Food For Thought

Geoff Coltman is a vice president at Catena Solutions , a supply chain-focused consultancy with deep ties to the food and beverage space. In today's episode of the Food For Thought podcast, Geoff gives his insights on the recently announced acquisition of Hostess Brands by J. M. Smucker , analyzing what it means for each company, its customers and the industry at large. In addition, Geoff offers h...

The unsung heroes of a processing plant’s operation, drives and motors keep operations running effectively and efficiently — and often aren’t noticed unless they’re not performing up to standards for throughput, efficiency and food safety. Tony Pariseau, key market specialist for food and beverage at Nord Drivesystems, joined us recently to share what the team at Nord views as pushing the envelope...

Kristin Demoranville is the founder and CEO of AnzenSage , a cybersecurity firm focused on the food sector. In this episode of the Food For Thought podcast, Kristin offers her thoughts on where the food and beverage industry stands on cybersecurity and what processors should be doing to bolster their defenses and champion the cause within their organizations. Read more on our Web page .

Today's episode is sponsored by Motion. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has taken hold of much of the manufacturing world, and food and beverage processors who haven’t yet implemented the technology will soon fall behind. In this episode, we spoke with James Howe, executive vice president - chief commercial officer/chief technology officer for Motion, to learn where the food and beverage...

Sandra Eskin, deputy under secretary for Food Safety with USDA-FSIS, joins us to discuss a variety of topics, from worker and food safety impacts of increased poultry and pork line speeds to the data revolution and how it could affect the agency's efforts, as well as FSIS' proposal to declare Salmonella an adulterant in breaded, stuffed, raw chicken products. Read more about other challenges and i...

Erin Hallstrom officially hands over the microphone for the Food For Thought Podcast to Food Processing senior editor Andy Hanacek, as Hallstrom moves to a greater role within FP's parent company.

Today’s episode is sponsored by Silky Smooth MicroCreamery, the creators of SilkySweet Necessity is the mother of invention; or at least that’s how the saying goes. For Chuck Nix, the need to create the perfect sweetener for ice cream led him to create SilkySweet, a flavor-enhancing, all-natural, sugar-free and ketogenic certified sweetener blend for a multitude of products. Nix, who founded Silky...

This episode is sponsored by EnSight Solutions.  How well do you know high shear mixing? Here to talk more about it is Don Wolfe, Product Line Manager for EnSight Solutions. We talk why and how high shear mixing is used as well as how to get the most out of your mixer. We cap the episode off talking about what it means to be a trusted partner with EnSight Solutions.  Learn more about EnSight Solut...

In this episode, sponsored by EnSight Solutions , we’re talking with Heath Clifton, Director of Automation and Controls about food-safe robotics. We talk about what food-safe robotics are as well as the difference between hygienic and sanitary robotics before turning our attention toward the key features processors should they look for when evaluating robotics.  Read the full transcript on the Foo...

We’re capping off our conversation about food and beverage workforce issues with return guest Jennifer D’Angelo.  Jennifer, who is a vice president at Catena Solutions, was on back in March talking about the correlation between the supply chain and workforce issues in the food and beverage industry. On today’s episode, we dig a little bit deeper about those issues and about the future of work for...

Many in the production industry don’t realize the importance of high-quality doors to a facility’s success. In fact, high-performance doors can help your company save money and manpower — and increase productivity. This is especially true for those in the cold storage and food industries. To explore the ins and outs of the high-performance door market and what doors might be best for your company,...

On today's episode, we’re talking with Miller Resource Group recruiter Denise Chludzinski about specific tasks and ideas companies can undertake to ensure they find and keep the best employees.  We kick off the episode talking about the perception problem food and beverage companies have among consumers and why that may be preventing future generations from considering careers in the ever-growing...

Today on the podcast, we’re talking with Jeff Broussard, president of EnSight Solutions. Jeff joins us to talk about further processing, a topic EnSight has a lot of knowledge on.  In the episode, Jeff talks us through what further processing is and what trends he’s seeing in the processing market. He walks us through developments in further processing equipment design before offering insights on...

