The FDA is hosting a one-day virtual public meeting on “Data and Technology in the New Era of Smarter Food Safety” on April 24, 2024, from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm EDT. The meeting is designed to help the agency improve its understanding of how regulators and industry can leverage data and technology to exponentially advance food safety and achieve better health outcomes.

The morning session of the public meeting will consist of presentations from FDA to explain the agency’s current thinking on the potential for new, innovative or different data and technology activities that could be leveraged by both government and industry to exponentially advance food safety. The afternoon session will be reserved for public comments to provide an opportunity for stakeholders to share feedback on how and where advances in data and technology can be leveraged to significantly accelerate FDA’s ability to improve public health outcomes. Beginning on April 24, 2024, a Regulations.gov docket will open for 60 days to collect comments related to the event topic.

Topics for consideration during the public meeting include:

• Tech-enabled traceability
• Predictive analytics
• Data sharing
• Whole genome sequencing (i.e., GenomeTrakr)
• Ways to use technology to monitor and gather data

Technological innovation in equipment design, digital tools, and training methods

The FDA will also welcome feedback on new and emerging areas of innovation (e.g., use of virtual reality in food safety training) that were not addressed in the initial New Era of Smarter Food Safety Blueprint.

Feedback received from this meeting, as well as comments submitted to the accompanying docket, will help the FDA prioritize its activities within the New Era of Smarter Food Safety framework and shape further stakeholder engagement opportunities.

There is no cost to attend the virtual public meeting, but registration is required. Participants who wish to speak during the afternoon public comment session must register as indicated on the meeting page.