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
218 episodes
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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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 ...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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 ...
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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. ...
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33:55
From the Vault: Food Safety & Profitability
According to Tim Vlcek, a food safety consultant and also the CEO of a direct-to-consumer meat business, explains how maintaining proper food safety protocols can directly impact a processor’s profitability because it makes managing operations ...
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19:38
Ep. 203: It all starts in North Carolina
North Carolina is home to a number of groundbreaking alt-meat development centers, from the soon-to-be-completed Believer Meats cultivated meat plant, to the North Carolina Food Innovation Lab, and most recently, the first of three global Bezos...
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27:46
Ep. 202: A woody breast breakthrough
Working with a research team at the University of Arkansas System, Division of Agriculture, Dr. Dongyi Wang will outline for our MeatingPod listeners new advances that can improve the detection rate of woody chicken breast on the processing lin...
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17:25
Ep. 201: Tracking the avian metaneurovirus
As the ongoing threat of highly pathogenic avian influence (HPAI) enters its fourth year, research continues to develop preventative and protective approaches with regard to the nation’s poultry industry. Sunil Mor is an assistant professor at ...
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29:26
From the vault: Food safety lessons post Boar's Head
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 o...
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25:33
Ep. 199: The world's largest alt-meat trade show
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 trian...
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16:56
Ep. 198: Automation, AI and Robotics updates
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 au...
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24:36
Ep. 197: Hunting Campylobacter in retail chicken
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 ...
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21:22
Ep. 196: FSIS and new food safety approaches
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 outb...
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23:13
From the Vault: Cultured meat safety, regulatory challenges
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 ba...
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27:36
Ep. 194: How poultry worker injuries plunged
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 p...
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15:31
Ep. 193: USPOULTRY on research and 2025 IPPE
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 reg...
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24:05
From the Vault: R&D, food safety for organic meats
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 fo...
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21:57