IFT’s Science and Policy Initiatives Team Reveals Top Trends for 2026

CHICAGO — The Science and Policy Initiatives (SPI) team at the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), a nonprofit scientific association committed to advancing the science of food and its application across the global food system, revealed its top five food trends that it predicts will not only impact the food and policy landscape, but redefine innovation, safety, sustainability and consumer trust in the coming year. Those trends include digital tools expanding food safety adoption, AI moving from pilot to practice and regulatory pressures reshaping the innovation pipeline.

“Our food system is under pressure like never before,” said IFT Chief Science and Technology Officer Brendan Niemira, Ph.D. “Climate change, resource scarcity, geopolitical disruptions and rising consumer demands are creating unprecedented challenges. In 2026, those challenges will only intensify. But with those challenges comes opportunity for the food science community to turn uncertainty into innovation, complexity into clarity and challenges into solutions, with next year shaping up to be a landmark year for food innovation.”

View the 2026 food trends here.

IFT’s SPI team is led by Brendan Niemira, who recently took over as IFT’s CSTO, and includes Anna Rosales, vice president of science and policy; Blake Harris, managing director of IFT’s Global Food Traceability Center; Sara Bratager, senior food safety and traceability scientist; Celine Terfloth, food systems analyst; Amanda Ferguson, director of scientific journals; and Andrew Kiefer, manager of scientific journals.