Markus Lipp, Ph.D., is the Senior Food Safety Officer at the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Dr. Lipp leads the food safety work within the Food Systems and Food Safety Division at FAO, coordinating FAO's efforts to provide chemical and microbiological food safety risk assessments and capacity development to strengthen national capacities for food safety.

Dr. Lipp previously worked in various public and private organizations focusing on a myriad of topics related to food safety, biotechnology, and standards-setting, including the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP), the International Bottled Water Association, Monsanto, Unilever, and the European Commission. Dr. Lipp holds a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from the University of Karlsruhe in Germany.


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In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with Dr. Lipp  [19:11] about:

  • The ways in which a country’s regulatory capacity and traditional cuisine determines its unique food safety challenges and priorities
  • Some of the pressing chemical and microbiological hazards that are affecting food systems around the world
  • The rippling effects of climate change, such as increased aflatoxin contamination, and how a nation’s economic stability and geography relate to its climate resilience
  • The balance between food safety and food security, including conflicting factors
  • The importance of recognizing the boundaries of global food systems and collectively working to ensure food safety goals by engaging in nuanced discussions about such boundaries
  • Reaching consumers through effective risk communication that considers the personal and emotional nature of food
  • Why it is difficult to clearly define “food fraud,” and why international collaboration is important to combatting fraud in an increasingly complex, global food system
  • FAO and the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) joint work to achieve their overlapping goals, such as developing food safety standards through the Codex Alimentarius Commission.


News and Resources:

FSIS Reports 75 Percent Reduction of Salmonella in Poultry [2:28]

Senate Mandates FDA to Ensure Infant Formula Safety, Supply [7:48]

FSIS Releases HACCP Model for Raw, Liquid Egg Products [10:38]

FDA Issues Final Guidance on Systems Recognition Arrangements [11:09]

GFSI Exclusive Interview: FAO Food Safety Head Talks Collaboration, Sustainability

FAO Publishes Paper on Regulatory Strategies to Counter Food Fraud


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