KNOW YOUR FOOD

Food scarcity. Food security. Food safety. These three concerns have been at the forefront of every consumers mind. Simply put, will there be enough food? And the food that is available, is it safe for me to eat, or have workers been exposed? Tune in to hear first-hand how the pandemic is impacting food distribution, from leading expert James Tyler, owner of James Tyler Distribution, which delivers fresh fine food from Australia and NZ to China, the country where the pandemic first originated.

How can technology build a more resilient and trusted food system? We sit down to discuss this very topic with Alan Lai,  a research engineer by training, and Founder and Executive Director of teapasar, a company who developed ProfilePrint, a technology powered by artificial intelligence to analyse authenticity and quality of food and ingredients. Tune in to learn how technology can empower a stronger, transparent food supply chain, which can hopefully withstand the current pandemic and any catastrophic events that the future might hold.

In this episode we sit down with Mike Lee, the founder of The Future Market, a futurist food lab that explores what our food system could look like in the next 5-25 years, through experiences and concept products. Mike is also co-founder of Alpha Food Labs, a food innovation company that helps companies create strategies and products that are better for people, planet, and profit. 

 Mike’s experience in food design & innovation has covered a wide range over the past 13 years. Prior to Alpha Food Labs & The Future Market, Mike led product development initiatives on the Innovation & New Ventures team at Chobani. Mike focused on building out their savory platform and drove food design from consumer insights, to ideation, to food and brand development, to business planning and production. 

Tune in to hear a leading expert discuss how the pandemic is shaping the future of food and food innovation.

Today we sit down with Jim Ward, owner of Ward's Berry Farm located in Sharon Massacheusettes since 1982. Jim and his brother have been running the farm, and now with COVID-19, share a behind the scenes look on how the pandemic has impacted not only their farm, but farming as a whole. Tune in to hear how the coronavirus has shaped farming, food distribution, employee health on the farm, and how farmers like Jim Ward and Ward Berry Farm have had to pivot their business in the days of a pandemic.

Where can you purhcase food these days? How can you help local farmers, restaurants and food retailers survive? These are the questions ripe.io team leader Hannah Leighton, a specialist in farming, wanted to answer. Working with the engineers at ripe.io, and leveraging her vast network of farmers and local restaurants in her local area of the Catskills New York, she was instrumental in building ripeCommunity, a directory of food businesses serving the local community during the COVID-19 crisis. The goal is to connect those providing food (restaurants, farms, farm businesses, grocery stores) to community members who need food and ingredients during this unprecedented time. Information is regularly updated by businesses so consumers have access to accurate hours, available products, and ordering instructions. Community members can also donate directly to their local food business, whether they are currently open or not.

As President and CEO of Blue Pacific Flavors, Donald Wilkes has more than 40 years of experience in the food and beverage industries through his work in innovative food flavor development in the Americas, Asia and Europe. Donald founded privately-held Blue Pacific Flavors, Inc. in 1993 and the company’s 100% wholly owned manufacturing facility and flavor and product development laboratory, Blue Pacific Flavors Suzhou Co, Ltd in Suzhou China in 2005.  He is the President-elect for FEMA (Flavor and Extract Manufacturing Association) starting in May 2020 to May 2021 and currently is a Board member for FEMA.  Donald represents the Far East as a Board member of  IOFI (International Organization of Flavor Industry) and is Board Liaison to IOFI APAC region and ICB ( IOFI Communications Board).  He is a Professional Member of the Institute of Food Technologists, American Association of Cereal Chemists and a member of the Chemists Club in New York. He sits on New Hope Media Publication’s Functional Ingredients magazine advisory committee.  Donald has been a featured columnist in food and beverage trade magazines and has been quoted as an industry expert resource on food service, retail flavor trends, beverages trends and biotechnology in top-tier consumer and business publications such as the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and Entrepreneur magazine.

Coronavirus has shaped our food supply system, forcing nearly everyone in the food supply chain to rapidly adapt to meet consumer demands. But how has that impacted food brands themselves? On another episode of Know Your Food, we sit down with Eugenio Perrier,  a marketing executive with 25+ years of experience on fostering brand’s growth in Food companies such as Barilla and Sabra to learn about COVID and the impact it is having on brands consumers buy and love.

Tune in as ripe.io Director of Food Science Riccardo Accolla interviews a world leading expert in the health ingredient business, Grace Lin Xo. Grace is first and foremost a friend and also a major expert in the Functional Food and Ingredient business. She has more than 25 years experience in global operations and management in leading food and nutrition companies such as DSM, Chr.Hansen and Nestle. (in China, USA, Switzerland) . She is also an entrepreneur and founder of VIVA nutrition a business focused on bringing healthy ingredients such as probiotics, Vitamins and Omega-3 into the Chinese Market.

With consumers rushing to stores, stockpiling food and an overall sense of panic for the future, the food supply system has been under immense pressure to meet the demand of consumers. In this first episode of food safety and security, Director of Food science, Riccardo Accolla, from ripe.io gives a candid overview of the food supply chain and delivers a candid picture of what is actually happening, behind the scenes in food right now. To learn more about the blockchain of food, visit ripe.io

Ori Zohar is a social entrepreneur and the co-founder of Burlap & Barrel, the world's first comprehensive, single-origin spice company. Burlap & Barrel creates equitable global supply chains by working directly with farmers to cut out intermediaries and deliver exceptionally flavorful spices. The company has been featured in Epicurious, Bon Appetit, Saveur, and Fast Company, as well as in the kitchens of restaurants from Eleven Madison Park and Blue Hill to sweetgreen and Chop't to home cooks across the country.