State agriculture officials gathered on September 13–16 in Portland, Maine for the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture’s (NASDA’s) 2026 Annual Meeting, which brought together state commissioners, directors, and secretaries of agriculture.
Taking place October 13–15, 2026 in State College, Pennsylvania, the opportunity is geared toward those developing in-house food safety programs who want to enhance their knowledge of the science and technology of cleaning, sanitizing, and pest control.
Penn State Extension will offer a series of in-person and virtual training sessions for Pennsylvania fruit and vegetable growers on the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule (PSR), Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs), and the co-management of natural resources and food safety.
The Hiperbaric Global Roadshow Oklahoma, hosted by Oklahoma State University’s Robert M. Kerr Food and Agricultural Products Center (FAPC) in September, will showcase FAPC’s newly installed Hiperbaric 55 high-pressure processing (HPP) system and connect attendees with technical and academic food safety experts.
The growing role of data and technology in food safety was a prominent topic throughout the meeting. Sessions addressed AI-powered pathogen detection, data governance, genomics, microbiome mapping, and new approaches to recall management and consumer education.
The event will explore whether organizational investment in food safety culture has made a tangible impact on outcomes. FDA has also posted video recordings of past Food Safety Culture webinars and whitepapers summarizing each webinar.
The August 26 event will address high-value AI use cases, lessons learned from implementation efforts, and organizational, technical, and workforce considerations that can influence successful adoption.
Intended for professional sanitarians, food safety leaders, hygienic design specialists, and managers working in low-moisture food manufacturing, the event will take place October 26–27, 2026 in Beloit, Wisconsin.
Organized by a team from Wageningen University and Research, the inaugural AI for Food Safety Conference (AIFS) is set to take place on April 8–9, 2027 in Ede, the Netherlands.
The inaugural “Cultivate: Leadership Growth Lab” will be held November 5–6, 2026, in Lexington, Kentucky. The two-day, collaborative event is designed to meet the food production sector’s need for leadership development.
