Mars Global Food Safety Center

👍 Excited to see our journey in inspiring young minds and empowering the next generation of innovators through our scholarship program at China Agricultural University (CAU)! By investing in these bright minds, we can continue to drive transformative change. CAU consistently ranks as the top university for agricultural education in China and has provided the largest number of talents to Mars China. We are proud to partner with CAU in developing early talents to tackle real-world challenges in food safety, health, and product development. Thrilled to witness this impactful collaboration and we look forward to working alongside these exceptional talents in the future! ⏩

Reflecting on a Year of Milestones of the Mars Global Food Safety Science Team and the Global Food Safety Center 🌏 ⏩ Highlight #4: Promoting Awareness about Food Safety Challenges 📢 To mark the World Food Safety Day and World Food Day, in 2024 Mars joined the FAO,World Health Organization and World Food Programme to raise global awareness on food safety. Through the #SafeFoodForAll and #WorldFoodDay Campaigns, the Mars Global Food Safety Center team were excited to join Mars Associates Abigail Stevenson, Silvia Sant'Ana Pereira, Darren Logan, Alan Littlechild, Gilbert Lamothe, Carl Jones, Claudia Cavaleiro, Patrick Kuang, Yu Li, Guoqian Zhang, Zheng Jianwen, Wang Yueyue, Carrie Lin, and many others, to reinforce the importance of food safety in our day-to-day work, shared our best practice and encourages everyone to be a #FoodHero and help drive meaningful actions.  #SafeFoodForAll #FoodSafety #Sustainability #ProudlyMars #TomorrowStartsToday #WorldFoodSafetyDay #WorldFoodDay

Reflecting on a Year of Milestones of the Mars Global Food Safety Science Team and the Global Food Safety Center 🌏 ⏩ Highlight #3: Knowledge Sharing to Raise the Bar 💡 Globally, in 2024 we championed the adoption of transformative technologies like genomics, AI and digitalization to strengthen food safety resilience and revolutionize supply chains. In April, we proudly co-presented at the The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) conference alongside Silvia Sant'Ana Pereira, Donna Cook and Michael McDonald. This event united food industry leaders to drive continuous improvement in food safety management systems, highlighting Mars' commitment to food safety, science, technology and collaboration. At the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP)'s Annual Conference, our scientists showcased advancements in microbial risk management. We also partnered with the Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology (CIFST) and the China International Food Safety and Quality Conference (CIFSQ) to share recent research findings and best practices. This year, we contributed to three food safety standards, including allergen management, and co-authored a guidebook on foreign body management - key milestones in raising the bar for global food safety. We look forward to continuing to share expertise and collaborate in the future. #SafeFoodForAll #FoodSafety #Sustainability #ProudlyMars #TomorrowStartsToday

Reflecting on a Year of Milestones of the Mars Global Food Safety Science Team and the Global Food Safety Center 🌏 ⏩ Highlight #2: Leading Applied Science Research for the Food Industry 🔬 Scientific research remains a cornerstone of technological progress and industry advancement. In 2024, we continued to lead applied science research for the food industry. One key breakthrough was in rapid pathogen identification using nanopore-based whole genome sequencing (WGS) together with our partners including Mars Global Service R&D Solutions, Mars Quality & Food Safety, The University of Georgia, and Cornell University, which enables precise identification of Listeria spp. under 24 hours - far faster than traditional methods. This innovation enhances our ability to address foodborne threats swiftly, strengthening both food safety and public health. We also tackled the global issue of aflatoxin contamination in peanuts, a serious food safety and health concern. Our study explored fluorescence-based sorting technology to remove contaminated peanuts on an industrial scale. Results showed over 80% sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy in reducing aflatoxin, demonstrating the effectiveness of this approach in mitigating aflatoxin risks. Both studies highlight how scientific innovation can translate into actionable solutions, empowering industry and regulatory bodies to make informed, impactful decisions. #SafeFoodForAll #FoodSafety #Sustainability #ProudlyMars #TomorrowStartsToday TOMRA, Bühler Group, Foodlink, @Wimar

Reflecting on a Year of Milestones of the Mars Global Food Safety Science Team and the Global Food Safety Center 🌏 ⏩ Highlight #1: Building Supply Chain Resilience Through Strategic Partnerships 💪 Building food safety capability across the supply chain is critical to achieving our goal of ensuring safe food for all. Collaboration remains at the core of our approach. In 2024, the Mars Global Food Safety Center partnered with Mars Supplier Quality Assurance teams - Claudia Cavaleiro, Gesa Scheffel, Carlier Christophe, Richard Taylor, and Yu Li - to help global suppliers strengthen supply chain resilience. Together, we launched a series of tailored learning programs across China, Southeast Asia, India and Europe, providing both online and in-person opportunities designed to meet supplier needs. In China, we continued our collaboration with Danone in our offline training. Globally, we also established a strategic partnership with Cargill, led by Fabian Smith, MBA, LSSGB, to further enhance supply chain capabilities. To date, these efforts have reached over 600 global suppliers, resulting in more than 75,000 completed learning sessions. This progress underscores our commitment to collaboration, raising industry standards, and advancing global food safety. #SafeFoodForAll #FoodSafety #Sustainability #ProudlyMars #TomorrowStartsToday

