Artificial Intelligence for Food Safety Management, now available on FAO YouTube
FAO hosted a technical seminar on “Artificial Intelligence (AI) for food safety” on 6 November 2024, with over 1000 attendees both online and in-person. The video recording of the event, held in FAO HQ, is now available on FAO YouTube channels.
The aim of the event was to explore the current state of AI technology and its potential to play a critical role in the area of food safety, along with its benefits and drawbacks.
Organized and chaired by Masami Takeuchi, FAO Food Safety Officer, the seminar took its cue from the literature synthesis that FAO is compiling in collaboration with the Wageningen Food Safety Research (WFSR), on the practical applications of AI in food safety management. Therefore, the discussions focused on AI applications in areas such as bacterial phenotyping, food recall management, outbreak prediction, and antimicrobial resistance.
Erik van Ingen, Digital Agriculture and Innovation Specialist at the FAO Office of Innovation, outlined FAO's progress in AI adoption. He highlighted FAO’s early commitment to AI ethics, starting in February 2020 as one of the first signatories of the Rome Call for AI Ethics alongside Microsoft, IBM, and the Holy See. He introduced the concept of AI self-governance and FAO’s five internal principles for responsible AI. The FAO AI Community of Practice is thriving, with over 600 members actively engaged. FAO is leveraging generative AI, including Large Language Models, to enhance internal operations and integrating this as a capability for the transition to sustainable agrifood systems. Additionally, FAO plays a key role in the UN AI for Humanity initiative and the UN Inter-Agency Working Group on Artificial Intelligence.
Floor Van Meer, senior researcher at WFSR and co-author of the WFSR-FAO joint literature review, said: “My biggest message would be to invest in AI and data management literacy in order to make informed decisions on when and how to use AI”. At the same time, Masami's core messages focused on the importance of responsible use of AI, as well as data quality, as she stated: "We cannot stress enough about having good data" and how the "responsible use of AI is something that we have to keep in mind".
Drawing on their experience, experts from competent authorities such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States of America, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale (IZS) of Italy showcased the innovative use to which AI is put in the field of food safety management, through illustrative examples offering insights and key considerations for regulatory authorities.
Markus Lipp, FAO Senior Food Safety Officer, closed the event highlighting the importance of keeping the communication on AI living, by intensifying and ameliorating collaborations and investments on AI.
The hybrid seminar recording can be viewed online at the following link: