About IFoRAC
Engineering better food decisions
An independent scientific organization connecting risk assessment, data and human judgement to practical action
The International Food Risk Analysis Consortium, IFoRAC, develops and applies Food Decision Engineering to help governments, international organizations and food-system actors make better decisions under uncertainty.
We bring together expertise in risk assessment, quantitative modelling, decision science, economics, artificial intelligence, governance and capacity development.
Science. Data. Human judgement. Practical action.
Science designed for decisions
IFoRAC is an independent, science-driven organization working at the interface between evidence and action.
Our role is not limited to producing technical assessments. We help organizations identify the decisions that matter, assemble the relevant evidence, compare feasible options, manage uncertainty and develop practical pathways to implementation and measurable impact.
IFoRAC collaborates with risk assessors, risk managers, regulators, laboratories, universities, economists, data scientists, international experts and food-system actors.
This multidisciplinary model enables us to assemble the expertise required for each decision rather than apply the same solution to every problem.
IFoRAC exists to close the gap between what food-safety science can tell us and what organizations need to decide.
Food systems need better-engineered decision systems
Governments and food-system organizations have access to more evidence than ever: risk assessments, surveillance, laboratory results, inspections, consumption surveys, scientific publications, climate indicators and supply-chain data.
However, evidence is often distributed across different systems, institutions and disciplines. Scientific advice may not be connected to implementation, feasibility, cost, food security, sustainability or monitoring.
At the same time, decision-makers must respond to:
- Persistent foodborne disease burdens
- Climate-sensitive and emerging hazards
- Changing production and supply chains
- Novel foods and production technologies
- Antimicrobial resistance
- Limited public resources
- Complex interactions between safety, nutrition, sustainability and trade
- Growing demands for transparency and accountability
Food Decision Engineering is IFoRAC’s response to this decision-system gap.
Our mission and vision
Our mission
To advance and apply Food Decision Engineering so that governments, international organizations and food-system actors can transform evidence, uncertainty and competing objectives into transparent, implementable and measurable decisions.
Our vision
A world in which important food-system decisions are scientifically informed, proportionate, transparent, adaptive and evaluated by their impact, regardless of whether an organization has advanced data systems or limited information.
Our purpose
Better food decisions. Stronger food systems. Measurable public value.
Food Decision Engineering
Food Decision Engineering—or FDE—is the interdisciplinary field dedicated to designing, integrating and continuously improving the systems that enable organizations to make better food-related decisions under uncertainty.
Risk assessment remains a central scientific foundation. FDE connects it with data, expert knowledge, governance, decision tools, implementation and institutional learning.
Our work begins with five questions:
- What decision must be made?
- Who owns the decision?
- What evidence should inform it?
- Which options, uncertainties and trade-offs must be considered?
- How will the decision be implemented, evaluated and improved?
From scientific analysis to institutional capability
Food Decision Missions
Focused engagements that bring evidence, expertise and stakeholders around one priority food-system decision.
Explore Food Decision Missions
Decision-ready risk assessment
Microbiological, chemical, exposure, risk-benefit and trade-off assessments designed around the decisions they must support.
Food Decision Engineering tools
Decision briefs, prioritization models, dashboards, interactive applications and AI-assisted workflows that make decisions more transparent and repeatable.
Capacity building
Applied learning, mentoring and institutional development that enable partners to progressively internalize Food Decision Engineering.
Scientific collaboration
Multidisciplinary and international partnerships that connect expertise, institutions and perspectives around complex food-system challenges.
Partner with IFoRAC
Leadership and Scientific Advisors
Dr. Moez Sanaa - Founder and CEO
Greg Paoli - Co-Founder and Senior Risk Analysis Advisor
Greg Paoli - Co-Founder and Senior Risk Analysis Advisor
Dr. Moez Sanaa
Founder and CEO
Moez Sanaa is a food-safety and risk-analysis expert with extensive experience in international scientific cooperation, quantitative risk assessment and capacity development.
Before founding IFoRAC, he served at the World Health Organization, where he led and supported international initiatives in food-safety risk assessment, scientific advice and risk-analysis capacity building.
His work focuses on translating scientific evidence into practical decisions, institutional capability and measurable public-health impact.
Greg Paoli - Co-Founder and Senior Risk Analysis Advisor
Greg Paoli - Co-Founder and Senior Risk Analysis Advisor
Greg Paoli - Co-Founder and Senior Risk Analysis Advisor
Greg Paoli
Co-Founder and Senior Risk Analysis Advisor
Greg Paoli is CEO and Principal Risk Scientist at Risk Sciences International, which he co-founded in 2006.
His work focuses on applied risk science, quantitative modelling and the design of risk-informed decision systems for government, industry and public-interest organizations.
He contributes expertise in problem formulation, uncertainty analysis and risk-based decision-making.
Pr. William Chen - Co-Founder and Senior Scientific Advisor
Pr. William Chen - Co-Founder and Senior Scientific Advisor
Pr. William Chen - Co-Founder and Senior Scientific Advisor
Professor William Chen
Co-Founder and Senior Scientific Advisor
William Chen is the Michael Fam Endowed Professor and Director of the Food Science and Technology Programme at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
He also serves as Director of the Singapore Future Ready Food Safety Hub and the Singapore Agri-food Innovation Lab.
His work connects food science, safety, sustainability and innovation, particularly in relation to emerging food technologies and future food systems.
Pr. Samuel Godefroy - Co-Founder and Senior Codex Advisor
Pr. William Chen - Co-Founder and Senior Scientific Advisor
Pr. William Chen - Co-Founder and Senior Scientific Advisor
Professor Samuel Godefroy
Co-Founder and Senior Codex Advisor
Samuel Godefroy is Professor of Food Risk Analysis and Regulatory Policies and Director of the Food Risk Analysis Platform at Université Laval in Canada.
He is also the founder and president of the Global Food Regulatory Science Society.
His work focuses on food regulatory science, international standards, Codex processes and the development of sustainable food-safety capacity.