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Welsh university wins funding to develop AI tools that improve food safety

20 Aug 2026 2 minute read

Abby Neve

A Welsh university has secured £176,000 to study how artificial intelligence (AI) can make food safer in both workplaces and households.

Cardiff Met has received funding for the project from Behavioural Research UK through its Commissioning Fund, as part of a wider UK-wide £1.3 million Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) initiative to strengthen behavioural research.

As part the Smart Hygiene Intelligence project, researchers will investigate how AI-powered systems could encourage safer food handling and help reduce the risk of foodborne illness.

Dr Issam Damaj, Head of Department of Computer Science and project lead, said: “Food safety depends not only on knowledge and regulations, but also on everyday human behaviour. This project will explore how behavioural science and AI can work together to deliver practical solutions.

“By bringing together experts in technology, food safety and behavioural research, we aim to develop intelligent tools that are effective, trusted and capable of making a real difference across the food sector and beyond.”

Researchers will work closely with end users to co-design AI tools that help identify risks, encourage good hygiene habits and support better decision-making. One area being explored is AI-powered hand hygiene monitoring.

Poor food hygiene remains a leading cause of foodborne illness. The researchers say that while food safety is often managed through training, audits and inspections, AI could offer a more proactive approach by:

Identifying unsafe practices in real time
Prompting corrective action
Improving compliance with hygiene procedures
Providing insights into behavioural trends
Supporting stronger food safety cultures in workplaces and homes

The work draws on expertise from Cardiff Met’s Centre for Engineering Research on Intelligent Sensors and Systems, Professor Elizabeth Redmond and Dr Ellen Evans from the ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre and Dr Fiona Carroll from Cardiff School of Technologies, alongside industry partner Forward NPD.

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