More Than 3,200 Food Safety Professionals Gathered at IAFP 2026 in New Orleans
Image credit: IAFP
More than 3,200 food safety professionals from around the world gathered in New Orleans, Louisiana, for the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) 2026 Annual Meeting, held July 26–29, 2026.
Attendees represented 47 countries, 48 U.S. states, nine Canadian provinces, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. Over four days, researchers, regulators, industry professionals, and public health experts discussed established and emerging food safety challenges, including those related to new technologies, evolving regulations, and increasingly complex global supply chains.
IAFP 2026 featured more than 1,000 presentations, including 64 symposia, 29 roundtable sessions, more than 150 technical sessions, and more than 700 poster presentations.
Data, Technology, and Emerging Food Safety Risks
The growing role of data and technology in food safety was a prominent topic throughout the meeting. Sessions addressed artificial intelligence (AI)-powered pathogen detection, data governance, genomics, microbiome mapping, and new approaches to recall management and consumer education.
Other sessions covered Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), water safety, foodborne outbreaks, and regulatory compliance.
IAFP President Manpreet Singh, Ph.D. welcomed attendees during the Opening Session. Economist Gregory Astill, Ph.D. and Elizabeth Bihn, Ph.D., Director of the Produce Safety Alliance at Cornell University, served as the 2026 Ivan Parkin lecturers. Their interactive presentation, “An Engaging Exchange: Distilling Data for Impact,” focused on how food safety professionals can evaluate and use data to inform decisions across science, business, and policy.
The Opening Session also recognized four Fellow Award recipients; five Travel Award recipients from health or agriculture departments in North America; three Travel Award recipients from countries with developing economies; and 20 Student Travel Scholarship recipients. The travel awards were funded by the IAFP Foundation.
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U.S. Food Safety Regulatory Update
Monday’s program included the “U.S. Regulatory Update on Food Safety,” featuring Donald Prater, D.V.M., Acting Deputy Commissioner for Food at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Mindy Brashears, Ph.D., Under Secretary for Food Safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The session addressed the changing U.S. food safety regulatory environment and the agencies' current priorities.
On Wednesday, Ruth Petran, Ph.D., Principal and Founder of Ruth Petran Consulting LLC and Senior Advisor with The Acheson Group, delivered the John H. Silliker Lecture, “From Fundamentals to Frontiers: A Consultant’s Guide to Tackling Food Safety Risks.”
Representatives from 164 companies also exhibited equipment, technologies, and food safety services during the Annual Meeting.
IAFP 2026 Awards and Recorded Sessions
IAFP 2026 concluded with an awards banquet recognizing 26 individuals and organizations for their contributions to food safety. The meeting closed with the traditional gavel presentation to incoming IAFP President Manan Sharma, Ph.D.
Most sessions from IAFP 2026 were recorded and have been made available at no additional cost to registered attendees. Individuals who did not register for the meeting can purchase access to the collection of recorded sessions for $200.
IAFP 2027 will take place in Kansas City, Missouri. Registration is scheduled to open in December 2026.
