KANTHA SHELKE
Kantha Shelke, Ph.D. is a diversified scientist who expedites new product and technology development in the food and nutrition sector. She works at the intersection of food science and application for health and wellness, focusing on the science of food processing, physiology, regulatory clearance, processing trends, commercialization, and the dynamics shaping acceptance and adherence by consumers and markets. Kantha holds an MS and Ph.D. in Food Science & Clinical Nutrition / Cereal Chemistry & Technology, and is the founder and principal at Corvus Blue LLC , a food science and consumer packaged goods development firm.
As a Certified Food Scientist, Kantha provides expert witness services for patent infringement, product recall and FDA and FTC compliance litigations. She produces industry analyses on the mid-market sector ($50 – $500m sales) and has appeared on television, radio, and in print publications as an authority on food history and food science.
Kantha also writes and lectures extensively, with engagingly candid insights in the health, wellness, and business aspects of the food and beverage sector. She is the author of The Global History of Pasta (Reaction Books, 2016) and has written several chapters for The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. In addition, Kantha serves as the editor-at-large for Penton Media’s Functional and Ingredients Nutrition Business Journal, as Science and Technology Editor for Private Label Manufacturers Association’s PLMA Live! video magazine, and as a contributing editor for Prepared Foods magazine.
Kantha has been a member and spokesperson for the Institute of Food Technologies since 1981 and is an adjunct/visiting professor at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and at the MCI Management Center in Innsbruck, Austria. Her previous experience includes senior positions at ACNielsen, Ben & Jerry’s, Continental Baking, and Grand Metropolitan, and faculty positions at various universities including the University of Vermont. She also chaired the Scientific Advisory Board of a global food brand company and advised as Director of the Illinois Global Partnerships, a partnership between the private and government sectors.