Food Matters Live Podcast

How much do labels and packaging affect what we taste when we eat food? It's a question that Christopher T Simons, Associate Professor in Sensory Science at The Ohio State University , has given a lot of thought to. In his latest study , he presented people with three plates of identical biscuits, one labelled "customer complaint", one labelled "factory typical", and another labelled "new and impr...

"I've learned to welcome (people saying) no. Each 'no' brings you a little closer to the next yes." It takes a lot to launch a successful food brand, but Sophie Baron, founder of Mamamade , says she couldn't have done it alone. She says she was lucky to have mentorship from women within the business world , particularly as she admits to being scared it wasn't all going to work out when she first s...

How do you go about making a sustainable food system that is net positive when it comes to carbon emissions? How much comes down to changing consumer behaviour versus manufacturing practices? And if you are to change the entire food system, how do you go about getting all stakeholders onboard? None of these are easy questions to answer, but that's where a project in the Netherlands comes in. The D...

"The early part of my career was in food marketing roles, which I absolutely loved. But I really felt like I wanted to work for myself." And so began a hugely successful career as a vegan food blogger, author and podcast host for Niki Webster. Perhaps just as well known as the woman behind Rebel Recipes, Niki's rise to fame would have been difficult to predict when she was a student. "I did a degr...

In the battle against food waste, increasing the shelf-life of products is one weapon we have at our disposal. The latest figures suggest we still produce around 143kg of waste per person per year in the UK.  But many traditional methods of increasing shelf-life don’t fit with consumer concerns about healthy eating – additives, salt, sugar and fat just aren’t on trend. And those manufacturers keen...

The amount of salt , or specifically sodium, we consume is a global health problem. The World Health Organization says most people around the world consume double the recommended amount every day - and it's leading to high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and heart attacks. But, we seem to be addicted to the stuff and, despite high-profile health campaigns, we're not really seeing much in t...

Does being an entrepreneur in the food sector mean doing everything yourself? Not according to Ayesah Grover, CEO and founder of strp'd , a company that makes flour, milk and flakes out of tigernuts. In the episode of the Career Conversations series, Ayesha tells Elisa Roche that collaboration and outsourcing are hugely important: "I don't think anyone can do absolutely everything." She says, alth...

The ketogenic diet is everywhere you look, promoted as a quick way to lose weight. It seems to tap into something within many of us and comes with the added attraction of appearing to be based in some scientific theory. There is also the fact that there is evidence that, under proper medical supervision, the low-carb diet can be effective for children with drug-resistant epilepsy. But is it all it...

Rising inflation is hanging over every household and business in the country. In January 2022, overall prices were rising at around 5 per cent, with food a key contributor. So how will rising prices affect the food industry? In this episode of the Table Talk podcast, Stefan Gates is joined by two experts in this field. Tim Lloyd is Professor of Economics at Bournemouth University, Fraser McKevitt,...

When Mark Whalley was doing his degree in English Literature and Creative Writing, he had no idea that he would end up happily working as Consumer Insights Controller for a major food company. "I didn't know what consumer insights was," he tells Elisa Roche in the latest Career Conversations episode. "I thought I would be a primary school teacher." But it was when he saw a job advertised that he t...

Benjamina Ebuehi says for a long time, she never saw baking as a career. "I didn't want to work in a restaurant kitchen or run a bakery," she says. "And I didn't really know what else I could do with it." So she carried on with her degree in Economics at the University of Leicester , and kept baking for friends at the weekends. But that all changed, when she appeared on The Great British Bake Off...

The market for plant-based food and drink is undoubtedly growing, but what does that mean for the types of products we might see on the shelves in 2022? This year's Veganuary was the biggest ever , and Marks and Spencer alone has added 175 new plant-based products to its range this year. But with a seemingly every-expanding customer base, how do producers understand what it is they want? How do yo...

How do we inspire young people to become fascinated by food? It's a question food teachers up and down the country are answering every day - but is their work being valued? In England, there has been a big decline in children taking a GCSE in food and nutrition, and it is the only national curriculum subject that doesn't have an A-level. That's despite the crucial role learning about food and nutr...

