Chris Elliot

Christopher Elliott is a professor of food safety and microbiology at Queen's University Belfast and founder of the university's Institute for Global Food Security. He led the independent review of the UK food system after the 2013 horse meat scandal.

Early life and education Christopher Trevor Elliott grew up in Northern Ireland, initially in Belfast and then moved with his family to his grandparents’ farm where he enjoyed working and gained experience with farm animals. He left school at 16 with few qualifications. He got a job as a laboratory assistant at a government research institute that encouraged staff to improve their knowledge. After several years of part-time and evening study he was able to enroll for a degree in medical biological sciences at Ulster University. He later gained a PhD for his work on developing tests for the illegal use of growth promoting drugs in farm animals, and implementing a monitoring programme.

Career Elliott initially worked in a government institute that undertook research into animal health and behaviour. Starting at a very low level, he was promoted into roles involving virology and later veterinary testing. He reached the position of Principle Scientific Officer when he was 35. His doctoral work on testing and monitoring for the illegal use of clenbuterol as a growth promotor in animal husbandry developed into a system that was used worldwide. In around 2000, he moved to Queen's University Belfast to develop a food and agricultural science department. By 2013 he had persuaded the university to form an Institute of Global Food Security, the first with this name in the British Isles, and became its first director. This led to establishment of a National Food Crime Unit within the Food Standards Agency in 2015 supported by industry as well as government. He is a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 2015 he received an award from the BBC Food and Farming awards. In 2022 he was the guest on the BBC Radio 4 programme The Life Scientific.

Publications Elliott is the author or co-author of over 600 scientific papers as well as official reports and reviews.