The rapid globalization of the food processing and retailing industries, consumer demand for more natural and more convenient products and an overall increase in the susceptibility of the population are believed to be the most important factors that have led to fundamental changes in the nature of food-borne disease itself . The primary consumer trends within the mature food markets have been toward products perceived as offering pleasure, health and convenience benefits. Consumers in these markets are increasingly time-poor and may lack cooking skills, but they desire a wide range of sensory experiences.

Mature markets also have a preoccupation with health and well-being, especially in the relatively wealthy “baby boomer” market. Research and business opportunities will arise as food processing companies move to meet consumer wishes for health promoting, convenient and pleasurable foods, with premiums arising through combinations of these desirable attributes (e.g, healthy ‘functional foods’ in a convenient form.). Within this environment, the food industry has been plagued by on-going food safety issues and dietary concerns that include bacterial pathogens, BSE, chemical contaminants, allergens and obesity.

Food safety is a recognized given in the market place yet consumer trends towards fresher, more natural, less preserved convenient foods are not always conducive to enhanced food safety. Many traditional preservatives offer intrinsic stability or food safety factors, which may be forfeited in reduced preservatives products.

Recent advances in food science and technology, such as risk assessment, genomic and novel preservation offer exciting new possibilities for innovation to meet the consumer drivers of health, convenience, pleasure and environment. In delivering these possibilities it is important that we do not introduce new food safety hazards. This will require not only the use of new technologies but also an intricate networking and collaboration among all stakeholders involved.

Prof. Martin B. Cole is the Director of National Center for Food Safety and Technology. He can be contacted at cole@iit.edu or 708-563-1576.

The National Center for Food Safety and Technology (NCFST, founded in 1988), is a unique food research consortium of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), division of Food Processing, Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and the food industry. The NCFST is the only center where industry can work collaboratively on projects with FDA scientists on food safety and technology research.

The Center facilitates innovation in the food industry through the assessment and validation of new technologies, especially new food safety and preservation technologies aimed at delivering key consumer drivers of safety, health, freshness and convenience.