2024 presented a surge of challenges in the U.S. food industry, with high-profile pathogen outbreaks, recalls, and public safety failures and tragic outcomes. While the headlines seem to be on repeat mode, there have been some new innovations that are showing signs of success. Some of these have come in the form of technology advances as forward-thinking food suppliers realize that their command of data allows them to see trends and issues emerging before they become expensive problems. But many organizations are unable to afford the high cost of entry required to obtain the latest technological testing, tools and skills. This is where a new type of innovation has emerged… Risk mitigation is in the best interest of ALL parties involved, and that includes the insurance underwriters and brokers who service the food industry with recall and other liability policies. Increasingly, insurers are finding ways to provide financial support to increase risk mitigation capabilities at the food companies they insure. The drivers and benefits for doing so are the subject of this panel discussion. The panelists will discuss real-world examples to illustrate how use of advanced testing methods, data management, analytics and workflow automation technologies are being applied to mitigate many forms of risk, and why insurers are increasingly becoming involved in advancing these capabilities. Attendees will take away new ideas and concepts that they can put to use right away: • Understand how different stakeholders perceive risk • How to tie food safety risk mitigation to tangible net-positive business and economic outcomes • How insurers and food suppliers are collaborating to support the advancement of improved risk management through advanced testing and data analytics • Actionable take-aways for how to engage leadership and insurers to improve utilization of pre-incident funding to enable preventative outcomes.