MeatingPod

Dr. Jeyam Subbiah, Project Director of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of Arkansas, outlines how five U.S. academic institutions are working together to achieve what he describes as a “transformational change” in poultry production. The USDA-backed research focuses on such advances as automated pathogen identification at meat processing plants and new concepts in rob...

Dr. Denise Heard shares inside information on research supported by U.S. Poultry & Egg Association and outlines how the latest outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) are affecting members of the all-feather organization. The director and coordinator of USPOULTRY's research programs also provides a sneak peek into the upcoming International Production & Processing Expo (...

Martin Bucknavage, senior food safety extension associate at the Penn State University Department of Food Science, discusses the latest advances he has seen in his role as a resource for meat companies and state regulators regarding food security and waste. His two decades of experience in the food industry have given him unique perspectives on continually evolving developments in food safety prot...

Israeli plant-based meat company, Chunk, has skipped over the patties and nuggets that dominate the alt-meat space at retail, in favor of filets that fit quite nicely among high-end steakhouse offerings. Using a fermentation process, Chunk replicates the “grain” of a whole cut of beef steak, so it cooks and eats like its animal-based counterpart. Chunk founder and CEO Amos Golan spoke with Alt-Mea...

With nearly 80 years of experience, Godshall’s Quality Meats in Souderton, Pa., is focused on offering new concepts to address ever-changing trends among consumers who love smoked meats. In this episode, company President Ron Godshall explains how the company developed alternative smoked meat products in a market that’s been saturated in hot dogs, hams and pork-based bacon for decades. Standing ou...

Dongyi Wang, assistant professor of biological and agricultural engineering at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, describes his role as principal investigator of a team of researchers that received two major grants. Their research will study automated systems that can manage tasks that normally on the poultry line usually must be executed by human workers. The team also wil...

Responsible for leading the Stampede Meats Inc. teams on food safety and quality assurance, Ann Clarton shares how consistent communication, keeping team members challenged and reinforcing the importance of these efforts has led to accolades from the world’s leading food safety and certification auditing company, Brand Reputation through Compliance Global Standard (BRCGS). As senior director of Fo...

Bill Aimutis, director of the North Carolina Food Innovation Lab, brought a couple of decades’ experience in global innovation with Cargill to his position, so when he speaks on the best way to launch and grow an alt-meat (or any other kind of food) business, people listen. Aimutis shared his thoughts with Alt-Meat on how best to thrive in the rough economic waters now surrounding the alt-proteins...

In this episode from the MeatingPod vault, Dr. David Gerrard, professor and director of the School of Animal Sciences at Virginia Tech University explains how today’s meat science students are starting their educational journeys better equipped to manage their training to become meat science professionals. He’ll also outline the current state of meat science school funding and how food safety has...

As the annual Thanksgiving festivities gather steam, MeatingPod chats with Neal Walsh, chief operating officer at Butterball LLC, on differences this year with turkey supplies versus the avian influenza scourge that killed a record number of domestic U.S. birds last year. Walsh will outline the lessons learned in a previous bird flu outbreak in 2015 and how Butterball met customer demand during th...

As Vice President of R&D, QA and Project Management at Applegate Farms, Chad Clem wears a lot of hats as he guides his teams through the process of developing and fine-tuning the processor’s lines of all-natural and organic deli meats, bacon, sausage, chicken, snacks and cheese. In this episode, Clem describes how staying on top of regulatory issues, innovation, food safety and other projects...

Parendi Birdie has spent most of her career in biotechnology — specifically, the science and business of the cultivated meat supply chain. With roots planted deeply in Kansas, however, she envisions a practical path toward a more non-meat-based diet for Americans in the largely untapped market in blended proteins. By combining conventional meat products and non-animal sources of proteins, change-r...

A lifelong robotics enthusiast, Dr. Konrad Ahlin currently leads a team of researchers that are trying to assess and address the challenges of developing robotic systems for meat and poultry processing plants in addition to effectively integrating new technologies like artificial intelligence. He also discusses with MeatingPod how the industry is becoming more comfortable with the idea that today’...

