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IT industry watchers expect tech budgets in 2022 to return to pre-pandemic levels and beyond as companies continue to fast-track digital transformation projects.

U.S. inflation surged to a four-decade high of 8.5 percent in March thanks in part to skyrocketing food costs.

The last time Americans saw prices rise as fast at the grocery store or at their local diner was in December of 1981 in the early days of Ronald Reagan’s first presidential administration.

The food service industry is preparing for shortages in 2022 across many categories from beef and poultry to dairy to even canned goods.

“It is a combination of factors: supply chain issues and driver shortages, scarcity of packaging, labor shortages at manufacturing and production plants as the workforce has not returned as facilities restarted from COVID closures,” Keith Daniels of Carl Marks Advisors told Parade this month.

Digital transformation is changing how we do business across the globe, and the food industry is no exception as emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and robotics are revolutionizing everything from food processing to service to sustainability.

In a global economy companies need to navigate different standards across borders and that can be tricky in the food and beverage industry where there are significant differences between Europe and the United States.

Even those that are not close followers of Judaism probably know that kosher food pertains to Jewish dietary laws regarding food and beverage.

What exactly makes kosher food kosher, however, is a mystery to many.

When it comes to food labels, there is the fine print and the not so fine print. Both are equally important when it comes to food safety and the sustainability of food we purchase and consume.

“Reading labels can help you make informed food choices,” says the National Institute of on Aging

The fine print includes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Nutrition Facts, which includes key details such as calories and nutritional make-up per serving size, and the product’s ingredients list, vital information, especially for those with food allergies.

While the fine print is normally found on the back of a product, the not so fine print can be found anywhere with “sell by”, “use by” and “best if used by” dates printed discreetly in random spots.

When it comes to “Food Fiascos” you need to start with the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) where lax sanitary conditions and unethical actions led to a 2008-09 salmonella outbreak that not only led to illness and death but bankrupted a $25 million company in months and sent its CEO to prison for 28 years in the stiffest penalty ever in a food-borne illness case.

In a final report issued in April 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that a strain of Salmonella serotype Typhimurium, linked to peanut butter sourced back to PCA processing plants, had sickened 714 people across 46 states with nine deaths reported.

Just when folks thought the pandemic was winding down, another variant occurs, and folks are suddenly wondering if they will be able to eat out again like they used to. No surprise, a lot of the food trends and approaches for 2022 are expected to be influenced by social distancing and everything we had to do for the last year and a half adjusting lifestyles. Fortunately, some of the trends are definitely focusing on why food is such a draw, and bringing the experience to people's doorsteps.

Staying on your projected growth pattern for 2022 means identifying the latest food service software industry trends. After all, tech is where it is at in terms of getting customers the food choices they want when they want it. A couple of new trends are especially beneficial to businesses of all sizes right now. Check out how online food delivery and ghost kitchens are increasing growth for businesses in the food service industry.