Dr. Chun-Han Chan

Senior Scientific Officer, Food Allergy Branch, Food Standards Agency

The Food Standards Agency is an independent Government department set up by an Act of Parliament in 2000 to protect public health and consumer interests in relation to food.

Chun-Han studied Human & Applied Biology and Psychology (BSc Comb Hons) at Liverpool Hope before completing an MSc in Medical Microbiology at Manchester University and a PhD in Bacterial Genetics at Imperial College, London. Chun-Han had a career in Australia working on the antimicrobial efficacy of tea tree oil before joining the Food Standards Agency in 2003.

Chun-Han joined the Food Allergy Branch in 2008 to grow a programme of work on the development of allergen management thresholds to inform decisions on the use of precautionary allergen labelling such as “may contain”.

Chun-Han regularly speaks at national and international conferences and workshops on food allergen labelling and allergen thresholds. She also has several peer-reviewed journal papers on these areas outlining the regulators perspective.

She is currently responsible for implementing the food allergen provisions within the EU Food Information for Consumers Regulation and developing advice, guidance and training for enforcement officers, food businesses and consumers. Chun-Han also leads on the provision of risk assessments for the management of food allergy incidents.