Global Food Contact is the must-attend event for anyone involved within the food contact materials supply chain! As the only food contact forum that covers all the latest food contact regulations and legislations on a global scale, this event brings together the entire food contact supply chain. Industry leaders and legislators from across the entire food contact supply chain gather to explore and exchange information regarding global food contact developments and initiatives, and forecast the future industry landscape.
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Monday 12 May 2025
Keller & Heckman
By attending this workshop delegates can delve into the intricacies of PPWR in relation to food contact materials on both a regional and global scale. In-depth analysis and Q & A session will allow you to consider your companies PPWR obligations and the critical timelines that need to be kept in mind.
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Jonathan studied biochemistry and specialised in toxicology at the University of Surrey in the UK and graduated there in 2002. He joined the UK's Food Standards Agency the same year where he worked as a senior scientific officer on risk management of chemicals in food, including contaminants, pesticides and food contact materials. He represented and negotiated on behalf of the UK at EU and international level including Codex and managed several research and surveillance projects.
Jonathan joined the European Commission in 2014 and works as a policy officer in DG SANTE on food contact materials including the new initiative to revise the EU legislation. He is based in Brussels, in Belgium.
Mark is a global regulatory manager responsible for ensuring that every machine supplied by the Lavazza Group complies with the regulatory compliance requirements of every market in which products are sold. Food contact compliance requirements is key component of this role alongside requirements such EMC, Safety, Radio, Environmental, Sustainability and Energy Efficiency.
Prior to working at Lavazza he spent 25+ years working for TUV SUD and Underwriters laboratories providing a wide range of testing and certification services covering a huge range of products from mobile phones to ejector seats for military aircraft
Role: Product Safety & Compliance Manager, Huhtamaki FFS EAO since August 2023, located in Espoo Finland
Role description: Various food contact compliance topics related to Huhtamaki’s fiber and foodservice products
Education: M. Sc. (Organic Chemistry), University of Helsinki
Former professional experience:
Project manager in testing and compliance of food contact materials at Measurlabs
Regulatory affairs specialist in food contact compliance of cellulose-based and plastic sausage casings at ViskoTeepak
Research Scientist on food contact packaging coatings at Kemira
Researcher in product safety and purity of food contact paperboards at Stora Enso
Additionally, I was for a while an entrepreneur and co-founder of a startup company that provided testing and consultation services for food and other packaging
Free time: In my free time I like to go outdoors and spend time in nature. I am also a huge fan and big consumer of audio books.
In July 2021 Carlos de la Cruz Garcia took the role of Regulatory and Compliance Manager at the Nestlé System Technology Center in Switzerland, dealing with the compliance by design of new Nestlé Systems (e.g. beverage machines and packaging/capsules). In 2014 he became Head of Regulatory and Scientific Affairs for Nespresso at its HQ in Switzerland, dealing with the compliance of the food and non-food product portfolio. He joined the Nestlé Research Centre in Switzerland in 2003, starting in the Research area, moving into different positions with increased responsibility for quality and safety of food contact materials (Nestlé Nutrition HQ, Nestlé Product Technology Center for Coffee, Nestlé System Technology Center).
A licentiate in Pharmacy, with a PhD in Analytical Chemistry and Nutrition, Carlos has been involved in the safety evaluation of food contact materials since 2000, working with universities and research centers in Spain, France and USA.
Vilma Koskenlaine is a seasoned Regulatory Affairs Manager at Stora Enso’s Packaging Materials Division Sustainability team, where she drives a range of regulatory initiatives and ensures compliance with packaging sustainability-related EU laws and policies. Holding a Master’s degree in EU Law, Vilma has amassed extensive experience in regulatory affairs, both in the public sector and industry. Previously, she served as a Legal Officer at the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Unit of EU Litigation. In this capacity, she handled complex legal cases before the EU Court and managed Commission infringement cases. Vilma also worked as a Legal Adviser at the Finnish Energy Authority, specializing in providing legal advice on renewable energy laws and policies.
Marco has been involving in food contact materials for more than 20 years. In 2008, He worked as a visiting scientist at Joint research Center of European Commission. Marco is the member of Reviewing Committee for China National Food Safety Standards, and the member of Standardization Committee for plastic food contact material and food contact paper. To date, he has published more than 100 papers in journals and academic conferences. Marco was assigned by the authority since 2014 to draft a serial of Chinese legislations including multilayer packaging, wood and bamboo, Paper and paper board, as well as specific migration methods.
