Ensuring food for the population and that food is safe are two challenges facing the agri-food industry in recent months mainly because of the current geopolitical context in Eastern Europe. Food 4 Future – FoodTech Expo 2022, the great technological summit for all actors in the value chain of the food sector, has been analysed with Roy Kirby, an expert in product safety and partner of FoodsafeERM, and Judit Montoriol, Lead Economist of Caixabank Research, the impact that the conflict in Ukraine is having on the sector and how it is affecting global methods of control and traceability to ensure the proper maintenance of the food chain.

Currently, according to the data presented by Caixabank Research in Food 4 Future 2022, the food industry is in a historical increase in its costs. On the one hand, energy tariffs have reached their maximum levels this year; while on the other, the prices of raw materials have doubled their price in recent months, due to the fact that Russia is one of the main producers and suppliers of the agrifood sector.

On the positive side, as announced by Judit Montoriol, is that the escalation of energy prices has already reached its peak, so the only solution is its gradual decline. Thus, the trend is that costs remain above those registered before the conflict in Ukraine for 2022 and 2023, although the maximum prices reached in 2021 will not be exceeded.

Among the raw materials, however, experts confirm that both cereals and sunflower oil will continue to be affected by the war, and insist that the canning industry must find a substitute for this type of fat. Among the alternatives being considered is palm oil, but as Caixabank has stated, Indonesia, one of the largest producers of this product, is putting limits on exports. Another of the risks pointed out by the bank is the impact of the conflict on animal feed, which can also cause an increase in prices of the final product.

Data analytics to make a safer and more competitive food chain

Undoubtedly, the current context is putting the entire agri-food industry on alert. "Any problem of food supply is a potential food security problem," said Roy Kirby during his participation in the Food 4 Future World Summit.  The international expert added that "food security remains one of the main management risks, which can be solved with the application, for example, of new technologies".

The use of data analytics, Big Data or Artificial Intelligence throughout the production chain to avoid making mistakes and gain competitiveness, as well as efficiency, is one of the recommendations that Kirby has made. "There are currently many production plants that do not use data to improve their production process and reduce food security threats. The data is already available, so we need to develop our capabilities to use it."  "The information brings transparency to the entire production process, and avoids the appearance of food safety problems because it helps authorities and quality organisations to control the stock and traceability of each product," he added.

Likewise, the FoodsafeERM partner has highlighted the high cost of any small change in the food production chain, such as the introduction of new recycled materials or the search for alternative raw materials to which the agri-food industry is being forced by the context. Kirby stressed that "it affects the entire production process" and can generate new food safety risks that can even translate into the disappearance of the company.