Food science and regulation are heading to Leeds on 23 and 24 June 2026, with the Government Chemist Conference set for Nexus at the University of Leeds. It will run as an in-person event, with remote access available for those who cannot make the trip. For northern readers, the location matters. Too many national conversations about standards, research and regulation are held in London by default. This one is coming to Leeds, and it will put a Yorkshire venue at the centre of a debate about how the UK keeps food safe, tests new products and plans for a more pressured future.

Billed as Safe Food for Tomorrow’s World, the conference is being framed around a hard fact: the food system is under strain from climate change, population growth and the long job of protecting food security. The organisers say meeting that challenge will take both innovation and regulation that is proportionate, evidence-based and able to keep up. The event will bring together people from science, industry and policy to look at the part measurement science can play in a modern food system. Julian Braybrook, the Government Chemist, is hosting, with keynote lectures from Professor Ian Young, chief scientific adviser at the Food Standards Agency, and Dr Justine Betja, deputy chief scientific adviser at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The programme is built around four themes: responsible regulation for food, measurement for evolving food systems, engineering our future food and protecting our environment. Read together, they show where the pressure points now sit - from food fraud and testing standards to alternative proteins, packaging, soil health and environmental contamination. For Yorkshire and the wider North, that is more than policy language. Food production, manufacturing, university research and public health all meet here. A conference like this will matter to businesses that need clear rules, researchers trying to prove new methods work, and regulators expected to keep public confidence intact while the sector changes around them.

Day one opens with a focus on regulation. After registration and Braybrook’s welcome, Ian Young will deliver a keynote on future food and why it matters to society and the economy. The morning also includes a review of Government Chemist referee cases from 2023 to 2026, a session on port health regulation and technology from Anthony Baldock of the Association of Port Health Authorities, and a talk from Wing-yan Winnie Chum on testing approaches and regulatory challenges in modern food systems. The afternoon turns to measurement in changing food systems. Justine Betja is due to speak on innovative food production in a regulatory setting, followed by sessions on honey authenticity data, shared industry intelligence on food integrity, regulation of innovative food products and advances in STEC diagnostics to support risk management. The first day closes with a drinks reception and dinner.

Day two shifts further into future food, with a session on engineering led by Linda Bedenik of the BioIndustry Association’s Engineering Biology Advisory Committee. Speakers are set to cover microbial food systems, cellular agriculture manufacturing, cultivated product methods, all-Ireland agri-food research and the safety assessment of alternative proteins using in vitro digestion and machine learning. A networking deep-dive hosted by the EngBioMet network will follow before the conference moves into environmental protection. That closing stretch includes work on detecting and characterising microplastics, allergen detection in non-dairy milks, the role of soil health in food production and carbon footprint methods for sustainable packaging, before Braybrook returns for the final remarks.

For anyone planning to attend in person, the conference will be held at Nexus, Discovery Way, University of Leeds, LS2 3AA. Prices, excluding VAT, are £300 for the full in-person event, £175 for a one-day in-person pass and £100 per day online. The full in-person rate includes the conference dinner, although places at the dinner are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. Organisers say the programme and speaker information will continue to be updated on the event page, and registration is open now via Eventbrite. For Leeds, the event is a useful reminder that serious national conversations about science, standards and innovation do not need a London postcode to carry weight.