MeatingPod
MeatingPod is the podcast of Meatingplace, the premier magazine and news source for the meat and poultry processing industry, and of Alt-Meat, the only business information resource for the exploding alternative meat industry. Each week, our award-winning editorial teams put you in the room as we interview industry thought leaders in business, plant operations, marketing, science and technology on the topics that matter to our community. Tune in on Mondays and get the inside track on the people and processes that power the protein supply.
Episodes
231 episodes
Ep. 228: Moving targets — How Glenn Valley Foods managed the aftermath of a devastating ICE raid
Would your plant — or your company — survive the overnight disappearance of more than half of your operations workforce? Glenn Valley Foods in Omaha did, after an ICE raid in June. In a conversation with Meatingplace Editor-in-chief Tom Johnsto...
•
33:20
Ep. 227: A legal game of chicken, Part 2
What goes into the decision to fight — or settle — accusations of price-fixing and collusion? The calculation is different for each company, but the fallout of the antitrust cases filed against meat and poultry processors still rains on the ind...
•
19:53
Ep. 226: A legal game of chicken, Part 1
For nearly a decade, processors of all types of meat have been hauled into court on allegations of price-fixing and other types of collusion. The legalities are complex — and expensive. Most companies are choosing to settle before the case g...
•
17:45
Ep. 225: Whither pork in 2025?
Pork is enjoying a moment in the sun, after a bumpy post-pandemic ride. Affordable feed and expensive beef are fueling demand for the red meat, even as upheaval around tariffs and the offsetting changes in the value of the US dollar work to sow...
•
20:31
Ep. 224: On the ground with AAMP
The annual convention of the American Assn. of Meat Processors tends to be more of a friends-and-family-type gathering than most other meat industry meetings, but the issues tackled over those days are as large as any processor faces. In this e...
•
28:25
Ep. 223: Wrap it up — Packaging is the fastest way to land a sustainability message
Consumers often say they would buy more meat and poultry if they knew it was more sustainable. At the same time, nearly as many shoppers say they don’t know exactly what steps protein companies have taken to improve sustainability.One of...
•
30:42
Ep. 222: AI, HPAI, UPFs and salmonella — The poultry business at mid-year
It’s mid-2025, and the poultry complex has had a tough first half. But, the next months look brighter, as Dr. Ashley Peterson notes in today’s MeatingPod episode.The senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs for the Nati...
•
28:33
Ep. 221: Consumers embrace meat again — but don’t fall too much in love
Good old-fashioned meat from livestock is enjoying renewed popularity, a shift in the zeitgeist fueled by consumers’ demand for simpler, more natural, and less- or unprocessed food products. Add to that a social backlash against plant-based mea...
•
25:42
Ep. 220: Its mid-2025 — Do you know where your alt-meats are?
After a white-knuckle first half of the year, the meat alternatives sector stares down the rest of calendar 2025 from a position of retail weakness. Sales trends that seemed poised to turn positive again at the end of last year, didn’t mater...
•
29:36
Ep 219: Five things we learned at IFFA 2025
Every three years the shiniest and newest technologies in meat processing are put on display in Frankfurt at the IFFA trade show. Meatingplace has been in attendance for decades, and this year, managing editor Peter Ricci did the honors....
•
37:32
Ep 218: Hang Glide — New tech for the toughest job in the plant
Picking up 5 or 10-pound weights at the gym doesn’t seem like such a heavy lift, but most people only do it for a few minutes at a time. Try lifting those weights for an entire workday, 130 times a minute. The job of rehanging carcasses on shac...
•
31:18
Ep. 217: The ICE Man Cometh
Immigration enforcement is ramping up — again — and regardless of how carefully a company adheres to federal programs like E-Verify, it’s no guarantee that Immigration and Customs Enforcement won’t darken the door. But, companies can take concr...
•
23:07
Ep. 216 Flavor innovation in the deli department
Developing new products that attract consumer attention is a goal for all food manufacturing companies, and Land O’Frost, a manufacturer of specialty meats and packaged deli meats is no exception. Julie Lubash, director of research and developm...
•
15:31
A ‘balanced’ approach to alt-meat trial
Hybrid meat products — those that combine conventional animal protein with vegetables or plant-based proteins — have had difficulty getting consumers on-board. In fact, new research by Food System Innovations (FSI) indicates that prospective cu...
•
28:11
Ep. 214: AI, Automation and Myths
As processors continue to expand efficiencies and improve worker safety, Dr. Brian Kiepper from the University of Georgia takes our MeatingPod listeners on a tour of early automation efforts, notes where technology stands today and outlines the...
•
28:14
Ep. 213: The MeatingPod Editor's Roundtable on poultry
In this inaugural episode of the MeatingPod Editor’s Roundtable, Meatingplace Co-Editor-in-Chief Tom Johnston and Managing Editor Peter Ricci discuss the state of the poultry processing industry and where the protein may be headed in the near f...
•
29:23
Ep. 212: Maintaining food safety standards
The challenge of implementing and maintaining food safety standards at any food manufacturing plant requires strict record-keeping, solid communications and a commitment to working with inspectors on both the federal and state levels. In this e...
•
29:59
From the vault: Best of both worlds
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 ...
•
42:05
Ep. 210: Protecting the color of bacon
In this episode, Stephanie Major, a senior at Iowa State University, outlines a research project that aimed to better understand how bacon becomes discolored under varying types of retail lights. With Major as co-leader of the research team, th...
•
19:33
Ep. 209: Salmonella, HPAI and More!
In this episode, Kromm will outline the specifics of the original USDA plan to monitor Salmonella contamination levels in processing plants as well as the goals for tracking various serotypes of Salmonella as well as other pathogens among poult...
•
26:28
From the vault: Collaboration, flavors and R&D
Developing custom flavors for new and existing foodservice and restaurant customers for sous vide proteins involves collaboration and communication, according to Keith Goerl, Vice President, R&D and Commercialization at Ed Miniat LLC. Succe...
•
21:13
Ep. 207: A matter of trust
Confusion is a major barrier for alt-meat companies struggling to gain traction with shoppers — confusion about healthfulness, ingredients, labels. Add to that a disconnect between consumer expectation and reality on matters of taste and textur...
•
29:09
Ep. 206: New technology for HPAI detection
As avian influenza continues to affect the poultry industry – as well as dairy cows and other mammals like cats and even seals – researchers are developing a hand-held device that can detect the virus that causes bird flu in the air in minutes ...
•
21:25
From the vault: Advancing the Salmonella challenge
With current USDA rules on Salmonella in frozen and raw poultry products, the fight to combat microbial infection also is being waged on the hatchery level using research that ultimately could protect humans from some biological invasions. Dr. ...
•
33:55