World Food Prize awarded to food safety scientist

Dutch Scientist Awarded World Food Prize for Pioneering Food Safety Standards

A Netherlands-based scientist whose work revolutionized global food processing safety has been honored with the prestigious World Food Prize, organizers announced Wednesday. Huub Lelieveld received the award for his six-decade career that has prevented millions of foodborne illnesses and significantly reduced food waste worldwide.

“I just did what I thought was right,” Lelieveld told The Associated Press in an interview following the announcement. “I want everybody to have enough food but… it should also be safe.”

The award recognizes Lelieveld’s transformative approach to food safety that began during his early career as a researcher at consumer goods giant Unilever. When he started, Lelieveld found existing food manufacturing safety protocols deeply flawed.

“I realized very soon that they did things in the wrong way, in my view,” Lelieveld explained. “From the beginning, I’ve been working on… convincing people that you should do it in a different way.”

At that time, food processing relied heavily on post-production sterilization or chemical preservation. Equipment required frequent shutdowns for cleaning—a time-consuming and inefficient process. Manufacturers depended on high levels of preservatives, salt, sugar and acids to reduce contamination risks, which compromised both flavor and nutritional value.

Working with colleagues, Lelieveld developed revolutionary hygienic production methods and equipment that made food manufacturing more efficient while reducing reliance on chemical preservatives. In a notable act of corporate responsibility, Unilever permitted Lelieveld to publish his groundbreaking research, allowing these improved techniques to spread globally.

“My philosophy was: You should not compete on food safety,” Lelieveld said. “Spreading the technology, the hygienic technology, was very important.”

The impact of unsafe food remains substantial worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, contaminated food causes approximately 600 million illnesses and 420,000 deaths annually—figures that would be significantly higher without advances like those Lelieveld championed.

“Lelieveld was selected for translating food safety science into global regulations, legislation and practice, a movement spanning dozens of countries,” said Gebisa Ejeta, chair of the Laureate selection committee. “His initiatives are estimated to have benefited millions of consumers worldwide.”

After four decades at Unilever, Lelieveld founded the Global Harmonization Initiative (GHI) in 2004, an organization dedicated to promoting consensus in food safety and trade regulations internationally. The nonprofit leverages a network of thousands of scientists to address critical food security challenges and advance food safety education globally.

“GHI is extremely useful because it has this enormous pool of knowledge about food safety and food protection,” Lelieveld noted.

The Iowa-based World Food Prize, which includes a $500,000 award, was established by Norman Borlaug, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his work addressing global hunger through increased crop yields.

“Lelieveld lives by his conviction that access to safe food is a universal right—a philosophy shared by the late Dr. Norman Borlaug,” said Mashal Husain, World Food Prize Foundation president.

Looking ahead, Lelieveld sees significant challenges remaining in ensuring universal access to safe food and water. He advocates for developing systems that enable local production of safe food and water, particularly in regions where cross-border transport may be restricted.

“You can’t stop the transport of water through the air, with the clouds,” he said. “You can produce safe water everywhere, but we need to distribute this knowledge to the people that need it and that is the biggest challenge.”

Lelieveld’s work has fundamentally altered how the global food industry approaches safety, creating lasting systems that continue to protect consumers while making nutritious food more accessible worldwide.