A curated selection of IFT FIRST coverage from the Food Technology editorial team. These stories are just the beginning. Look for our special IFT FIRST wrap-up edition Tuesday, July 28, for even more highlights from across the event.
Nurtured Nuts earned top honors in The Pitch! competition at IFT FIRST and was joined in the winner’s circle by runners-up, BioBlends and Forever Harvest.
During a keynote session at IFT FIRST, Tastewise CEO Alon Chen argued that agentic intelligence is transforming how companies innovate, collaborate, and respond to consumer demand.
Plantopia raised $9 million to scale production of dairy proteins grown in sprouted oats. The company says the funding will support commercial manufacturing of casein proteins used in cheese and other dairy products.
At IFT and beyond, innovation happens where the right ingredients meet the right insight. Brenntag Food & Nutrition supports food developers with solutions designed for real-world performance.
Major food companies filed 235 lawsuits over health policies targeting ultra-processed foods in Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, the United States, and the United Kingdom between 2010 and 2025, according to an investigation by The Guardian.
Using the ongoing Cyclospora outbreak as an example, a Canadian expert argues that food safety agencies must improve how they communicate uncertainty and leverage AI-driven, real-time information tools to provide more precise, trustworthy risk guidance to consumers.
The 2026 edition of The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, published jointly by groups including the FAO, UNICEF, the World Food Programme, and the World Health Organization, points to agricultural subsidy design as a structural reason healthy diets remain unaffordable for around 2.7 billion people.
