Markus Mosa, chief executive of German food retail group Edeka, has been named as the new chairman of food safety certification body Qualität und Sicherheit (QS).
The appointment marks the end of rival retailer Rewe's presidency of QS, a role which has now been passed to Edeka.
Mr Mosa, who has also been appointed to the association's board of trustees, succeeds Josef Sanktjohanser, who has carried out the role of chairman since 2007.
Mr Mosa commented: 'We are all aware that the reliability of food is one of the major industry issues and always will be. I therefore look forward to working with QS.'
QS currently provides food safety and quality assurance services for more than 22,000 companies operating in the fresh produce sector.
