has served in leadership positions for many other scientific organizations including the National Academy of Science and Medicine’s Food Forum, AOAC International, International Life Sciences Institute, and American Chemical Society. She currently serves as a board member for the International Food Information Council, and Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics.

Tejas Bhatt, MS
Founder and CEO, AdvanTejas, Digital Food Safety Consultancy

Tejas Bhatt is currently founder and CEO of the digital food safety consultancy AdvanTejas. He has interdisciplinary expertise and experience in food safety, computer science, and systems engineering and is passionate about addressing global issues like food security, safety, sustainability, and supply chains. Most recently, he led the innovation and technology for global supply chain compliance at Walmart, where he applied emerging technologies like blockchain, AI, and IoT to tackle large-scale issues in food safety, responsible sourcing, trade, and sanctions compliance. Prior to joining Walmart, he was the Vice President of Science and Policy Initiatives at the Institute of Food Technologists and the Executive Director of its Global Food Traceability Center. He co-led the traceability pilots conducted by the US FDA under FSMA Section 204. Before entering the world of food safety, Tejas had a career in software development at Purdue University.

Faith Critzer, PhD
Professor, Food Science & Technology, University of Georgia

Faith Critzer is a professor in the Department of Food Science & Technology at the University of Georgia. Before joining UGA in 2021, she was an associate professor and produce safety extension specialist at Washington State University. Her research and education programs are focused on identifying food safety hazards tied to the production and packing of fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as identification of and education on risk mitigation strategies. She is also passionate about communicating science-based best practices and research outcomes to the produce industry and spending time in the classroom. Her service to IFT includes serving as Chair of the Food Microbiology Division and Nominations and Elections Committee, and she is looking forward to helping the organization communicate and advocate for the science of food.

Kelley Lowe, MS
Director of Product Development, Abbott Nutrition

Kelley is currently the director of product development for Abbott Nutrition where her team focuses on global, early-stage innovation across four major brands. She has 20 years of experience in the food industry, focusing on the development of dairy-based nutritional beverages. Kelley has been an active member of IFT since 2005, where she has served on the Nominations and Elections Committee, numerous award juries, and has been actively involved in the Ohio Valley Section, holding various roles on the board.

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

IFT is committed to ensuring members have access and the opportunity to contribute to their fullest potential. Diversity and inclusion are key to our mission to connect global food system communities to promote and advance the science of food and its application. Therefore, we believe it is critical to attract and engage a diverse population of members and food science professionals to lead IFT through Board service. The Board strives to achieve broad representation of membership demographics and multi-representational factors, including career stage, education, areas of practice type and setting (e.g., academia, government, industry, consultancy), broad global and cultural experience, and diverse special interests and expertise (e.g., food safety, regulatory, engineering, agriculture, sustainability, etc.). Please visit our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging page for more information.

Questions?

Please contact Felicia Owens, Staff Liaison to Leadership Development Committee, for more information or to submit a question.