With artificial intelligence (AI) technology developing faster than ever, can the packaging sector afford to ignore it - and should it be concerned? The experts at Easyfairs, organiser of London Packaging Week, talk to Evelio Mattos, creative director of packaging at IDP Direct, about where the technology has its uses.

Does the packaging industry need to evolve what it already does well, or tear up the rule book and blaze a new trail? According to Easyfairs' Senior Marketing Manager James Montero-MacColl, in this industry, there's room for both.

Food safety specialist Fortress Technology explores the benefits of staying ahead of an unannounced inspection by an external party, and the value of monitoring everyday risks by performing regular internal and external audit reviews.

The handling of dry bulk materials used to be a completely manual process, but it is now being increasingly automated in a drive to reduce both the costs and the risks of injury, while also increasing throughput and accuracy. The experts at Sensor Technology explore some of the new technologies behind these developments.

Highlighting the example of the Celarevo brewery in Serbia, owned by the Carlsberg Group, Christoph Dorigatti, Vice President of global business development at COPA-DATA looks at how companies can progress toward sustainability with an automated energy data management system (EDMS).

Creating a 'best-in-class' contaminant detection strategy requires understanding the respective strengths and limitations of food inspection technologies. X-ray and metal detection both have the same quality control goal - detecting contaminants. Both have a place on food production lines, and when used together, both can strengthen food safety, as Phil Brown, European Sales Director at Fortress Technology, explains.

Over the last forty-plus years, HRS Heat Exchangers has gained a reputation for producing highly efficient tubular heat exchangers which provide unrivalled heat exchange capacity combined with consistent performance with a relatively small operational footprint. The key to this is its use of corrugated tube technology. Global key account director Matt Hale looks at the numerous benefits corrugated tubes provide over the use of smooth tubes in tubular heat exchangers.

Paul Carter, Sales Manager at FANUC UK, looks are how robots are set to shape the future of food manufacturing.

Food safety specialist Fortress Technology addresses the main metal detection challenges that arise when inspecting dairy applications for contaminants, reviewing how the latest technology is smarter and overcomes a number of sensitivity challenges.

By implementing smart and adaptable weighing technology in plant machines and equipment, Stephen Hayes, managing director of Beckhoff UK, explains why food manufacturers require control automation to increase efficiency and prevent avoidable costs.