Key themes from Foodpro 2026
1. Food safety remains the industry's top priority
Walking the floor at Foodpro 2026, one thing became immediately apparent: the conversation in food manufacturing has shifted. While automation, packaging innovation, and production efficiency were prominent throughout the exhibition, many of the discussions returned to the same themes of food safety, sustainability, traceability, and the growing complexity of compliance.
None of these issues are new, what is changing is the level of scrutiny and the amount of evidence businesses are increasingly expected to provide. For manufacturers, compliance is no longer simply about meeting regulatory requirements. It is becoming embedded in customer expectations, operational decision-making, and long-term business resilience.
Perhaps the strongest theme emerging from these conversations was that food safety continues to be the industry's non-negotiable priority. A particularly interesting point was how frequently food safety was discussed through the lens of systems, documentation, and traceability. Conversations often extended beyond traditional quality assurance processes to include coding systems, product identification, labelling accuracy, batch traceability, and recall preparedness.
The expectation is no longer simply that businesses have food safety programs in place, they need to be able to demonstrate that those controls are operating effectively and consistently. In many respects, food safety is moving from policy to proof.
Sustainability was another recurring theme, but the discussion was far more practical than many organisations may expect. Rather than focusing on broad ESG commitments, businesses were discussing packaging materials, recyclability, waste reduction, customer expectations, and the operational impacts of implementing more sustainable practices.
For manufacturers, sustainability is increasingly becoming part of everyday decision-making. Packaging choices, supplier selection, product design, and production processes are all being influenced by changing environmental expectations.
The challenge is balancing these objectives alongside productivity, customer requirements, and ongoing cost pressures.
A consistent issue raised during discussions was the challenge of operating within an increasingly complex regulatory environment.
Several exhibitors highlighted the practical difficulties of navigating requirements that can differ across jurisdictions and customer groups. For businesses operating nationally, this creates additional administrative burden and increases the need for strong governance, monitoring, and documentation processes.
While compliance has always been an important part of food manufacturing, keeping pace with evolving obligations is becoming increasingly resource intensive.
One of the more interesting observations was the growing discussion around certifications. Food safety certifications, quality standards, environmental credentials, and customer-specific requirements are continuing to grow throughout the supply chain.
Individually, each certification serves an important purpose. Collectively, however, they can create a significant compliance workload for manufacturers with many businesses finding certifications are no longer viewed as a differentiator. Instead, they have become a prerequisite for participating in certain supply chains and maintaining relationships with customers.
This increasing volume of requirements is creating what could be described as certification fatigue, where management teams devote growing amounts of time and resources to maintaining compliance obligations while also continuing to focus on growth and operational performance. This can divert resources away from innovation, process improvement, and growth initiatives.
Technology featured prominently throughout the exhibition, particularly solutions focused on coding, labelling, packaging, traceability, and quality management. What stood out was many of these solutions were being positioned not purely as productivity tools, but as mechanisms to improve visibility, reduce risk, and support compliance requirements.
For many manufacturers, technology is becoming the bridge between operational efficiency and compliance confidence. Whether through enhanced traceability, improved labelling accuracy or better data visibility, digital solutions are helping businesses respond to increasing expectations from customers, regulators, and supply chain partners.
The message from Foodpro 2026 was clear: compliance expectations continue to evolve. It is no longer a standalone function, it is becoming a capability that influences customer relationships, operational performance, and business growth.
Food safety remains front and centre, sustainability is becoming more embedded in day-to-day operations, regulatory complexity is increasing, and certification requirements continue to expand. Individually, none of these developments are surprising. Collectively, however, they are reshaping how manufacturers invest, allocate resources, and manage risk.
The emerging challenge for manufacturers is not simply keeping pace with regulatory change. It is understanding whether existing systems, processes, and governance frameworks are equipped to manage rising expectations around food safety, sustainability, traceability, and certification.
Leadership terms should be considering whether they can readily demonstrate compliance when required, how much operational effort is being consumed by certification activities, and whether technology investments are delivering both compliance confidence and operational efficiency. The businesses best positioned for the future will not necessarily be those with the most certifications or the largest compliance teams. Rather, they will be those successfully embedding food safety, sustainability, and compliance into everyday operational decision-making.
The focus was clear: the next challenge for manufacturers is not understanding what they need to comply with, it is demonstrating quickly, consistently, and confidently that they already are.
BDO’s manufacturing specialists help businesses navigate regulatory complexity, strengthen governance, and build practical compliance frameworks that support both operational performance and growth. Contact our team to discuss how your business can respond to evolving expectations and support future grow
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