Independent report: Report: Artificial Intelligence (AI) in food safety assurance

The report sets out the findings of the Science Council project examining the use of artificial intelligence in food safety and authenticity.

This report of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) Science Council project on Artificial Intelligence Applications in Food Safety and Authenticity was prepared and reviewed for publication by the Science Council on 23 September 2025. 

Project Leads: Professor Peter Gregory, Mrs Claire Nicholson, Professor John O’Brien (Science Council Chair).

Project Team: Professor Peter Borriello CB, Professor Emily Burton, Professor Steven Cummins, Jacqueline Healing, Professor Tom Oliver, Professor Richard Smith, Professor Michael Tildesley, Professor Jonathan Wastling.

The authors thank the Science Council and Secretariat for their guidance and support in the preparation of this report. We are also grateful to the workshop participants and external experts who contributed to the case studies on AI applications in food safety and assurance. Any errors or omissions remain the responsibility of the authors. 

In line with FSA Guidance on managing interests of its scientific advisers, the interests of the Science Council members were assessed to identify any potential conflicts with the work of this Group. 

Note that a full register of interests for all Science Council members can be found at Science Council member’s register of interests.

Professor Simon Pearson specifically declared that he is a Director of Fruitcast.ai, an AI company specializing in crop forecasting, and of Agaricus Robotics, a robotics company that deploys AI in control systems for mushroom harvesting. Professor Peter Gregory, Mrs. Claire Nicholson and Professor John O’Brien declared no relevant interests in relation to this review. 

The Executive considered the potential interests of Science Council members, and they were not considered prohibitive for their involvement in this review by the Executive and would not require specific measures to manage them.