Jun 15, 2026 · 17 min · 12 segments
In a recent cover story, *Food Technology* explored how artificial intelligence is helping food companies move from reacting to contamination events to predicting risk earlier—while raising urgent…
Jeff VarcoeGuest
Willette CrawfordGuestSo in that May-June Food Technology cover article, we explored how AI may help shift food safety from reacting to contamination events to predicting the risk earlier.
So from your perspectives, where is AI delivering measurable value today, and where is the hype still outpacing reality? And let's start that conversation with Matt.
Yeah, I think where I see AI today, it really is increasing our efficiency tremendously in data analysis.
So we're using it routinely to do the work that our food safety managers would typically spend a good part of their day doing and doing the data analysis.
I think looking to that predictive analytics, we're certainly... moving in that area that is our aspiration but honestly today i think when it comes to assuring food safety it has to still be in the hands of the food safety manager that's managing the program and using that ai assistant to help improve their day and make them more efficient in their work
This is a tool to help accelerate and amplify the human intervention and the human oversight of the food safety programs.
You know, we're excited about the opportunities AI offer and view it as an important tool that's going to support the commitment to continuous improvement.
Yeah, you know, when I was talking to you, Jeff, in particular, and Matt, I think you mentioned this too, that you guys have to try to come up with strategies and that's got to be booted, you know, upstairs for people to figure out like what kind of programs, how do you even test that behind the scenes? Like how you're going to use it when you're doing a pitch to your boss, you know? Yeah.
I think really just that digital assistant mindset right now and just leveraging that tool because it is so powerful.
The amount of time that we spend gaining that efficiency, resources are always limited in every industry, particularly in the food industry.
So to be able to gain more from the team that we have and just leveraging that tool.
Yeah, and I would just add on to that, Matt, that as you think about people, minutes and dollars being involved in managing a food safety system within a manufacturing facility, uh efficiency roi but it was mentioned earlier more predictive analytics being able to see things around the corner before they actually happen is where the value add comes in now the devil's in the detail and trying to figure out how you connect all those data but i think that's the that's the exciting part about ai is the what could be in regards to being more predictive and preventing more supply chain disruptions
So in that May-June Food Technology cover article, we explored how AI may help shift food safety from reacting to contamination events to predicting the risk earlier.
So from your perspectives, where is AI delivering measurable value today, and where is the hype still outpacing reality? And let's start that conversation with Matt.
Yeah, I think where I see AI today, it really is increasing our efficiency tremendously in data analysis.
So we're using it routinely to do the work that our food safety managers would typically spend a good part of their day doing and doing the data analysis.
I think looking to that predictive analytics, we're certainly... moving in that area that is our aspiration but honestly today i think when it comes to assuring food safety it has to still be in the hands of the food safety manager that's managing the program and using that ai assistant to help improve their day and make them more efficient in their work
This is a tool to help accelerate and amplify the human intervention and the human oversight of the food safety programs.
You know, we're excited about the opportunities AI offer and view it as an important tool that's going to support the commitment to continuous improvement.
Yeah, you know, when I was talking to you, Jeff, in particular, and Matt, I think you mentioned this too, that you guys have to try to come up with strategies and that's got to be booted, you know, upstairs for people to figure out like what kind of programs, how do you even test that behind the scenes? Like how you're going to use it when you're doing a pitch to your boss, you know? Yeah.
I think really just that digital assistant mindset right now and just leveraging that tool because it is so powerful.
The amount of time that we spend gaining that efficiency, resources are always limited in every industry, particularly in the food industry.
So to be able to gain more from the team that we have and just leveraging that tool.
Yeah, and I would just add on to that, Matt, that as you think about people, minutes and dollars being involved in managing a food safety system within a manufacturing facility, uh efficiency roi but it was mentioned earlier more predictive analytics being able to see things around the corner before they actually happen is where the value add comes in now the devil's in the detail and trying to figure out how you connect all those data but i think that's the that's the exciting part about ai is the what could be in regards to being more predictive and preventing more supply chain disruptions
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