The Peanut to Plate Journey

Dan O’Connor has been involved with peanuts in both a research and commercial capacity for the past 13 years with Bega Foods and the Peanut Company of Australia. He has been closely aligned with Australian peanuts growers in the development of new varieties, agronomy and ensuring good quality seed for planting each season. His research experience has been in plant breeding, near infrared spectroscopy for peanut quality traits and the development of new speed breeding technologies. This has also involved communicating research to growers on a regular basis, university students and international researchers at domestic and international conferences. When Dan isn’t chasing peanuts around the paddock he is chasing cricket balls and coaching junior cricketers with the Nanango Scorpions cricket team.

Emma Stirling, Advanced APD, is the Director of Scoop Nutrition consultancy and an academic specialising in food science, gastronomy and culinary nutrition. Emma is recognised as one of Australia’s innovative, entrepreneurial and leading Accredited Practising Dietitians in the areas of food and culinary nutrition and effective nutrition communication. An early pioneer of social media her blog Scoop Nutrition won the prestigious BUPA Best Healthy Eating Blog award 2014  along with establishing mentoring for over 30 dietitians and over 100 members of the Storehouse Blog Directory. She is a well-recognised media commentator and nutrition writer and published her first academic textbook, Understanding the Science of Food: From molecules to mouthfeel. Emma has recently joined ACU as Senior Lecturer and Course Coordinator – Culinary Nutrition Science Lead.

Inga Baselier is the Sensory & Consumer Scientist at Bega Cheese working to ensure that consumer needs and experiences are translated into tangible wining products. Having worked across both academia and food industry, Inga understands the necessity and challenges of leveraging the latest sensory research and innovation to develop and implement best practice consumer centric designs within a rapidly evolving commercial environment.

She has a passion for travel and food culture, with a typical overseas visit always involving an exploratory trip to the local supermarket to peruse the different products. Inga has studied at both Wageningen University (The Netherlands) and Deakin University (Australia) and holds a bachelor’s degree with honours in Food Science & Nutrition.