Prof. Ryk Lues, a highly acclaimed Food Safety Professor and Director of the Centre for Applied Food Sustainability and Biotechnology (CAFSaB).

Professor Ryk Lues is a highly acclaimed Food Safety Professor and Director of the renowned Centre for Applied Food Sustainability and Biotechnology (CAFSaB) at the Central University of Technology, with his exceptional expertise in social-behavioural aspects impacting food safety, organisational food safety culture, and food safety innovations, he has made a name for himself in the field.

CAFSaB is a comprehensive research centre with niche areas in human-behavioural aspects of food safety, functional fermentations, food-ethnobotany interactions, antimicrobial resistance and tolerance, food waste, water quality, and vulnerable food environments, making it one of the leading centres for food sustainability research.

Lues has lectured and supervised at Masters and Doctoral levels and published extensively on food safety-related topics. He has also lectured and moderated modules in Food Toxicology and the online Master’s in Food Safety at Michigan State University and the University of Mauritius.

Lues has been appointed as an external/independent assessor for food-related academic entities, institutions, and commercial ventures nationally and internationally, a testament to his exceptional reputation in the field. 

In addition to research, lecturing and advising, he has resourced, initiated, and led a number of innovation and commercialisation initiatives, including the DST Regional Innovation Forum of the Free State (RIFFS), the CSIR-TLIU Lejweleputswa Innovation Platform (LEAP) and the TIA waste to Poly-Lactic Acid proof of concept project.

He has also been the principal applicant to several innovation projects in collaboration with CUT Innovation Services. These projects have generated R25 million in stream income to the CUT from organisations such as SETAs, THENSA, and the Irish Embassy. He is also a co-holder of four copyrighted beverage products and has initiated and participated in spin-out initiatives such as Food Safety Culture Solutions and CUTBRu craft brewery.

Prof.  Lues is an expert in food safety and is widely recognised for his exceptional reputation in the field.He has made significant contributions to the area of Food Safety Culture. He has worked with various South African food industry organisations to help them establish and maintain an effective food safety culture. He is a highly sought-after advisor and expert witness in local and international interest class action litigation. He has been appointed an external/independent assessor for food-related academic entities, institutions, and commercial ventures nationally and internationally.

In his career in academia, he held various senior positions, including Head of the Department, Director of School, Acting Dean, Research Manager, and a two-term member of Senate and Council. He has also been a vice president of the South African Association of Food Science and Technology (SAAFoST) and an NRF-rated scientist in the Y and C categories since 2001.