VANCOUVER, 25th MARCH 2026 — Building on yesterday’s focus on operational excellence, Day 2 of the GFSI Conference challenged C-suite leaders to navigate evolving global risks through advanced technology and proactive supply chain management. C-suite attendees shared new strategies for deploying artificial intelligence and best practices to protect their brands’ value.

Transforming Audit Integrity for Real-World Impact

Day 2 opened with a unified focus on advancing food safety management system certification through ecosystem-wide collaboration. 

GFSI Steering Committee Co-Chairs Mark A. Fryling of General Mills and Howard Popoola of The Kroger Co. established that securing safer food outcomes requires the entire supply chain to align, build trust, and continuously improve together. 

Building on this collaborative imperative, Alec Kyriakides moderated a forward-looking panel of Certification Programme Owners (CPOs) featuring Elmé Coetzer-Boersma of Agraya GmbH, Heather Gale of the CanadaGAP Program, Stephan Tromp of IFS Management GmbH, and Gigi Vita of SQFI and FMI. Together, these leaders outlined a shared vision for modernising audits—moving away from static compliance checklists towards dynamic, risk-based assessments. 

They further agreed that while shared data and AI serve as powerful high-speed engines for risk intelligence, delivering real-world impact relies on a united ecosystem that champions human judgement, continuous auditor calibration, and a steadfast commitment to measuring food safety culture.

Spir Marinakis of Maple Leaf Foods grounded the auditing debate in stark reality, reminding delegates that the ultimate purpose of food safety is preventing human tragedy. She challenged the industry’s current trajectory, noting that despite harmonisation efforts, about half of customers still demand redundant audits because third-party certification alone does not consistently earn their trust.

This duplication creates a heavy system that stretches a shrinking auditor pool to the breaking point.

It’s time for us to restore our trust, reduce the redundancy, and raise the impact. I have full faith in GFSI leadership that we can bring all the parties back to the table… Let’s all work together to remember to do the right thing and make the right changes for our ecosystem.

Spir Marinakis, Vice President of Food Safety, Quality and Technical Services, Maple Leaf Foods

Securing the Product Journey: Logistics, Traceability, and Materials

As supply chains grow more complex, maintaining visibility from farm to shelf is critical. During the ‘Smart Supply Chains’ breakout, Amy Parks of Dole demonstrated that radical transparency is a business imperative, detailing how sharing sensitive data with regulators and competitors during an outbreak investigation solved hidden contamination issues. Fabian Smith (Cargill) and Sanjay Gummalla (AFFI) reinforced this, urging leaders to pivot from reactive product testing towards predictive analytics and continuous risk monitoring.

This proactive approach should also extend to packaging. In a session on circular packaging, Tola Alade-Lambo of McCain explored the tension between ambitious corporate sustainability goals—like integrating recycled plastics—and strict food safety requirements. While experts from Amcor highlighted new engineering controls for reclaimers, Prof. Carol Wallace cautioned that although existing HACCP frameworks remain robust, organisations must urgently acquire new expertise to assess the novel chemical risks introduced by diverse recycled feedstocks

“The balance between sustainability, food safety, and quality is an aspiration. While we are often seen as hindering innovation when we prioritise safety, our goal is to navigate both—ensuring the scale stays balanced so we don’t compromise one for the other.”

Tola Alade-Lambo VP, Food Safety and Quality McCain Foods

Deploying Advanced Tech and Navigating Global Policy

The digital transformation of food safety is driving a critical shift from reactive hazard detection to proactive protection. Moderated by Deann Akins-Lewenthal of Mondelēz International, the ‘AI-Powered Food Safety’ breakout explored how artificial intelligence enables this transition through predictive analytics. Dr. Rosita Dara (University of Guelph) highlighted AI’s ability to act as the ‘eyes and ears’ of the supply chain, integrating massive, diverse datasets—from sensor readings to social media—to build predictive models and “digital twins” that allow leaders to simulate risks before they occur.

Building on this, Dr. Ákos Józwiak (Hungarian Research Network) explained that AI is essential for understanding the true complexity of global food systems, allowing the industry to shift away from historical analysis and towards genuinely anticipating emerging risks

Putting this predictive power into business practice, Mahir Bhagia (PepsiCo) defined AI’s greatest value as its capacity to convert overwhelming data into actionable foresight—such as using predictive weather models to anticipate mycotoxin risks and instantly adjust global sourcing strategies long before a recall becomes necessary.

This industry shift towards prevention perfectly mirrors emerging public policy. Dr. Donald Prater outlined the US FDA’s strategic pivot towards data-driven predictive analytics. By leveraging machine learning to analyse complex supply chain data—such as in their imported seafood pilot—the FDA is dramatically improving its ability to predict violative shipments. This allows regulators to optimise their global inspection resources and proactively intercept high-risk products at the port of entry.

“We live and die by public trust. If we lose the public’s trust and our credibility in what we’re doing, it takes a long time to get it back. We are trying to be as transparent as we can to show how these innovations work and how we use data to keep our food supply safe.”

Dr. Donald A. Prater Principal Deputy Director for Human Foods U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Ultimately, the bridge to this preventative future is pre-competitive data sharing. Both industry executives and the FDA are actively championing collaborative partnerships to unlock AI’s full potential. By securely pooling anonymised data—ranging from weather patterns to historical audit results—the entire ecosystem can build powerful predictive models. This shared intelligence allows leaders to connect hidden dots, proactively mitigate emerging hazards, and genuinely prevent outbreaks across the global supply chain.

Looking ahead: Tomorrow’s agenda elevates these operational priorities to the boardroom, examining how executive leadership and a strong safety culture serve as essential capabilities for driving sustainable business success.