Bio Details

Ivonne M.C.M. Rietjens has served as our independent director since August 2023. Dr. Rietjens is also a member of our audit committee and nominating and corporate governance committee. Dr. Rietjens has more than 25 years of experience in food safety. She has been a full professor at Wageningen University since 2001 and is currently head of the division of toxicology. She is an elected member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and the chairperson of the KNAW Scientific Council for Natural Sciences and Engineering. She currently serves as the chairperson of the Expert Panel of the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA) of the United States advising on GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) notifications for new food flavors and is an elected member of the French Academy of Agriculture. She is also a board member of Skal Biocontrole, an independent organization that supervises and certifies the organic food chain in the Netherlands, and a member of the Fonterra Global Food Safety Science Advisory Panel. Previously, she served as the chairperson of the Dutch Society for Toxicology from 1999 to 2005, a member of the Academic Board at Wageningen University from 2012 to 2017, and a member of the Supervisory Board of Royal Wessanen BV. She was also an active member of several committees on food and occupational safety, including panels and working groups of the European Food Safety Authority and the Dutch Health Council. From 2013 to 2021, she was a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the National Institute of Public Health & Hygiene (RIVM). Dr. Rietjens received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in molecular life sciences from Wageningen University and her Ph.D. degree in toxicology from Wageningen University.