Reflecting on a Year of Milestones of the Mars Global Food Safety Science Team and the Global Food Safety Center 🌏 ⏩ As 2024 comes to a close, we’re proud to celebrate the meaningful strides we’ve made in food safety alongside our partners and Mars cross-segment teams. Together, we’ve advanced practical science, strengthened supply chain capabilities, deepened collaborations, and raised awareness of global challenges. We warmly invite you to take a moment to explore our four highlight stories in the upcoming posts, showcasing the progress we’ve made together. A heartfelt thank you to all Associates in the Mars Global Food Safety Science Team and the Global Food Safety Center, our Mars partners, and especially our external collaborators, whose invaluable expertise, dedication, and partnership have been instrumental in driving our shared milestones this year. Looking ahead to 2025 - the 10th anniversary of the Mars Global Food Safety Center - we are excited to drive even greater collaboration, innovation, and impact. Here’s to building a safer, more resilient food future, together! 🤝 #SafeFoodForAll #FoodSafety #Sustainability #ProudlyMars #TomorrowStartsToday

Nestlé and Mars 🌍 #FoodSafety Powerhouses: Continuing the Dialogue to enable #SafeFoodForAll 🍎 At Mars, we believe that no single entity can address food safety challenges alone, and collaborative, pre-competitive approaches are the key. Last Friday, we were delighted to welcome Alexandre Panchaud PhD MSc and his colleagues from the Nestlé Institute of Food Safety and Analytical Sciences (NIFSAS) to the Mars Global Food Safety Center site in Beijing. It’s no surprise that two organizations dedicated to advancing food safety share so much in common. This visit was an incredible opportunity to exchange ideas, showcase our state-of-the-art research facilities, partnerships, and discuss the critical role of collaboration in tackling global food safety challenges. Our conversations highlighted the shared vision of both Mars GFSC and NIFSAS: advancing science, science-based knowledge transfer, building resilience in the supply chains, and embracing innovative approaches to create safer food systems. This meeting also reinforced a legacy of impactful collaborations, from capability-building initiatives to developing and standardizing cutting-edge detection methods, including #genomics. As we explored new opportunities for pre-competitive collaboration, one message was clear: ensuring safe food for all requires joined efforts. By leveraging our complementary strengths and global networks, we can continue to #raisethebar and drive progress in the industry. This visit marks another step in building bridges between organizations committed to food safety, where collective action and shared knowledge pave the way for a safer future—from farm to fork. #FoodSafety #Collaboration #SafeFoodForAll #Innovation #SupplyChainResilience p.s.: Thank you, Jane Wang, and @Cindy Sun, for upholding this legacy of collaboration and connection on behalf of the GFSC!

Congratulations🎉! We’re thrilled to see the exciting progress at the R&D Solutions Center of Expertise (CoE) lab!

🌍🥖This #WorldFoodDay, we at Mars remain steadfast in our commitment to ensuring everyone has access to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food —today and every day. Share to inspire leaders, experts, communicators, your peers and friends to join us to enable #SafeFoodForAll! Global food safety challenges, from contamination to climate risks, affect us all. That’s why we’re investing in cutting-edge technology and innovations to build more resilient food systems. Through partnerships with FAO and World Food Programme, we’re advancing knowledge and sharing expertise to tackle these challenges head-on, strengthening supply chains worldwide. Among our key focus areas are developing advanced prediction models for mycotoxin contamination. In areas where data is scarce, we leverage #simulations, and where data is available, we use #AI to build more robust forecasting models. These tools will help prepare supply chains for the impacts of Global Climate Change. With World Food Programme, we’re not only providing top-tier joint training and knowledge transfer but also driving the adoption of advanced technologies like #genomics to bolster food safety globally. By spreading this message, you can help raise awareness about food security, attract new partners, inspire future scientists, and build a stronger network of food safety professionals and authorities. Together, we can create a future where #SafeFoodForAll is a reality. 💡 Watch our video here and join the conversation! Let’s all be #FoodHeroes — take action today! p.s. use the #WorldFoodDay hashtag! #WorldFoodDay #FoodHeroes #RightToFood #ProudlyMars #TomorrowStartsToday

🚪 Behind the Doors of Our China hub of Mars Global Food Safety Science: How We Partner with Mars Snacking China through Training, Technology Development, and External Engagement 🤝🌏 We recently had the pleasure of hosting the Mars Wrigley China R&D leaders at the Mars Global Food Safety Center to discuss the progress on our aligned strategy. It was a super engaging and productive meeting, as we explored our shared vision for food safety and supply chain resilience in China. At GFSC, we have R&D assets in China strategically placed to support our local business with expertise in food safety, delivering impactful insights, and offering advanced training programs, as well to positively influence broader food industry in Asia, enhancing supply chain resilience, and driving food safety innovation, leveraging our Global and local networks. During the visit, we reviewed the cutting-edge technologies we’re piloting via China site, from rapid #AI based #authentication with compact ambient mass spectrometer to pathogens source tracking with portable #genomics tools and advanced spectral #sorting technology for #aflatoxin control in peanuts. The team also had an opportunity to experience a hands-on lab tour (that was awesome #MIB experience, Qian (Monica) Yu!), where we engaged with our scientists and reviewed the food safety innovations we’re driving in real time. We’ve acknowledged the milestone of issuing more than 50,000 food safety training certificates through our e-learning platform, empowering people across our China and Asia food supply chains with vital expertise. In our discussions, we also identified the new standards we need to lead together to further elevate the quality and food safety of our supply chains in China. A big thank you to everyone who supported the visit and contributed to these important discussions Patrick Kuang, @Lily Xu @Rainer Wang, Jane Wang, Ziqi Wang , 彭虹 高志强 , Qian (Monica) Yu , Chongtao Ge , Yueju Zhao! Together, we’re pioneering new ways to ensure food safety and strengthen supply chains for the future. #TomorrowStartsToday #ProudlyMars #FoodSafety #MarsSnackingChina #MarsWrigleyChina #SupplyChainResilience #InnovationInFoodSafety #AflatoxinControl #PortableMassSpec #Training #PilotTech #Genomics