Richard is a food safety and quality management specialist with 35 years of work experience. He first started at NRI after obtaining a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Leeds. His work moved into the field of food microbiology at NRI, and his areas of research were the development of rapid diagnostic methods, the study of Listeria monocytogenes in foods, particularly fish and fishery products and the study of traditional fermentation methods. Much of the work was carried out overseas, where he also was also involved in training and capacity building.

From 1994 to 2003, Richard was seconded by the UK Department of International Development to the international Foundation of Science, in Stockholm, Sweden where he was Head of Programme. This organisation awards grants to young researchers in developing countries and also provides a package of other support. His work took him to many countries and he was instrumental in organising workshops and training courses, as well as setting up and supporting networks.

On Richard’s return to NRI, he took on a more active role in teaching and became  Programme Leader for the MSc Applied Food Safety and Quality Management. He also played a key role in the development of an e-learning version of the programme. He delivers a number of modules on the programmes.

Richard’s consultancy work has continued parallel to his teaching. He has managed the NRI contribution to a number of large projects including the ACP/OCT funded Strengthening Fisheries Product Health Conditions programme, and the COLEACP run EDES programme, which aimed to strengthen food security systems in developing countries. Some of this work focused on strengthening the capacity of official testing laboratories and supporting them in the attainment of ISO 17025. More recently, Richard has been working with both the International Potato Centre and the World Health Programme in delivering training.

In his work, Richard has worked with all sectors from Government to small businesses both in the UK and overseas. He has supported small start up companies in the UK through a number of initiatives. He has a proven track record of management and leadership and has managed many successful projects in developing countries.

• Musyoka, J., Abong', G., Mbogo, D., Fuchs, R. Low, J., Heck, S. and Muzhinga, T. (2018) ‘Effects of acidification and preservatives on microbial growth during storage of orange fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) puree’. International Journal of Food Science (Open Access Journal)
• Yusuf, A. B., Fuchs, R. S. and Nicolaides, L. (2017) ‘Consumer acceptability of modified and traditionally produced amala from fermented orange-fleshed sweet potato’. African Journal of Food Science 11, pp 183-188
• Yusuf, A. B., Fuchs, R. S. and Nicolaides, L. (2016) ‘Effect of traditional processing methods on the vitamin (A and C) and trypsin inhibitor contents of orange-fleshed sweet potato for production of amala in Nigeria’. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 96, pp 2472-2477
• Cox, J. and Fuchs, R. (2010) ‘Guide to the Development and Maintenance of Fishery Product Testing Laboratories’.
• Fuchs, R, S. (1999) ‘Listeria monocytogenes – a new microbiological hazard in seafood?’ in Karunasagar, I., Karunasagar, I., and Reilly, A. (eds) Aquaculture and Biotechnology. Oxford and IBH Publishing Co, New Delhi, Calcutta, pp 13-32
• Fuchs, R. S. and Reilly, P. J. A. (1992) ‘The incidence and significance of Listeria monocytogenes in seafoods’, in Huss, H. et al. (eds) Quality Assurance in the Fish Industry. Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam, pp 217-229
• Fuchs, R.S. and Sirvas, S (1991) ‘incidence of Listeria monocytogenes in an acidified fish product, ceviche’. Letters in Applied Microbiology 12, pp 88-90
• Fuchs, R. S. and Surendran, P.K. (1989) ‘Incidence of Listeria in tropical fish and fishery products’. Letters in Applied Microbiology 9, pp 49-51

• Food microbiology Listeria monocytogenes in foods
• Traditional food fermentations
• Improved use of food waste
• Food authenticity and traceability

MSc Applied Food Safety and Quality Management (Programme Leader)

• (FOOD 1025) Food Safety (Module Leader/Lecturer)
• (FOOD 1005) Research Project (Module Leader/Project Supervisor)
• (MICR 1005) Food Microbiology (Module Leader/Lecturer)
• (FOOD 1052) Food Authenticity and Traceability (Module Leader/Lecturer)
• (FOOD 1018) Food Chemistry (Module Leader/Lecturer)
• (FOOD 1016) Laboratory Quality Assurance (Module Leader/Lecturer)
• (FOOD 1051) Managing Pre-requisite Programmes (Module Leader)
• (AGRI 1281) Sustainable Pesticide Management (Module Leader)
• (FOOD 1024) Food Safety and Quality Management (Lecturer)
• (FOOD 1023) Food Preservation (Lecturer)
• (ENVI 1096) Research Methods (Lecturer)

MSc Food Safety and Quality Management (e-learning)

• (FOOD 1042) Food Safety e-learning (Module Leader/Lecturer
• (FOOD 1044) Research Methods (Module Leader/Lecturer
• (FOOD 1045) Applied Food Safety Project (Module Leader/Supervisor)
• (FOOD 1043) Food Safety and Quality Management e-learning (Lecturer)

MSc Food Innovation

• (FOOD 1040) Applied Food Microbiology (Lecturer)
• (FOOD 1050) Food Management (Lecturer)

Undergraduate Programmes (Module taught on a number of programmes)

• (MICR 1009) Microbiology and the Environment (Module Leader/Lecturer)

2008-2014 Studies on the Production of Amala from Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato  (Ipomoeabatatas ) using Traditional and Modified Fermentation Processes (A.Yusuf) (J Crenn)

• NRI representative on Faculty of Engineering and Science Research Ethics Committee
• Member of the University Research Ethics Committee
• Member of various University validation and review panels

• Approved Royal Society of Public Health Food Hygiene and HACCP Trainer
• Qualified Lead Auditor for BRC Global Standard for Food Safety Issue 8
• External Examiner University of Chester
• External Examiner Northumbria University
• Member of the Institute of Food Science and Technology
• Member of Food Hygiene Expert Group