Trust and technology: The importance of transparency and innovation

These were some of the themes that characterised the Future Food Tech conference in London, which brought together regulatory consultants and food futurologists to contribute to the event proceedings.

Here, technology providers discussed how food suppliers, retailers and regulators could accelerate the adoption of technology solutions to deliver a more resilient supply chain.

Technologies discussed included Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tagging, sensors, data analytics and next-generation genome sequencing.

Technology and how it could further promote the qualities of openness and trust was a consistent theme and one in which consumers placed high on the agenda when making purchasing choices.

“We’re going to see settling out of more consumers caring about what tastes good, how much it costs vs. consumers, who really want to understand that they can really trust the company,”​ said Stephan Herrera, vice president of strategy and public affairs at Evolva.

“Consumers need to know that these companies have the same values that are important to them and that there is a full, honest and open conversation about where food comes from these days.”​