Review on Artificial Intelligence Powered Food Processing: Enhancing Safety and Sustainability

As the global population is projected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, ensuring food security has become increasingly challenging due to factors such as population growth, climate change, resource depletion, and environmental pollution. To address these challenges, artificial intelligence (AI) is an emerging technology that plays a crucial role in the food processing industry. This review highlights AI's essential role in food processing to enhance the quality and safety of food products sustainably while addressing industry challenges. The AI significantly impacts food safety, quality assurance, and waste reduction through various applications. Its integration into food processing has the potential to revolutionize industry standards, covering tasks from product categorization to personalized nutrition. However, challenges such as job displacement, technical limitations, and ethical considerations require careful attention. Investment in research, development, training, and maintenance is crucial for successful AI integration. Despite these hurdles, AI’s transformative potential to advance sustainability, food safety, and consumer needs remains significant. AI is poised to enhance efficiency, foster innovation, and improve sustainability in the food processing sector, effectively addressing the evolving needs of the growing global population. AI promotes a hopeful outlook for the future of food processing, confidently tackling 21st-century challenges with adaptability and resourcefulness.