Rashed Alarfaj: Advancing Food Safety, Sustainability, and Aviation Leadership in Saudi Arabia

With a distinguished career spanning academia, regulatory science, and executive leadership, Dr. Rashed Alarfaj is one of Saudi Arabia’s leading experts in food safety, risk assessment, and operational governance. As Executive Vice President of Inflight Catering at CATRION, he plays a key role in shaping large-scale hospitality and aviation catering operations while driving sustainability, quality, and safety standards across the Kingdom.

Leading Large-Scale Aviation Catering Operations

Dr. Rashed Alarfaj currently serves as Executive Vice President – Inflight Catering at CATRION, where he oversees inflight catering, hospitality, and SkySales operations across multiple cities including Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Madinah, and Cairo. Managing a business volume exceeding 2 billion SAR, he is responsible for shaping operational strategy, service quality, and enterprise-level performance across the aviation catering sector.

His leadership focuses on integrating sustainability, food safety, hygiene, quality systems, and risk management into every aspect of operations, ensuring world-class service standards in a highly regulated and safety-critical industry.

A Career Built on Science, Regulation, and Risk Excellence

Before his current executive role, Dr. Rashed served for over 14 years at the Saudi Food and Drug Authority, where he held senior positions including Executive Director of Monitoring and Risk Assessment. In this role, he contributed to strengthening national food safety frameworks, laboratory accreditation systems, and risk-based regulatory policies.

His expertise spans food risk analysis, ISO quality systems, HACCP implementation, and regulatory compliance, along with international representation in organizations such as WTO, EFSA, and GCC forums.

He also serves on multiple advisory councils, including King Saud University and Jazan University, contributing to academic development in food science, nutrition, and biochemistry.

Academic Excellence and Global Research Contributions

Dr. Alarfaj holds a PhD in Food Science and Technology from the University of Reading, along with a Master’s degree in Food Technology and Quality Assurance and a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from King Saud University.

His academic and research contributions include publications on food safety risk analysis, microplastics in drinking water, and crop quality assessment using advanced genetic methodologies. He is also an active reviewer for international scientific journals such as Food Control.

Leadership Across Sustainability and Human Capital Development

Beyond his technical expertise, Dr. Alarfaj is recognized for his leadership in sustainability, CSR, business continuity, and talent development. He has served in multiple executive and advisory roles, including VP of Health, Security and Standards Control at Saudi Airlines Catering Company, where he led initiatives in hygiene, safety, laboratory management, and enterprise risk governance.

He is also an active member of professional bodies such as the Global Food Regulatory Science Society (GFoRSS) and the American Society for Quality (ASQ).

Recognition by Saudi Leaders

Saudi Leaders proudly recognizes Rashed Alarfaj for his outstanding contributions to food safety, aviation catering leadership, and scientific regulatory excellence. His work continues to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s global standing in food safety systems, aviation services, and sustainable operational governance.