Name: Transforming Food Safety Through Digitalization and AI—Are You Ready?
Start: 2025-02-26T11:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-02-26T00:00:00-05:00

Transforming Food Safety Through Digitalization and AI—Are You Ready?

2/26/25 11:00 am to 2/26/26 EST

Contact: Vania Halabou

The food sector has, for many years, grappled with how best to embrace digitalization. In 2024, there was a growing recognition that the time is right for a significant step forward, and the industry is actively moving ahead with this transformation. In this webinar, industry leaders Kimberly Coffin, an LRQA expert, and Bizhan Pourkomailian, Ph.D., from McDonald’s, will discuss how digitalization is transforming food safety and supply chains. The panel will discuss the practical applications of digital technologies, highlight real-world examples, and critically assess whether the sector is ready to embrace artificial intelligence (AI). While AI often dominates the conversation around digital innovation, the session will challenge whether the food sector truly needs AI right now—or whether its greatest gains lie in adopting foundational digital tools and systems. The discussion will provide actionable insights for businesses at all stages of their digital journey, focusing on the solutions that drive meaningful change.

Key topics to be covered include:

The role of digitalization in addressing food safety challenges
Practical examples of digital transformation from McDonald’s
The potential of AI in food safety—are we ready to embrace it?

Speakers:

Kimberly Coffin, Global Technical Director, Supply Chain Assurance, LRQA. Kimberly is passionate about helping global food businesses understand, manage, and mitigate the risks to their products and brands. She has built her reputation as a thought leader in food safety and supply chain risk through more than 30 years of deep-domain food sector expertise, working for and with leading global food companies and associated service organizations across major world markets. Kimberly has extensive experience as a technical professional specializing in design, development, implementation, assessment, and training within the arena of retail agri-food risk management systems, specifically relating to auditing principles and more broadly to the control of food safety, product quality, authenticity, and legality.