FAO unveils emerging innovations in food safety, quality controls

GLOBAL – The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) Food Safety Foresight Programme recently conducted an exercise to explore emerging innovations of new food sources and production systems (NFPS) likely to alter the food landscape in the next 5 to 25 years. 

Through expert consultations and a structured methodology, the exercise identified 44 emerging innovations across nine clusters, including a dedicated cluster for food safety and quality control.

Key innovations highlighted in this cluster include cold plasma, irradiation, biopesticides, bacteriophages for pathogen control and novel methods for food tracking as highlighted below. 

These innovations were concluded to be highly feasible, and their widespread adoption is cumulatively projected to occur within a five-to-fifteen-year timeframe. 

Cold Plasma

Cold plasma (CP) uses reactive species (like UV photons, ions, and electrons) to damage microbial cell membranes, effectively killing bacteria, viruses, and fungi.

In the food industry, CP is applied in food or packaging materials to extend shelf life, reduce cooking time on grains such as black gram, support nutrient and bioactive compound extraction, pesticide decontamination and food waste processing.

Irradiation

Although not new, ionizing radiation methods, like gamma rays and electron beam irradiation (EBI), are gaining wider use for controlling foodborne pathogens, especially in raw and ready-to-eat products. 

Irradiation works by damaging the DNA of microorganisms, rendering them unable to reproduce and effectively killing them.

Where chemical preservatives or high-temperature treatments are less effective, these methods can significantly control harmful pathogens in foods. 

EBI further helps extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables by regulating their ripening rate. 

Additionally, quantum dots are emerging as novel food safety assessment tools for real-time detection and quantification of a range of contaminants, including pathogens, heavy metals, and pesticides.

Biopesticides 

Biopesticides have also been gaining considerable traction in the recent past. They include naturally occurring substances and organisms, as well as synthetic versions of naturally derived compounds, used to protect plants from pests and diseases. They offer more environmentally friendly pest control alternatives. 

However, the shift from familiar chemical pesticides to biopesticides may require significant adjustments in agricultural practices. 

For example, microbial biopesticides require different storage conditions depending on the microbe used, thereby requiring changes in storage and transportation practices compared to those used for chemical pesticides. 

Bacteriophages for pathogen control 

Bacteriophages, viruses that infect and replicate only in bacterial cells, have also emerged as a potential tool for decontaminating and eliminating bacterial pathogens from food sources. 

Unlike broad-spectrum antibiotics, bacteriophages specifically target harmful foodborne bacteria without affecting beneficial bacteria, representing a potential alternative for controlling pathogens in the food industry. 

Recent innovations include incorporating bacteriophages into food packaging films or using them as food or feed additives to combat antimicrobial resistance.

Novel methods for food tracking 

To address growing food safety challenges in increasingly complex agrifood systems, food producers are adopting novel tracking technologies, such as DNA-based tagging. 

By spraying synthetic or natural DNA sequence tags onto food products, this method enables precise identification across the supply chain, from producers to packers. 

Unlike traditional traceability methods that often rely on discarded packaging, DNA tagging offers a more reliable way to quickly detect contamination and streamline product recalls.

Implementation considerations

For innovations under food safety and quality control, such as radiation and bacteriophages, scaling up may be hampered by potential issues with the supply chain, such as standardization requirements, if demand increases significantly. 

The exercise, therefore, revealed both opportunities and challenges associated with the innovations, highlighting the need for proactive preparation by food safety authorities and other stakeholders to ensure the safe development and implementation of these innovations while protecting public health.

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