Journal of Advances in Food Science & Technology

Food safety hazards, persistent nutritional inequalities, and increasingly complex supply chains continue to challenge global food systems. Artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT), and related digital technologies offer new opportunities to strengthen food monitoring, traceability, quality assurance, and nutritional management. However, applications remain fragmented, and evidence linking improved technical performance to measurable food safety and nutritional outcomes is limited. This critical narrative review examines the applications, complementary functions, and practical limitations of these technologies across modern food systems, with particular attention to predictive contamination detection, automated quality assessment, supply chain transparency, nutritional monitoring, and decision support. The review identifies recurring challenges related to data reliability, limited external validation, interoperability, implementation costs, cybersecurity, and unequal access to digital infrastructure. It further distinguishes technological capabilities demonstrated under controlled conditions from sustained improvements in food safety, dietary quality, and public health in operational settings. To address these challenges, the review proposes an Integrated Digital Intelligence Framework organized around six interconnected functions (sense, integrate, analyse, verify, act, and evaluate) that links digital information and predictive intelligence with coordinated interventions, institutional accountability, and outcome evaluation. Priorities for future research include prospective multisite validation, comparative effectiveness studies against conventional systems, standardised reporting, cost-effectiveness analysis, and equity-focused implementation. Meaningful digital transformation of food systems requires moving beyond technological adoption toward integrated, evidence-based approaches that demonstrably improve food safety, nutrition, accessibility, and accountability.