AIFST State Branches

With over 15 years of experience in food safety, laboratory practices, and scientific research, Troy has successfully led cross-functional teams and managed complex projects. As Product Marketing Manager at Neogen, Troy oversees the development of marketing strategies for food safety products, ensuring alignment with market needs and regulatory standards. This experience, along with his ability to manage product launches, technical training programs, and external stakeholder relationships, directly aligns with the strategic leadership required for the VIC Branch Chair position. He has a proven track record in guiding teams and executing initiatives that meet both organisational and regulatory goals. At Neogen, Troy works closely with senior leadership and external partners to drive projects to completion, ensuring that all activities align with broader objectives. These skills are valuable in leading the Branch Committee and ensuring alignment with AIFST’s mission and goals.

Dr Soumi Paul Mukhopadhyay

Dr Soumi Paul Mukhopadhyay is an early-mid career food sensory and consumer researcher whose curiosity in understanding the science behind our senses has led her from India to Italy and now Australia. Bringing her own multicultural perspective, Soumi is a strong believer that food can be our source of connections, and that we need to tell the complete “paddock to plate” story in order to have a sustainable food system for the future generation. Her diverse work experiences in FMCG/academic/research underpin the development and implementation of evidence-based research outcomes related to food preference/acceptance and consumption, with global contexts.

Soumi has been recently nominated and elected as the Global Outreach Chair and Executive Committee Member for the Society of Sensory Professionals (SSP) based in Minnesota (United States). Soumi is a trained member of the Australian Olive Oil Sensory Panel (AOOSP) at Wagga Wagga and has had extensive palate training. She frequently travels in and around Australia and New Zealand for various show-judging of olive oils, table olives, honey, dairy and other products. Sharing her STEM knowledge does not always involve sensory science, but that’s the challenge Soumi loves. Volunteering with CSIRO STEM Professionals in Schools, Curious Minds STEM for Girls, Pint of Science and the Australian Virtual Astronaut Challenge in the last few years brought her immense joy and satisfaction. Soumi is currently holding an Adjunct Senior
Lecturer role with University of Newcastle. Soumi is also a professional member of AIFST and is actively involved in various committees/activities. She is an Australian expert on the committee FT 024-06 mirror to ISO/TC34/SC12 in Standards Australia.

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.

Andrew Tilley

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Andrew is an avid food technologist with a passion for product development. He has worked across a variety of food sectors including seafood, horticulture, confectionery, chocolate, small goods, ice-cream, chilled and frozen ready meals and snack foods. After several years in the food industry, Andrew took a lecturing position at Murdoch University, teaching food science and food product development in the new Bachelor of Food Science and Nutrition course.

Dr Victoria Wansink holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) majoring in Microbiology and Parasitology, from the University of Queensland.

After a short stint in Drug Research and Development in a pharmaceutical laboratory, Victoria was awarded a Commonwealth Research Council Australian Postgraduate Scholarship and undertook a PhD, under Prof Graham Fleet, in conjunction with Bundaberg Distilling Company. The title of her dissertation is The microbial ecology of a rum production process. She has a wide variety of experiences including lead laboratory demonstrator at UNSW for Food Microbiology courses and Quality Analyst at 3M Australia – Tecra production facility.

Since 2012 she has worked in the Microbiology Unit of the ACT Government Analytical Laboratory (ACTGAL), where she was appointed Director of Microbiology in 2021.

Her technical expertise in the fields of Public Health Microbiology, food, water and the environment is well recognised. She is a standing member of the Australian Standards Committee responsible for the review and development of Water Microbiology Standards (FT-020), and her expertise in Microbiology and Quality Systems Management has seen her appointed as technical assessor at the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA). In this role Victoria assesses the capacity of other Australian Microbiology laboratories to undertake work to the same international standard to which ACTGAL adheres.

Victoria is actively involved with AIFST, and is serving as the current ACT region Branch Committee Chair.