Professor Hettie Schönfeldt, an internationally recognised expert in nutrition from the University of Pretoria (UP), appointment as a member of the Steering Committee of the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE-FSN) for 2025-2027 has been renewed.

She holds the SARChI Chair in Nutrition and Food Security at UP and Hub Chair for the United Nations Academic Impact Sustainable Development Goal 3 (UNAI SDG 3) – Good Health and Well-being.

“It is indeed a great honour to be reselected to this elite group of 15 experts from around the world to serve for another term on the HLPE-FSN for another term. My second term is continuous and starts after the UN Committee on Food Security (CFS) Plenary session from 20 to 24 October. Working alongside scientific minds to produce excellent narrative outputs regarding Food and Nutrition Security is an exciting opportunity. Due processes were followed, and after a one-month non-objection procedure, the CFS Bureau's selection became definitive. This is a collaborative opportunity to increase UP’s visibility. I appreciate the continuous support I have received from my team and UP,” she concluded.

Prof Schönfeldt is a renowned expert in nutrition, with specialisations including the role of animal products in the diet, nutrient composition and bioavailability, food sampling for analysis, biodiversity in nutrition, sustainable food systems, food security, consumer economics, and consumer perceptions.

She is a passionate advocate for nutrition research, promoting excellence through generating, translating, and disseminating evidence-based knowledge into policies, programmes, and training initiatives nationally and internationally. Her research emphasises the critical importance of country-specific food composition data for interpreting dietary outcomes and informing public health strategies, while also examining how consumers make economic and dietary choices.

Among her notable milestones, she was invited to serve as Chief Rapporteur at the FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on Protein Requirements for Human Health in Auckland, New Zealand (2011), emphasising protein availability to reduce protein-energy malnutrition in children and meet the needs of an ageing population. She contributed to evaluating the FAO’s global Nutrition work, recommending the expansion of the Nutrition Division, and co-directed the ARUA Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Food Systems.