AIFST State Branches

Cecilia graduated from the University of Queensland (UQ) in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in food science, biochemistry, and molecular biology. In her spare time at university, she volunteered at multiple plant research facilities, working on crops to make them more tolerant of a changing climate. In 2015, Cecilia won a Summer Research Scholarship to study the signalling mechanisms of soybeans and snow peas at the Centre for Integrative Legume Research (CILR). In 2017, she also led the UQ Food Science Club Committee through a full and vibrant calendar of events to foster connection between students, academia, and industry. This brush with community and leadership at university has led to a passion for supporting the food industry and bringing people together. Cecilia uses public platforms to share real stories that generate an interest in and an understanding of food science as a vocation. She hopes that through her work, there is a greater appreciation of the food and agriculture industries that touch lives each mealtime.

Annesley Watson

Annesley Watson is a Fellow of AIFST and a Food Science and Technology graduate of the University of New South Wales.  She is now retired after a 40+ year career which followed a passion for sensory and consumer science which she applied in academia (UNSW) and the food industry – brewing (Tooheys), baking (Arnott’s) and finally snackfoods & beverages (Pepsico).

Annesley has been an active member of AIFST since her undergraduate days, filling a number of roles in the NSW branch and co-founding the initial Sensory group.  Over the years she has always been keen to help other members’ development, generally though supporting meetings and the annual conference, but most specifically in Sensory and Consumer Science, working with others to provide meetings, workshops and symposia.  More recently, she was involved in helping to get the new Mentoring program up and running and has mentored two members in developing their careers. 

She hopes to continue this work with AIFST making use of all our capabilities to provide best value for our membership.

I am excited about taking on the role of Chairperson of the AIFST, SA branch. For a very long time, I have been a Food Techie.

My career started as a Fish Technologist when I obtained a Bachelor of Fisheries Science from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, India.  I worked in several multinational seafood processing companies in India as a Centre or Production Manager overseeing fish processing from purchase to export destinations.

Then I moved to Uganda to set up a fish processing company to process freshwater fish from Lake Victoria. The processing facility I established included chilling, freezing, smoking, and dehydration of Nile Perch and Tilapia fishes; including fish meal operation – for waste utilisation.

Then with my family, I moved to Sydney, Australia, where I studied Bachelor of Applied Science (Food Technology) at the University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury, NSW. I have worked in Sydney in various food processing companies including Australian Spring Water and Green’s General Foods.

Then I moved to Adelaide where I got the role of lecturer in TAFE SA. I have been with TAFE SA for the last 20 years as a lecturer in the Food and Beverage processing section of Applied Food Studies. I teach a Diploma in Food Technology to TAFE students and Bachelor of Food and Nutrition Science (BFNS) students from the University of Adelaide.

During my career as a lecturer, I have added more qualifications such as a Bachelor of Education (in service) from the University of South Australia, a Diploma in Packaging Technology from The Packaging Industry Awarding Body Company Stamford, UK, a Diploma in Sustainability and a Diploma in Quality Auditing. My expertise is varied, and I am lecturing on subjects such as Food Preservation, Quality Control, Food Safety, Edible Fats and Oils, Food Additives, Sustainability, Product Development, Sensory Evaluation, Food Packaging, and Process Control.

I have been an AIFST member since 1998 and a committee member for the SA Branch since 2000. I appreciate discovering new food concepts and sharing what I have learned with students. I enjoy AIFST events, and they have helped me grow in my career.

Dr Justin Whitely 

National Quality Assurance Manager, Compass Group Plc. 

Dr. Justin L. Whitely graduated from the University of Western Australia (UWA) with a BSc (First Class Honours) in Biochemistry (1981) before enrolling in a PhD with Associate Professor Peter Hartmann and Dr. David L. Willcox studying the hormonal control of parturition and lactation in the sow. During this period of study, Dr. Whitely joined the Western Australian Department of Agriculture (now the Department of Primary Industry and Regional Development, DPIRD) and worked on projects within the Division of Dairy and Food Technology.

He was awarded his PhD and commenced work with the Craig Mostyn Group as the Group Research and Development Manager and was involved in the development and commercialisation of processes and products for incorporation in the general agri-business sector principally in horticultural and food service markets. From 1990 to 1999, he worked in a number of divisions of the Group including Globe Meats and Linley Valley Pork as a Quality Manager as well as in a production environment as Factory Manager. There were two memorable highlights he achieved during this time: 1) he developed and launched branded shaved products (Adelphi ham) in retail modified atmosphere packaging (first in Australia) with sales increasing four times the rate of the competitor’s product, and 2) he developed and implemented the Quality Management System at Linley Valley Pork to comply with the Western Australian Health Department Regulations. This enabled the abattoir and meat processing operation to commence within the schedule timeframe.

In 1999, Dr. Whitely joined P&O Services (a subsidiary company of P&O Australia) in the role of National Quality Assurance Manager working specifically in the offshore remote catering services division. Not long after that, P&O Services was subject to an acquisition arrangement and the food and remote catering services divisions were ultimately acquired by Compass Group Plc. As the General Manager Health, Safety, Environment and Quality (HSEQ) for Compass, he is responsible for the development and implementation of management systems designed to add value to the business and to reduce risk to as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP).

Dr. Whitely manages the compliance of Compass Group Australia to the ISO 9001 quality management standard and to best practice standards in food safety, occupational health, safety and environment as well as to national and state legislative standards. The certification of Compass business to the ISO 9001, OHSAS 18001 (soon to be ISO45001) and ISO 14000 management standards is also managed corporately by Dr. Whitely. In addition, Justin heads up a large loss prevention team that works to sustain the Compass continuous improvement programme by developing and implementing policies and procedures at all levels of the Compass organisation.

At Compass Group Australia, a significant amount of focus is now being placed on bringing ‘safety and risk management to life’ and Justin has introduced a behavioural based safety culture framework derived from the Keil Centre into the business. His team of safety and quality professionals have introduced a mobile App to help capture leadership interactions designed to reinforce the demonstration of safe behaviours as opposed to at-risk behaviours at all of our operating locations. He believes that strong and visible leadership at all levels is critical to fostering the risk management-based cultures within the business leading to improved safety and quality performance.

Dr. Whitely joined Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology (AIFST) in 1993, has been a member the WA Branch Committee continuously since 1999, served as Branch Chair from 2002 to 2003 and was created Fellow of the Institute in 2013.