Petra Verhoef is Executive Director of The Netherlands Nutrition Centre, which unlocks scientific knowledge and provides consumers and professionals in the Netherlands with useful advice and tools to promote healthy, sustainable and safe eating patterns. The centre is jointly funded by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture.

Petra Verhoef studied Human Nutrition and obtained a PhD-degree in nutritional epidemiology, both at Wageningen University & Research. Key themes in Petra’s career have been promotion of public health and innovation in the food chain. She worked at Wageningen University & Research, Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Unilever R&D and Rathenau Institute, which informs policy and politics about the responsible use of scientific knowledge and technology for society. Petra has also been municipality councilor in Lansingerland.