The 2022 Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Conference, which took place March 29–31, brought hundreds of food safety professionals together to discuss this year’s theme of Delivering Impact for Safe Sustainable Food. Leaders from 50 nations were in attendance, including individuals representing the Coalition of Action of the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), United Nations (UN) agencies, regulatory groups, and the food industry. The first in-person GFSI conference in two years took place in Barcelona, a port city, which is reminiscent of the shifts in the global supply chain that are impacting ports and other shipping hubs. Speakers discussed these shifts, among other topics, in plenaries, breakouts, and other sessions, collaborating on solutions for food safety issues that both predated and arose because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The conference’s theme of Delivering Impact for Safe Sustainable Food reflected GFSI’s commitment to sustainability as a CGF member. The plenary “Breaking the Silos Between Food Safety and Sustainability” addressed challenges the industry has faced in trying to reconcile food safety and sustainability. In this session and others, experts addressed opportunities to simultaneously prioritize food safety and combatting issues such as climate change, food waste, and plastic pollution.