Food Safety and Quality Trends - What's on the menu for 2024?

A range of global food and drink ‘movements’ are helping consumers make more mindful food choices. One successful trend is the plant-based diet.

While some people opt for the vegan lifestyle for ethical or environmental reasons, many also choose an animal-product free diet for its perceived health benefits. Experimental data has shown that it can help with weight loss⁶. With global retail sales of plant-based meat products at $6.1 billion⁷, veganism is a movement that is likely to continue to grow in 2024.

Another popular food movement predicted to grow further is the rise of gluten-free foods. This market is projected to be valued at $14 billion on the next eight years, more than double its 2022 value⁸.

Whilst dietary modifications such as the above are intended to positively impact health and wellbeing, such changes can also create dietary risks arising from potential contaminants found in food¹². To continue to adequately protect consumer health, manufacturers across the food safety industry are adapting their testing processes.

Custom molecular assays¹³ for example, are tailored tests designed for the detection or analysis of specific molecular targets within a biological sample and are used when investigating new products. Other testing examples include microbial identification; the process of identifying microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses and fungi, and pathogen detection; which confirms the presence of disease-causing microorganisms.

As well as consumer food and drink trends, technological developments could aid the food industry’s evolution in 2024, and further support food safety standards around the world.

Food innovation community EIT Food says that digital technologies are becoming increasingly critical for ensuring transparency, resilience and fairness across the food system¹⁴. These principles contribute to a more sustainable and equitable food system, however this can only be achieved by greater collaboration and knowledge sharing.

The significance of sharing via connected analytical technologies has been demonstrated by the World Health Organisation’s Food Safety Collaborative Platform (FOSCOLLAB)¹⁵. By integrating multiple sources of reliable data, FOSCOLLAB helps overcome the challenges of accessing key sources in a timely manner.

The use of new data and genomics tools in environmental monitoring is also increasingly becoming a valuable practice within food manufacturing plants¹⁶. These developments help to enhance the monitoring, analysis and management of environmental factors that can impact food safety.

Different technologies are now also being used together to create a comprehensive and advanced framework for ensuring food safety. The increased use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for example, has been shown to deliver many benefits. These include; improving food yield, advancing food quality indicators and increasing traceability, while decreasing resource consumption, and helping to eliminate food waste¹⁷.

2024 could also be the year we get the balance right between food safety and environmental impact.

A 2023 Buying Green Report, based on a survey of more than 9,000 consumers across Europe, North America and South America, showed that 82% of respondents are increasingly willing to pay more for products in sustainable packaging, up four points from 2022¹⁸.

This interest in sustainability is reflected in the growth of the clean labelling initiative, which emphasises transparency and simplicity in food product labelling. Clean labelling however is not regulated by a standard or authority, and interpretations of what constitutes "clean" can vary, so the coming months present an opportunity to develop a standardised approach.

We can also expect further debate about how to decentralise our food systems and produce a greater proportion of our food locally. The Sustainable Food Trust says that almost half of the world’s habitable land is now farmed to feed our global food production system¹⁹.

Consumer wants, needs and buying habits are evolving fast, and so the industry’s approach to food safety and quality needs to keep up with the pace of change. Understanding the three themes discussed will help the sector to stay ahead of the curve, be prepared for the future and embrace what lies ahead in 2024 and beyond.