Food safety veteran Sharon Beals offers perspectives on what food manufacturers need to know about continuing the learning process when it comes to protecting workers and customers from foodborne illnesses. In the wake of last year’s listeria outbreak that sent nearly 60 people to the hospital and played a role in the deaths of at least nine people, Beals notes that deli meat processor Boar’s Head and others can glean new approaches to improve conditions at their plants. Vigilance, communication and sharing information on systems that work will be key to improving food safety down the road, she adds. 

The alt-meat sector has plenty of conferences, but this May, the largest trade show dedicated to alt-meat will be held in Frankfurt, Germany, adding to the list of global conferences for alt-meat networking. In fact, an entire hall at the triannual IFFA show, which otherwise is dedicated to conventional meat production, will focus on alternative proteins. The Good Food Institute-Europe is partnering with IFFA on the World of Alternative Proteins and will help anchor the hall. In light of that collaboration, GFI-Europe’s Managing Director Alex Mayers joins MeatingPod to discuss the programs and opportunities that specifically will be available to alt-meat attendees at this year’s show.

Automation has been part of the U.S. manufacturing industry since the 1930s and an increasingly prominent factor in food manufacturing in more recent decades. Our MeatingPod guest is Steve Mustard, who has more than 35 years of experience in automated systems. In this episode, he'll cover some of that history and provide insights on how meat processors today are successfully integrating automation into their operations. Mustard – an independent consultant and expert at the International Society of Automation – also will outline the integration of Artificial Intelligence to enhance these systems, influencing processing, warehousing and even food safety.

With the monitoring of foodborne pathogens attracting even more focused efforts, today’s MeatingPod guest offers insights on methodologies that a recent study of Campylobacter showed that the pathogen could still be detected in poultry sold on store shelves. Dr. Agneta Dziegiel is a researcher at the Quadrum Institute in Norwich, England, and was part of a research team that used a variety of sampling techniques to uncover how Campylobacter isolates can slip through food safety monitoring practices and threaten public health.

With USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service focusing new protocols to detect Listeria monocytogenes in meat, food safety veteran Sharon Beals offers her perspectives on steps meat processors adopted in the wake of the deadly Boar's Head outbreak that was connected to the deaths of 10 consumers in 2024. She also outlines the goals of the Women's Meat Industry Network, which aims to boost education, development and promotion of women in the meat and poultry industries, an organization where she serves as executive director.

More than any other segment of the alternative meats sector, cultivated meat is where innovation meets controversy. Long before it hits store shelves, meat grown in bioreactors has sparked a heated debate in the food culture wars. Government bans and social media backlash are complicating its path to regulatory approval and consumer acceptance. Fortunately, Kimberly Ong is here as our guide: The consultant with Boston-based Vireo Advisors science and policy firm spoke with Alt-Meat about the headwinds that slow the progress of the science and the policy. She also provides advice for leaders in the alt-meat sector on what to do about these challenges.

Worker injury rates in the U.S. poultry industry posted a significant decline in the last 29 years and this week’s MeatingPod guest explains how this milestone was achieved through innovation, education and collaboration. Matt Spencer is vice president of human resources and safety programs at USPOULTRY, which monitors trends industrywide. He notes that poultry processors were eager to share new approaches that addressed such issues as musculoskeletal disorders and other potential hazards in the workplace that threaten worker safety. He also addresses how robotics and automation initiatives are improving safety on several levels of poultry processing operations.

Dr. Denise Heard, vice president of Research Programs at the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, updates recent results from research partially funded by the organization known primarily as USPOULTRY. She also outlines how the process works regarding the research support arms of the association and its USPOULTRY Foundation. Dr. Heard provides a sneak peek into the upcoming 2025 International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE), the annual poultry industry gathering scheduled for Atlanta in late January 2025. USPOULTRY is a major sponsor of the gathering that offers attendees the opportunity to attend more than 80 educational, college student and career program sessions and networking events throughout the three-day trade show.

In this MeatingPod episode, Brad Johnson, CEO of Verde Farms, outlines the challenges and processes to maintain innovations and safety standards for the company’s line of 100% grass-fed and organic beef products. The Mass.-based processor is focused on keeping the lines of communications open with its retail customers in addition to conducting its own research on consumer trends. Verde Farms, he notes, is focused on trying to keep ahead of what shoppers are looking for when it comes to grass-fed and organic meat products.

The way Jeff “Trip” Tripician sees it, he didn’t leave his job as CEO of a conventional meat company to become CEO of the Dutch cultivated meat company Meatable; rather, he went from CEO of one meat company to another. After decades working to institute progressive practices within the U.S. meat industry, Trip is pushing the cultivated meat industry to progress by, essentially, helping them understand that they are meat companies, not food-tech companies. And by hammering home the idea that feeding the world’s population is strategy, not a competition, he aims to create that brass ring of business — synergy. Trip Tripician joined MeatingPod for a wide-ranging and frank discussion of meat, alt-meat, food-tech, the climate, and the crossroads at which they all are standing.