Tiny van Boekel receives Lifetime Achievement Award for his research on food quality

During his 37-year tenure at Wageningen University & Research, Tiny van Boekel served as chairholder for Food Quality & Design and special professor of Dairy Science & Technology. He pioneered research in the field of the complex biochemical transformations food undergoes when processed and stored, shedding light on the impact of these processes on the quality and safety of food products.

Van Boekel was presented with the European Federation of Food Science and Technology (EFFoST) Lifetime Achievement Award for his leadership, vision and pioneering research during its annual international congress on 14 November. The EFFoST is an organisation that facilitates knowledge exchange between food professionals. The federation is part of the International Science Council.

Simulating processing

‘Professor Tiny van Boekel has been the driving force behind developments in the domain of food sciences for decades’, said Prof. Dolores O’Riordan of University College Dublin in her laudation. ‘He enabled the industry to design processes that maximise the health benefits and quality of food by developing models that enable us to simulate how food behaves when being processed.’

Moreover, Van Boekel is honoured for his influence on food technology education. For generations, he supervised PhD research and he developed important courses at the master’s and PhD levels. ‘His publications continue to inspire the international community of food scientists’, O’Riordan stated. During his career, Van Boekel also passionately contributed to the public debate around food safety. He called on other food technologists to take his place when he retired in 2019.

Van Boekel is still connected to Wageningen University & Research as a member of the Committee for Scientific Integrity. In this capacity, he now safeguards fellow scientists’ independence.