On November 6, 2024, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) will hold a hybrid technical seminar on artificial intelligence (AI) for food safety. The event will be held at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, and will also be streamed via Microsoft Teams.

Registration for the online stream is open to anyone who would like to attend.  

The seminar will explore the current state of AI, and its benefits and drawbacks in relation to its use for food safety applications. Insights shared during the event will be drawn from a literature review being conducted by FAO and Wageningen Food Safety Research on the practical applications of AI in food safety management. The anticipated food safety applications of AI include bacterial phenotyping, food recall management, inspection aid, outbreak prediction, emerging pathogens, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Additionally, experts from global authorities including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA), and the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale (IZS) of Italy will present case studies illustrating the innovative use of AI in food safety. The seminar will also discuss key considerations for competent authorities who would like to take a stepwise approach in developing AI tools for food safety management.