How the IAEA Supports Digital Traceability for Safer Food

The IAEA, through its Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, supports laboratories worldwide by building technical capacity, improving data quality and participating in international proficiency tests. The IAEA helps establish trust between countries, consumers and trade partners.

A key tool is the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), a digital platform supported by the IAEA that tracks samples from collection to laboratory analysis and final reporting. LIMS was originally created to make laboratory work more efficient by assuring the traceability of samples inside the labs. Today, it plays a bigger role by linking laboratory data with national systems that monitor food products. For these systems to work well together, they must be compatible and aligned with global digital traceability guidance, like that provided by Codex Alimentarius. This integration strengthens transparency across the supply chain and helps countries align their traceability systems across borders.

Laboratory science also plays a growing role in verifying the authenticity and origin of food products. Nuclear based techniques — including stable isotope analysis, radionuclide detection, the study of biological molecules in organisms (known as omics) and heavy metal profiling — help to verify the geographical origin or organic production of a product. The impact of these tools includes restoring a $450 million pineapple market in Benin to protecting high-value meat exports in Costa Rica.

The IAEA is also exploring how artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can help make food safer. At the forum, the IAEA presented a project?which applies AI and ML to detect food fraud and improve how food is monitored. By analysing large datasets generated from nuclear and complementary analytical techniques, the project showed that AI tools — including open-access platforms— can improve the accuracy and predictive power of food authenticity models.

For example, using AI methods like Decision Tree Classifiers, the project was able to more accurately identify where products like whole grain rice came from. First shared with Caribbean scientists during a training course in Seibersdorf, the project drew strong interest and demonstrated AI’s potential to support more reliable national food safety systems.

Regional cooperation is another pillar of the IAEA’s approach. The IAEA supports laboratory networks like the African Food Safety Network, the Food Safety Asia Network and RALACA network in Latin America. These networks promote collaboration through data sharing, joint research and training. They also provide a foundation for developing regional digital traceability systems. In Latin America, for example, laboratories in the RALACA network jointly manage a pesticide residue database that improves transparency and supports regional trade.

Traceability begins on the farm with good agricultural practices, responsible use of veterinary drugs and adherence to food safety standards. Integrated farm-to-fork digital systems that connect data from producers, laboratories, regulators and exporters are essential for early hazard detection and full supply chain transparency. The IAEA’s support in building both technical and institutional capacity in countries required to implement these systems effectively and reinforce trust in global food trade.

These efforts align with the IAEA’s broader commitment to food security and sustainable agriculture under the Atoms4Food?initiative, launched with FAO in 2023. By combining nuclear science with digital innovation, the IAEA empowers countries to implement resilient traceability systems that support real-time food safety alerts and regulatory decision-making, contributing to safer trade and better consumer protection worldwide.

Digital traceability is only as strong as the science and data behind it. Meaningful digital traceability depends on credible science, trusted data and strong partnerships. The IAEA remains dedicated to working with its member countries to provide the scientific backbone for tomorrow’s global food trade.