Food Manufacturing Forum 2026 by Bizerba: Shaping More Resilient, Efficient and Safe Food Production

Balingen, Germany, 10/16/2026

| How can food manufacturers strengthen resilience, efficiency and product safety amid new regulations, labor shortages and growing operational complexity? At the Food Manufacturing Forum 2026, industry decision-makers and experts discussed these challenges at the Bizerba Showroom in Balingen. Expert keynotes and live demonstrations connected cybersecurity, automation and product safety with the practical realities of food production.

Cyber resilience: Beyond IT security

Dr. Patricia Köpfer, Cyber Education Manager at Schwarz Digits, emphasized that every production chain is also an information chain. Manipulated recipe, inspection or labeling data may go unnoticed, potentially resulting in blocked batches, disruption and delivery delays. Connected equipment, compromised identities and AI-enabled attacks increase these risks.

Köpfer also explained the different roles of the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), which addresses products with digital elements, and NIS2, which sets cybersecurity requirements for organizations within its scope. Her recommendation: identify critical data dependencies, involve suppliers and remote-access providers, and prepare for safe decisions and controlled recovery after incidents.

In an era of agentic AI, hybrid threats, and connected production environments, cybersecurity needs to be top of mind of decision-makers in the industry”
Patricia Klöpfer
Schwarz Digits
Audience poll: Top cybersecurity questions

Participants selected their most important questions:

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How can AI detect vulnerabilities, security risks and unusual activities in production?
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How can food manufacturers secure production or restart quickly after a cyberattack?
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How realistic are AI-powered attacks on production, and how can companies prepare?

From individual machines to overall line efficiency 

The Line Efficiency & Automation session focused on a simple principle: understand the process before choosing the technology. Bottlenecks in material flow, manual tasks, interfaces and downtime must be measured across the line, not just at individual machines. OEE, changeover times, giveaway and labor input help identify improvements with measurable impact.

During the End-of-Line Automation Showroom Experience, participants explored how inspection, labeling, handling, packaging and digital processes can work together. The priority is not to automate as much as possible, but to improve overall line performance.

Product safety protects products, consumers and brands 

Product safety goes beyond foreign-object detection. Inspection, traceability, accurate labeling and packaging integrity must work together to identify deviations, reduce risks and protect customer trust. The Inspection & Product Safety Showroom Experience illustrated these applications and provided space to discuss participants’ quality challenges with Bizerba experts.

The retail perspective:

Productivity, technology and collaboration

Michael Gerling, Managing Director of MLF Mittelständische Lebensmittel-Filialbetriebe e.V. and former CEO of the EHI Retail Institute, described a food retail sector facing margin pressure, rising costs and changing consumer expectations. Retailers are investing in IT, self-checkout and automation while differentiating through convenience, regional products, private labels and fresh-food concepts.

Gerling argued that collaboration with manufacturers must go beyond negotiations on price and assortment. Product master data, labeling, logistics, packaging and sustainability requirements already begin upstream in food production. Closer cooperation across IT, logistics, marketing and sustainability can help both sides improve processes across the value chain.

The future of food production requires perspectives from across the value chain. ”
Michael Gerling
MLF Mittelständische Lebensmittel-Filialbetriebe e.V.
Audience poll: Top retail questions

Participants selected their most important questions:

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How will automation, digitalization and AI change collaboration between retailers and manufacturers?
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What do retailers and consumers expect regarding transparency, traceability and data?
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What should managing directors and plant managers prioritize over the next five years?

Connecting the challenges

The forum highlighted how closely cyber resilience, line efficiency and product safety are linked. Connected systems enable transparency and productivity, but also depend on trustworthy information and secure processes. Retail expectations add a further reason to improve data quality, traceability and collaboration beyond the factory.

Bizerba will continue the dialogue with food manufacturers and industry partners on practical ways to build more resilient, efficient and safe production environments.