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December might be the best time of the year for food lovers with holiday meals and festive get-togethers. It’s also the time of the year when the food industry dusts off its crystal balls and looks towards the food trends for the coming year.

“Keeping up with global food trends can be a little dizzying these days. The internet has ushered in an era of fads that burn hot and fast, showing up everywhere before disappearing completely. Sometimes, they start on TikTok, making it to Instagram and Reddit within days or weeks. If they show promise or seem to have staying power, restaurants and grocery stores may decide to jump in to cater to consumers,” explains DoorDash for Merchants.

A new survey by NielsenIQ highlights that while the holiday season is a time for celebration, it can be a financially stressful time for consumers, especially when it comes to trips to the grocery store.

“With the rising cost of food and other expenses, it’s more important than ever for CPG (consumer packaged goods) brands and retailers to understand what motivates consumers to buy and how it’s going to affect holiday grocery sales,” says NielsenIQ. “But don’t worry, it’s not all bad news. There are still plenty of ways to get the most out of holiday grocery shopping.”

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the oldest comprehensive consumer protection agency in the U.S. federal government, tracing its modern regulatory functions to the passage of the 1906 Pure Food and Drugs Act.

“The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is a government agency that’s in place to protect public health. It does this by ensuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of many products you use every day,” says GoodRx Health.

An article published this year in the Food Control journal says improving food traceability requires the use of the best new technologies and there are a variety of promising technologies today to enhance food traceability systems (FTS), such as fifth-generation (5G), mobile communication systems, and distributed ledger technology (DLT).

In today's ever-evolving food and beverage industry, cloud-based software has emerged as a transformative force.

From enhancing food safety and quality control to adapting to shifting consumer preferences and sustainability demands, cloud-based solutions have become indispensable tools.

“The food and beverage industry is undergoing a digital transformation. From large corporations to smaller, more flexible brands, companies are using digital technologies to collect more data regarding their workflow processes and to ensure safety and quality in food processing, packaging, and distribution,” explains Food Safety magazine. “Digitalization of the food and beverage sector includes the application of technologies such as smart sensors, cloud computing, and remote monitoring.”

Climate change has many ramifications across the world and is already affecting food production from coffee to wine to chocolate to corn and more.

“Agriculture has always been at the mercy of unpredictable weather, but a rapidly changing climate is making agriculture an even more vulnerable enterprise,” says the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. “In some regions, warmer temperatures may increase crop yields. The overall impact of climate change on agriculture, however, is expected to be negative—reducing food supplies and raising food prices.”

In our digital-first world where data breaches and cybersecurity threats are on the rise, organizations are under increasing pressure to demonstrate their commitment to protecting sensitive information.

One powerful tool is the System and Organization Controls (SOC) audit, an independent assessment designed to provide assurance to stakeholders that a company has adequate controls in place to protect its data, systems, and operations.

Since 1939, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has been helping consumers ensure the quality and authenticity of certain products through its Standards of Identity (SOI) for Food program.

Today, consumers can trust that everything from canned vegetables to jellies to fruit pies contains what the product says it presents thanks to SOIs – which are essentially an agreed-upon legal definition of what food actually is and was introduced as a means of consumer protection.

The era of instant gratification is intensifying with shoppers expecting free and fast delivery, the ability to binge-watch all the episodes of their favorite shows in one sitting, and almost half of TikTok users finding videos longer than a minute “stressful”!

Food traceability technology developments are crucial to keeping the global food supply chain secure, transparent, and resilient in the face of modern challenges.

“The food traceability technology market is fundamental to improving food safety, providing a method of tracking, tracing, and documenting the journey of food items through the supply chain,” reports Packaging Digest.