Marco was also appointed as the chairperson of expert committee for FCMs in China food industry association ,The chairperson of working force for China sustainable food contact material, and the member of scientific committee (SC) of International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) Europe, dedicating to assist government and industry to manage the safety and sustainable FCMs on a scientific manner.
Ms. Maxwell, Research Fellow in Corporate Scientific and Regulatory Affairs at Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. brings expertise in global finished foods labeling and claims as well as additives and flavors. Prior to Ocean Spray, she led the Scientific and Regulatory Affairs management function at Nestle USA responsible for all the retail/food service brands for North America. Her employment history includes Director-level global regulatory compliance group management at Cargill, Inc., Wild Flavors, Inc. as well as McCormick & Company and Givaudan where she describes her role as managing, motivating, coordinating and influencing multi-disciplinary functions to accomplish strategic business goals, anticipating regulatory obstacles/emerging issues throughout product lifecycle and developing solutions with other technical/commercial teams across global geographies (essentially herding cats!).
Ms. Maxwell is a proud graduate of University of Illinois – Champaign/Urbana with BS degree in Food Science and additional post graduate study in Carbohydrate Chemistry.
Always lively and engaging, Ms. Maxwell turns conventional wisdom on its ear using comprehensive data that offers a compelling look at new regulatory trends. Her insights are drawn in part from Washington DC colleagues, as well as her global network “cabinet” of industry professionals and the occasional bureaucrat.
Xiaolu Wang is a Senior Research Manager at AgencyIQ’s Chemicals division. Xiaolu is a licensed attorney in New York state, the District of Columbia, and China (inactive) with over 10 years of experience in environmental, health, and safety (EHS) legislation and product regulatory compliance.
Before joining AgencyIQ, Xiaolu conducted in-depth research and analysis of EHS and product safety legislation on a global scale, focusing on North America and Asia Pacific. She also led regulatory consulting projects covering a wide range of products, including chemicals, food contact materials, cosmetics, food, and electronic and electrical equipment.
Scientific and Regulatory Affairs | Mars Wrigley | Europe and Central Eurasia.
Jeremy Hooper leads the Scientific and Regulatory Affairs team for Northern & Southern Europe at Mars Wrigley. Over the past 2.5 years, he has overseen scientific and regulatory affairs activity for food contact materials and food contaminants across the Europe region.
Jeremy's expertise in food contact safety and quality dates to 2011 when he moved into food & non-food packaging at Tesco. He later worked at Domino Printing on FCM regulatory compliance and at Loop (TerraCycle), where he developed processes and facilities for the safe reuse of food and consumer packaging.
Before moving into the food packaging sector, Jeremy spent 17 years working in food quality, safety, and product development with Campbell Soups and Tesco, in the UK and international businesses. He is an active member of the Food Contact Material (FCM) committees for FoodDrinkEurope and the UK Food and Drink Federation (FDF), where he is engaged with evolving EU and UK regulations on packaging safety and substances of concern.
In July 2021 Carlos de la Cruz Garcia took the role of Regulatory and Compliance Manager at the Nestlé System Technology Center in Switzerland, dealing with the compliance by design of new Nestlé Systems (e.g. beverage machines and packaging/capsules). In 2014 he became Head of Regulatory and Scientific Affairs for Nespresso at its HQ in Switzerland, dealing with the compliance of the food and non-food product portfolio. He joined the Nestlé Research Centre in Switzerland in 2003, starting in the Research area, moving into different positions with increased responsibility for quality and safety of food contact materials (Nestlé Nutrition HQ, Nestlé Product Technology Center for Coffee, Nestlé System Technology Center).
A licentiate in Pharmacy, with a PhD in Analytical Chemistry and Nutrition, Carlos has been involved in the safety evaluation of food contact materials since 2000, working with universities and research centers in Spain, France and USA.
Päivi Harju-Eloranta has a Master’s degree in Chemistry. She has worked in Stora Enso more than 30 years in various positions. Päivi has wide experience in product and packaging development, technical marketing, sustainability and product safety. Current responsibility as a Director, Product Stewardship, means involvement in food safety, compliance topics and regulatory affairs
• Alistair is a subject matter expert in the Food Contact Safety Team at Smithers. This involves advising clients on the safety legislation which applies to food packaging in a wide range of different countries throughout the world and coordinating work programmes to ensure that clients' products meet these requirements.
• His expertise spans all the EU countries, USA, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Israel, Russia and South America.
