Food Defense

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Artificial Intelligence (AI), while offering remarkable advancements in various fields, also presents a paradoxical threat, especially when misused. 

A recent study has mapped the edible insect supply chain to identify the main points for potential food safety hazards and food fraud, and concluded that, in general, substantial food safety and authenticity gaps need to be addressed before edible insects can be considered safe and sustainable protein sources for Western markets.

This article explores the benefits offered by "beneficial" artificial intelligence (AI) as applied to the food and beverage industry and specifically to food safety practices. It discusses relevant elements of President Biden's October 2023 Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence, as well as the Department of Defense's June 2023 Data, Analytics, and Artificial Intelligence Adoption Strategy, and what these documents mean to AI applications in food safety.

The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has published a guidance for businesses on how to spot and prevent food crime.

For those leading the food and beverage industry, there is tremendous opportunity for growth—but with growth comes risks that can negatively impact operations, profitability, and reputation.

With regard to the recently recalled, lead-contaminated applesauce packages that have caused lead poisoning among dozens of children, Jim Jones, Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), recently shared that the agency’s leading theory is economically motivated adulteration of cinnamon used in the products.

This article provides a future-oriented perspective on comprehensive food safety programs that harness multi-layered sensor technology and artificial intelligence (AI). The program described begins with biosurveillance at the producer level and seamlessly extends to the retail food sector.

A protocol for the collection of honey reference samples for the creation of authenticity databases has been developed by the UK Government. Honey is one of the food commodities most subject to food fraud.

Scientists have developed a small, easy-to-produce, and cost effective sensor that can detect water adulteration of honey, a commodity that is often the subject of fraudulent food production practices.

Europol has drawn attention to an increasing trend of food fraudsters relabeling expired goods after operation OPSON Europe—a Europol-INTERPOL joint operation targeting fake and substandard food and beverages—found relabeled expired products at an “unprecedented scale.” Overall, €30 million euros worth of illicit foods weighing 8,000 tons were seized between December 2022 and April 2023.