dr. SW (Sara) Erasmus
Universitair docentSara Erasmus started her tenure track position as assistant professor on meat quality and supply chain integrity from August 2021 in the Food Quality and Design group. She is involved as a lecturer with the Food Fraud and Mitigation course and coordinator of the Meat Science course. She is also involved in the EU-China-Safe project, i.e. exchange of food fraud methods with European and Chinese partners to improve food safety and prevent food fraud, as well as the H2020-FNR-05 mEATquality project with the overall aim to provide consumers with quality meat by developing scientific knowledge and novel solutions with farmers and chain partners to address societal demands, environmental concerns and economic needs.
Sara obtained her BSc in Food Science at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. Thereafter, she continued with her MSc which was upgraded to a PhD in Food Science, specialising in Meat Science with the focus of authenticating regionally unique South African lamb. Her research provided valuable scientific evidence for Karoo lamb to be protected as a geographical indication in Europe and South Africa. She is still involved in contributing towards the protection of heritage food products and addressing food fraud related issues in South Africa.
Through her research, she has developed a profound interest in the authentication and integrity of food and believe that food that is produced in a traditional, sustainable manner carries a priceless story and tradition that should be appreciated and protected from fraud and mislabelling.