On today’s episode, we’re talking with financial expert, Jennifer Palmer.  Jennifer, who is the CEO and Founder of asset-based lending firm JPalmer Collective , is a return guest to the podcast and she’s here to talk about how bank collapses – like the one that happened with Silicon Valley Bank in March – can have a ripple effect for food and beverage manufacturers.  We take both a macro and a mic...

Florida-based Mettler-Toledo serves the food processing industry via its product inspection solutions to ensure the quality and safety of food products before they make it to the consumer. Mettler-Toledo sees product inspection as one of the most important elements to success for today’s production facilities. The company is a multinational manufacturer of scales and analytical instruments and is...

With us on the podcast today is Jen D’Angelo, Vice President at Catena Solutions.  Today’s episode is packed with useful tips for food and beverage processors. Whether you work in HR, the lab, or even the plant floor, you’ll want to listen in as Jen walks us through some easy-to-implement tips and tools for attracting recruits of all ages to your company. Recruitment is only half the battle; Jen a...

We sat down and talked with Food Processing’s newest addition: Senior Editor Andy Hanacek. Andy’s fairly well known in the food and beverage industry, and we kick off the episode talking about that and so much more. We cover a lot of ground, including how Andy’s been helping to inform an industry that combats misconceptions and misinformation on daily basis.  Having covered the food and beverage i...

With us on the podcast today is Gary Nowacki, CEO of TraceGains. We’re talking about what food and beverage processors might expect this year in terms of ingredient costs and supply availability. We launch into a discussion about inflation – and disinflation – and how both will play a part in the business strategies of many top food companies. As we attempt to make predictions about the coming yea...

With us on the podcast today is Marlene Creighton, Chief Sales Officer at Hershey. We’re talking about Hershey’s Future CEO program, which brings together 10 young women and girls from around the globe for a day of learning and mentorship. We talk about why this program is so important to Hershey and how it’s helping to make an impact on the next generation. We discuss the importance of mentorship...

Today we’re talking with Jamie McKeon, Senior Vice President of Demand Creation at Rich Products. Jamie’s here to talk to us about how Rich Products is working with a local university to help find, encourage, and recruit the next generation of the food and beverage marketers.   We touch on the trends and observations the team has seen with the newest generation of the workforce as well as what Ric...

Joining us today is Maria Pearman, Principal and Beverage Practice Leader, at GHJ. Maria is what you would call a ‘Contract CFO.’ She helps companies that are moving from their startup and emerging phases and gets them over the hurdles so they can reach their more mature stage of growth. How she helps them with these growing pains is something we dive into at the start of the episode. We then spen...

In this episode, Maggie Slowik, Global Industry Director for Manufacturing at IFS , walks us through how food safety and consumer trust are related. We talk about what trends she’s seeing as well as what’s at stake if a manufacturer doesn’t have good end-to-end quality management practices in place. We then spend some time talking about how food safety and traceability can lend themselves as oppor...

For our seventh and final episode of the Influential Women in Food series, we’re turning our attention to Alexis Bertrand, Quality Assurance Supervisor at Reid’s Dairy Company.  A great listener. A teacher. A champion of women she works with. all are phrases that could be used to describe Alexis. A forensic science student in college, Alexis went on after graduation to become a microbiology techni...

WIN-911’s Cody Bann talks with us about how companies can not only improve their cyber security, but also mitigate their risks for cyber-attacks. We have a conversation about how tools like remote alarm notification software can help reduce cyber-attacks in processing facilities. We’re then joined by Ozarka’s Trey Mixon, who explains how this Blue Triton brand out of Texas is using WIN-911’s remot...

If you’re discouraged or frustrated by the disparity between how men and women are represented in the food and beverage industry, then this is a can’t-miss episode. This week, we’re talking with Jennifer Stojkovic, founder and creator of the Vegan Women Summit and the author of The Future of Food Is Female: Reinventing the Food System to Save the Planet . We pack a lot of great information into th...