Our work is shaped by people and sustained through collaboration.
This page brings together those who lead the work, those who pursue the questions, and those who contribute their expertise across research and practice, and across the many roles that support food safety culture inquiry.
Those Who Hold the Work
Our principal investigators and research collaborators provide the intellectual leadership that anchors Food Safety Culture research. This work is held by those who provide intellectual leadership, methodological rigour, and long-term stewardship.
Our principal investigators and core collaborators guide the direction of the research, ensure its integrity, and support the careful translation of evidence into practice across diverse organisational and policy contexts.
Principal Investigators
Co-Lead, Social Science, Department of Food ScienceA behavioural scientist specialising in organisational food safety culture and cross-cultural risk perception. Research focuses on the human dimensions of food systems, applying behavioural insights to foster trust, design effective safety interventions, and strengthen governance across circular and global supply chains.
Co-Lead, Food Safety & Microbiology, Department of Food ScienceAn internationally recognised expert in food safety and microbiology. Research integrates rigorous scientific evidence with practical industry insight to strengthen food safety systems, develop innovative interventions, and support the responsible and resilient growth of New Zealand’s food sector.
Research Collaborators
Associate Director (Operations), New Zealand Food Safety Science & Research CentreA social scientist specialising in food safety culture and ethical leadership.
Research and operational work examine how organisational values and leadership practices influence behaviour and accountability in food safety systems, with a focus on enabling effective collaboration across research, industry, and policy contexts.
Professional Practice Fellow, Food Packaging & Consumer BehaviourA consumer food scientist and packaging technologist specialising in behaviour change, quality management, and food packaging systems. Research focuses on how packaging design, labelling, and quality frameworks shape consumer and industry practices, with particular relevance to the development and maintenance of food safety within complex food supply chains.
Senior Lecturer and Associate Dean Pacific, Department of Human NutritionA researcher specialising in Pacific cultures, Pacific food systems, and Indigenous research methodologies. Work explores culturally grounded approaches to food, health, and knowledge production, with a focus on strengthening Pacific-led perspectives within food safety, nutrition, and community wellbeing contexts.
Associate Professor, Otago Business SchoolA researcher specialising in risk, organisational learning, and complex systems. Research examines how cultural frameworks and latent learning shape safety decision-making in organisational environments. Current work explores Mātauranga Māori perspectives on risk and integrity, offering insights into how safety is understood and enacted within workplace and regulatory contexts.
Associate Professor, Department of ManagementAn applied systems researcher specialising in systems thinking, co-design, and implementation science to address complex challenges. Research integrates participatory methods, stakeholder engagement, and bicultural collaboration to enable sustainable change across organisations and supply chains. Current work advances food safety culture through systemic analysis and collaborative industry networks in Aotearoa.
Margaret Thorsen
Researcher, Food Waste Innovation Team, University of OtagoA dietitian and sustainability researcher with extensive experience across hospitality and food supply chain environments. Research examines sustainable food systems, food waste reduction, and upcycled food innovation, integrating food safety, nutrition, and resource efficiency to support resilient and responsible food production practices.
Lecturer, Department of Food ScienceA food systems researcher specialising in food loss and waste, circular economy, and agricultural supply chains. Research investigates how organisational culture and decision-making shape food safety outcomes and product life cycles, integrating systems analysis with practical interventions to improve sustainability and risk management across production environments.
Maiono Jekope Ramala
Researcher, Indigenous Methodologies & Occupational HealthAn Indigenous scholar-practitioner grounded in iTaukei relational worldviews, specialising in Indigenous methodologies, Pasifika communities, and labour mobility in Aotearoa New Zealand. Research examines occupational health and safety among RSE workers in horticulture and food production, highlighting the interconnections between worker wellbeing, cultural integrity, and food safety standards.