Food safety sector set to boom by 2016

The food safety sector looks set to boom in the coming years, with a new study from the Freedonia Group suggesting that demand for food safety products will rise 8.4% per year to $18 billion in 2016.

Food safety is at the front of consumers’ and legislators’ minds thanks to international foodborne illness outbreaks and large product recalls due to food safety concerns being given plenty of media airtime, Freedonia says. Demand for food safety products will also be boosted by the adoption of more stringent food safety regulations in both developed and developing countries.

Growth in food and beverage production will further drive growth, Freedonia says, as food processing plants and foodservice establishments constitute the largest markets for food safety products.

Freedonia predicts that disinfection products will continue to account for the largest share of the global market for food safety products, representing over half of total demand in the forecast period. Increasingly, strict food safety regulations worldwide will see an upsurge in the frequency of food plant inspections, which Freedonia says will drive demand for diagnostic testing products.

Opportunities exist for smart labels and tags, Freedonia says, driven by the rapid adoption of new smart label technology in food packaging and heightened emphasis on traceability in the food supply chain. The growing quick-service restaurant segment will drive demand for disposable gloves.

While the US will remain the world’s largest user of food safety products, accounting for a quarter of the world market, Freedonia predicts the most rapid advances will occur in developing regions. Following a number of recent food safety incidents, China will see some of the fastest growth in demand and is expected to surpass Japan to become the world’s second largest food safety product market.

Other developing countries such as India, Brazil, Russia and Mexico will also see rapid increases in food safety product demand through 2016, but gains will stem from a much smaller base.

For more information on the World Food Safety Products report from Freedonia, visit www.freedoniagroup.com.

Information supplied by The Freedonia Group, Inc.