Ms. Abigail Rustia is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Home Economics of the University of the Philippines - Diliman. She also acts as the project leader of many government-backed projects including the Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-funded Philippine Food Safety Risk Profiling Project (PRPP).
She has undergone numerous training programs including the Microbiological Risk Assessment Program of the Strengthening ASEAN Risk Assessment Capability to Support Food Safety Measures Project. A member of the ASEAN Expert Group for Mycotoxin Profiles, Ms. Rustia has also spearheaded numerous research and development projects on food safety and food processing technology during her time as the Faculty-in-Charge of the UP Pilot Food Plant — UPD-DOST-NCR Food Innovation Facility from 2015 to 2020. Ms. Rustia has been tapped as a part of technical working groups in the establishment of microbiological criteria for food, amendment of Philippine national standards, and development of food safety risk profiles with the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards (DA-BAFS).