University of Arkansas professor and a poultry processing specialist Dr. Casey M. Owens discusses how larger birds resulting from growth performance improvements and longer growth cycles have led to some very specific meat quality issues like woody breasts. She also outlines the use of automation and artificial intelligence in poultry processing and some of the eventual quality defects and texture...

As former Under Secretary of Agriculture in Foods Safety at U-S-D-A between 2019 and 2021 Dr. Mindy Brashears has a unique observations on food safety initiatives and effectiveness from both the regulatory and academic research perspectives. She currently is a professor of food safety and public health and director of the International Center for Food Industry Excellence at Texas Tech University S...

Ivy Farms is a U.K.-based company that is helping build the alt-meat industry in that country. Ivy Farms’ business model is different from most: strictly b-to-b, focusing on just one part of the process — in this case, developing and growing the harvested cell lines. To do that successfully, Ivy Farms has actively pursued partnerships with other companies in the space, as CEO Rich Dillon explains....

Dr. Wesley Osburn, associate professor of meat science, at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences division at Texas A&M University, and his team are working on developing an alternative curing system for meat and poultry products using an amino acid that can still protect the food items from microbes and extend shelf life. The goal is to develop an alternative to nitrites currently used...

Dr. Christine Alvarado of Prosur Inc. outlines the inherent challenges poultry processors face producing raw and cooked products when it comes to the inevitable pathogens that are present inside their plants. She also notes the advances in cleaning processes and other equipment in plants and describes the status of regulatory agencies and their practices when it comes to ensuring food safety in po...

Anne-Marie Roerink of 210 Analytics – the author of the Power of Meat 2023 report along with other meat studies and presentations – will provide insights and updates on consumer trends and what meat companies and retailers can do to spark interest in their products. As a special bonus exclusively for MeatingPod, Anne-Marie also will introduce new material using audio responses from consumer interv...

Anne-Marie Roerink of 210 Analytics – the author of the Power of Meat 2023 report along with other meat studies and presentations – provides insights and updates on consumer trends when it comes to alternative proteins. As a special bonus exclusively for MeatingPod, Anne-Marie also will introduce new material using audio responses from consumer interviews that provide additional context on how con...

Anne-Marie Roerink of 210 Analytics – the author of the Power of Meat 2023 report along with other meat studies and presentations – will provide insights and updates on consumer trends regarding meat purchases in a post-pandemic world, especially cooking at home vs. dining out. As a special bonus exclusively for MeatingPod, Anne-Marie also will introduce new material using audio responses from con...

Anne-Marie Roerink of 210 Analytics – the author of the Power of Meat 2023 report along with other meat studies and related presentations – will provide insights and updates on consumer trends when buying meat. As a special bonus exclusively for MeatingPod, Anne-Marie also will introduce new material using audio responses from consumer interviews that provide additional context on the consumer rel...

Dr. Jeyam Subbiah, Project Director of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of Arkansas, describes how a coalition of five U.S. academic institutions are working together to achieve what he calls “transformational changes” in poultry production. The USDA-backed research focuses on such advances as automated pathogen identification at plants in addition to new robotics tha...

For all the excitement over the start-ups in the alt-meat space, it’s the giant multinationals, like Cargill, Tyson and ADM, with the muscle to make the biggest splash. Leticia Gonçalves, president of global foods for ADM, is leading that company’s holistic approach to the alt-protein supply chain. Gonçalves discusses ADM’s new deep dive report into what consumers are thinking now about the alt-pr...

Marty Linn, Director of Engineering at the Tyson Manufacturing Automation Center in Springdale, Ark., discusses advances and challenges he and his team face as they develop automated and robotics systems for use in chicken processing. The goal of boosting efficiency, reducing costs and worker safety dovetails with Tyson’s commitment to help Tyson team members expand their skills and, thus, enhance...