Where AI and digital tools are delivering value in food production in 2026

AI in food production is moving beyond pilot projects and into everyday operations but where is it already delivering measurable value? Read this free report to explore real-world applications and the challenges holding back wider adoption.

At Cargill, robots carry out around 10,000 factory inspections each week. PepsiCo is using digital twins to train agricultural operators, while the European Commission is applying AI to millions of traceability records. Yet scaling these technologies raises challenges around data quality, integration, governance and human oversight.

New Food’s latest report, The digital future of food production: Where AI and technology are delivering real value, combines real-world case studies and expert analysis to examine where the industry stands, what is being learnt and the opportunities and risks shaping wider adoption.

What’s inside this report:

How Cargill and PepsiCo are using AI, robotics and digital twins to improve operational decisions and reduce losses
How AI in food manufacturing is accelerating ingredient discovery, reducing food waste and improving production efficiency
What the European Commission has learnt six months into using TraceMap to accelerate food traceability investigations
What food manufacturers need to consider when scaling AI across operations, including cybersecurity, regulatory compliance and supply chain resilience

With contributions and expert insights from Ian Westcott (New Food), Karthik Rajagopal (Specright), Dr Lakshminarasimhan Sridharan (Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein, Imperial College London), Rob Meyers (PepsiCo), Dr Adam Smith (Zest), Geert Maesmans (Cargill), Koen Van Dyck (European Commission), Paul Armstrong (Walker Morris) and Kristin King (AnzenSage), the report brings together perspectives from across food manufacturing, R&D, regulatory oversight, food safety and cybersecurity.