Theme: Innovative and Emerging Technologies
New technological developments are essential to ensure the sustainable supply of safe, nutritious foods that meet consumer demands in terms of quality, availability and social/environmental impact. Over many decades new developments have revolutionised the food supply chain. Developments in canning, freezing, dehydration and more recently high pressure processing, to mention just a few, have had dramatic impacts on food supply security, product safety and lifestyle. Similarly, advances in the understanding of the genetic predispositions (e.g. to allergies and intolerances) have enabled improved health and the development of products to meet specific needs. Many of these approaches have become familiar to consumers and have lost the label of innovative technologies.
However, it is essential that as solutions to current problems or opportunities for exploitation become available that they are fully evaluated in terms of any possible risks in relation to the benefits gained. Open and objective assessment of efficacy, safety and consumer attitudes, with effective communication and stakeholder involvement, is critical. Only in this way can trust be engendered and the irrational fear and rejection of potentially valuable emerging technologies be avoided. By analysing situations where problems have occurred and by learning from the mistakes that have been made, we can look forward to a future where science is harnessed to improve the quality of life, through an optimised food production, manufacture and supply chain system.