As work placements go, it's fair to say Laura Bradshaw wasn't too impressed when she was sent to a chicken producer in her third year of university. "All my peers were going off to well-known brands like Cadbury's, Nestle and M&S," she tells Elisa Roche in this episode of Career Conversations, "and I was going off to a chicken factory." But, Laura now says it was a pivotal moment in her career...

What role can probiotics play in helping all of us, whether we're casual runners or elite athletes, achieve our fitness goals? The link between diet and sports performance is a fascinating area.   At its heart is the gut microbiome - that colony of microbes that digests our food and regulates our metabolism - it can also affect our behaviour, our emotions, and our overall health. In this episode o...

It's well known that insects are a good, and abundant, source of protein. But just because we can eat them, should we be considering whether we should? And if we should eat them, do we need to start thinking seriously about how we farm them? In this episode of the Table Talk podcast, Stefan Gates is joined by Adam Hart, Professor of Science Communication at the University of Gloucestershire. They...

It's not every day you get a phone call that changes the course of your life, for Ellie Webb it left her "half over the moon, half terrified". Sainsbury's were calling to say they wanted to stock her new non-alcoholic drink, Caleño. At this point, Ellie was working alone, making the drink in her kitchen - Sainsbury's wanted to stock it in each of their 500 stores. "I thought to myself, I either go...

Is the amount of information on food labels helping or hindering us when it comes to making choices about what we purchase? Consumers are said to be demanding transparency regarding the foods they eat – from animal welfare to sustainability and health and nutrition information, they want to know it all.  Surely a better-informed consumer can make better choices for their health, right?  This may n...

What do you do about food security if your country is mostly surrounded by desert? It's a growing problem, particularly for the United Arab Emirates. It's estimated that around 120,000 square kilometres of land is lost to the desert each year. Countries like the UAE rely heavily on imported food, but efforts are being made to turn desert land, into fertile land. In fact, it's already happening - t...

"I used to struggle at university," Dr James Morehen says. "I really had to put the effort in if I wanted to get a good grade." James says that struggle remained part of his studies through his undergraduate degree, his Masters and his PhD. "I had to re-sit a module during my Masters," he tells Elisa Roche in the latest in our Career Conversations series. But he says that was when he knew he had t...

An innovative company in Malaysia is aiming to transform the lives of refugees in the country, through food delivery. PichaEats, based in Kuala Lumpur, helps refugees who can cook to sell their food and make an income. Suzanne Ling is the company's co-founder and she puts it simply: "They can cook but don't have access to the market. We have access to the market, but we can't cook." And she is cle...

There is an organisation in Japan which is taking a different approach to helping people living in food poverty. Second Harvest's Marugohan initiative doesn't simply deal in handouts, it asks for something back in return. That could be a good deed, or even, paradoxically, a small donation of food. The idea is to give people in need, some agency, a sense that they are not merely the receivers of he...

Millions of people will be giving and receiving chocolate on Valentine's Day, and even more will be doing so around Easter. But do we really understand the true history of it? In this episode of the Table Talk podcast, Stefan Gates is joined by food historian, Emma Kay, to reveal the often very dark history of chocolate. The slave trade was used to exploit millions of people, who were forced to wo...

"I was worried at the time. I didn't know what I wanted to do." Kate Halliwell was in her twenties and, despite studying biochemistry at Oxford, she wasn't sure which career path to follow. So she upped sticks and went travelling for two years. "I refer to it as my quarter-life crisis," she tells Elisa Roche in this episode of the Career Conversations series. It wasn't long before Kate was back in...

It's clear that the use of CBD in food and drink products in the UK is rising rapidly, but just how big can the market become? In this second Table Talk episode focussing on CBD, Stefan Gates is joined by two experts on how the supplement can be put to use. Lauren Lovatt is Founder of Plant Academy, and Dave Gibson is Founder of Gibsons Goodology. Both have extensive experience in the opportunitie...