By Professor Anne Perera is a Food and Nutrition Consultant who has been named on the UK honours list with two other Sri Lankans.
Dr Anne Perera, based in St Johns, Auckland, has been acknowledged for her exceptional services to food science, nutrition, and the community.
Being on the UK Honours List is a high distinction, meaning one has been formally recognized by the British government for exceptional service or achievement. It’s a way of publicly acknowledging outstanding contributions made by individuals from all walks of life, across various fields.
She has many years of experience working in several countries around the world. Anne has a BSc (Hons) in Agriculture from the University of Ceylon (Peradeniya)/Sri Lanka (1969), a Masters degree in Food Technology from the FAO International Food Technology Training Centre (IFTTC) at the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) in Mysore India and a PhD in Food & Nutrition from Oregon State University in USA. It was while in the USA that she got married.
With her husband, Dr Conrad Perera, Anne went to Brazil in 1977 to help set up a new department of Food Science and Technology at the State University of Londrina, Parana. Their son, Conrad Jr. was born in Brazil and when he was almost four years old, they immigrated to New Zealand in 1981 where they have worked for food companies, universities and Crown Research Institutes. She has co-authored “Nutrition 2000” published by Longman Paul, New Zealand in 1994, for which she received the Nutrition Writer of the Year award and also “Hot Potatoes & Cool Bananas” published by SNP International in Singapore in 2007, and she has contributed book chapters to several academic textbooks.
Anne completed an Executive MBA at Massey University in New Zealand in 1993. From the year 2000 both Conrad & Anne had the opportunity to work in Singapore during which time she also completed a Diploma in Counselling Psychology at the Lee Community College in Singapore. Anne writes poems as a hobby and in 2002 Anne received a Merit Award for a poem from the International Society of Poets (ISP) in which she is a Distinguished Member.
Anne has served on executive committees of several professional, ethnic and community organisations. She has been active in several voluntary organizations and is currently serving on a project sponsored by Volunteer Service Abroad (VSA) New Zealand.
