Dr Mary Flynn
Dr Mary Flynn is a public health nutritionist and a Registered Dietitian (DI 011691). As the first Chief Specialist to be appointed in Public Health Nutrition at the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, she established a team of nutritional scientists and pioneered the integration of nutrition with food safety for consumer protection.
Throughout her career she has led multidisciplinary teams in tackling some of the biggest challenges posed by obesity and related chronic diseases in Ireland, Canada and the Middle East. She has implemented innovative prevention and treatment programs reducing risk of heart disease and diabetes for people of all ages and from diverse backgrounds.
Currently Mary’s international work includes leading the development of nutrient reference standards for infants and young children at Codex Alimentarius (WHO and FAO of the UN). In addition, she leads Ireland’s work on reformulation of processed foods towards healthier options in Europe (EU funded Best ReMaP 2020 – 2023).
Mary was an Expert Advisor on the development of Health Canada’s new Food Guide in 2019 and in 2014, she was awarded the inaugural medal for excellence in Public Health Nutrition by the Nutrition Society in the UK.
Passionately interested in the positive effects food and nutrition have on health, Mary is a rigorous scientist who is regularly invited to present at national and international meetings.
She has over 100 scientific publications and her work on childhood obesity has been recognized by the WHO. Comfortable and enthusiastic when outlining the complexity of her work for scientific peer review, she also excels at presenting the simple ‘bottom line’ to inform consumers. She is a regular contributor to broadcast and print media – including consumer phone-ins, debates and news sound bites.
