International Fresh Produce Association CEO Cathy Burns will open the 2026 Global Produce & Floral Show with her annual State of the Industry address Oct. 14 in Orlando, Florida, framing food safety, trade, labor, sustainability, AI and consumption as one interconnected global system, and kicking off the show’s first run on a midweek schedule.
The preview arrives with unusual urgency. “There has rarely been a more important moment for our industry to come together than right now,” Burns said in a media briefing ahead of the show, noting that this year’s headwinds affect everyone and that “the world is going to look different by October.”
The stakes are familiar to the produce community after a summer defined by the industry’s largest foodborne illness outbreak and the consumer-confidence rebuilding now underway.
“Fresh products move at the speed of trust,” Burns said. “When confidence is strong, markets function, buyers buy and consumers choose fresh. This keynote will explore what our industry must do together to build that confidence, anticipate what is coming next and turn disruption into durable opportunity.”
A schedule built for business
The show runs Oct. 14-16, Wednesday through Friday, a change from its traditional weekend dates that Burns said came directly from member feedback, creating more room for business and a stronger final day. The event brings together more than 20,000 global decision-makers and more than 1,000 exhibitors, with the expo floor opening Thursday.
The State of the Industry, Wednesday from 8:45-10 a.m., anchors a general-session lineup that continues Thursday with board leadership. 2026 Chair Patrick Vizzone, founder and managing partner of AgroNovare, will reflect on the association’s progress and innovation commitments, and 2027 Chair Elyse Lipman, CEO of Lipman Family Farms, will set the course for the coming year, speaking just before keynoter Justin Wren’s “Fighting for What Matters” session. Friday’s Women’s Fresh Perspectives Breakfast features concert pianist and speaker Jade Simmons, timed to the International Year of the Woman Farmer.
Programming aimed at the headwinds
The education festival between Wednesday’s general sessions tackles the same issues Burns will connect on stage: global trade and business conditions, the economics driving pricing and sourcing, food safety and traceability, packaging and sustainability, shopper trends and protecting brand reputation in an AI-driven world. A Wednesday afternoon session convenes IFPA leaders and thought leaders on advocacy, nutrition, trade and leadership during crisis.
In the press briefing, Lipman pointed to Thursday and Friday’s Food Safety and Tech Exchange sessions, short, operator-led discussions on the business case for AI, practical FSMA 204 implementation, packaging compliance, digital twins and automation, along with a returning regenerative agriculture tour and a new supply-chain tour connecting operations leaders with cold chain technologies from predictive AI to robotics.
“We are navigating historic climate volatility, relentless cost and margin pressures, ever-evolving food safety challenges and complex regulatory mandates, from FSMA 204 in the U.S. to the EU’s new packaging rules,” said Lipman, citing an environment where social media can ignite trends or spread misinformation overnight. “None of us can solve these structural headwinds in a silo. We feed people fresh, nutritious food. We are all on the same team, and we have work to do.”
Outside the show
Beyond the show floor, IFPA’s community commitments include delivering more than 100,000 pounds of fresh produce to Orlando-area families through Second Harvest and sending florals into neighborhoods, shelters and community centers with That Flower Feeling. Thursday morning’s 5K supports the Foundation for Fresh Produce, and Burns said the show’s theme, belong and solve, reflects its purpose: attendees bring their toughest problems and leave with the industry’s full force behind them.
Registration and All Access Passes, which guarantee State of the Industry seating, are available through IFPA’s Global Produce & Floral Show website.
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