The Institute of Food Technologists’ IFT FIRST 2024 conference and expo was one of the organization’s best shows ever. Immunity and Dairy Fermentation scientist Dr. Dana McCurdy attended the show on behalf of Prepared Foods and made some interesting observations. McCurdy found one of the hottest topics to be the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in food and beverage product development. She notes that there are certain human aspects that can't be replaced by AI, but that AI will “forever be a tool used to improve the industry.”

Specifically, McCurdy mentions the capacity of AI to, among other things, “improve safety and accelerate decision-making based on data that it collects.” She further noted AI’s capacity to suggest combinations of different ingredients that might not have occurred to the developer but could be pleasing to the consumer.

McCurdy also reported that the current controversies over so-called “ultra-processed foods” were discussed at the IFT show, but noted the difficulty in having such discussions when no truly effective definition of the term exists.

With ingredients being a key part of the annual IFT conference, McCurdy cited the continued central position digestive health is playing in food and beverage formulation and that probiotic bacteria and prebiotic fibers were still in strong play at IFT. In her interview with Prepared Foods’ she shares more details about the 2024 IFT expo and conference.

Image of Dr. Dana McCurdy courtesy of Dr. Dana McCurdy