Turkey’s Food Safety Association will host the 9th International Food Safety Congress in Istanbul on November 5–6, 2026, bringing together global scientists, public sector officials, and industry representatives to examine the impact of artificial intelligence and digital technologies on food safety and supply chain risk management.
Organized in collaboration with the International Association for Food Protection, the summit will convene at the Grand Cevahir Hotel under the central theme of “Access to Safe Food: Everyone’s Right, Everyone’s Responsibility.” Discussions will focus on optimizing production, processing, storage, and auditing procedures through big data analytics that enable earlier detection of emerging hazards.
Traceability and Digital Authentication
The conference will address farm-to-fork digitalization alongside technical methods to protect consumers from counterfeiting and adulteration. Innovations such as lab-on-a-chip diagnostics and digital food fingerprinting will be evaluated as complementary tools to traditional inspection regimes, reinforcing real-time condition tracking across complex transport networks.
Beyond standard quality control, delegates will explore autonomous agentic artificial intelligence capable of coordinating multiple workflows and supporting continuous regulatory compliance. These evolving architectures offer direct operational oversight across production lines, expanding technological integration into broader management frameworks.
Balancing Technological Capabilities with Safety Oversight
While algorithmic tools present clear operational advantages, participants will assess critical vulnerabilities including data precision, the scientific credibility of automated findings, and potential over-dependence on digital infrastructure. Established in 2004 as Turkey’s first dedicated food safety civil society organization, the Food Safety Association highlights that cross-sector cooperation between academia and technology developers remains essential to ensure digital transformation does not compromise human health.
