Xtalks Food Industry Podcast

New Food Safety Testing Tool + Trending Specialty Foods in 2023

Canadian nanotechnology company Sixth Wave Innovations Inc. recently announced that its patent-pending Accelerated Molecularly Imprinted Polymer (AMIPs) food safety testing technology has expanded its library of detectable foodborne illness-causing pathogens. In this episode of the Xtalks Food Podcast, Sydney talks about the new tool, which will cover E. Coli, Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes and Sarcina. From the identification of outbreaks to outpatient expenditures and lost wages, foodborne illness outbreaks cost Americans billions of dollars each year. Sixth Wave is hopeful its new food safety testing tool will reduce these multi-billion dollar outbreaks. The company’s AMIPs testing platform offers the food industry a fast, reliable and cost-effective way to increase food safety testing frequency and ensure the quality of food and beverage products. The team was surprised to hear how expensive foodborne illness outbreaks are and applaud Sixth Wave for creating a quick and effective testing tool.Also, in this episode, Sydney talks about what will be trending in the specialty foods space for 2023, according to the Specialty Food Association (SFA) Trendspotter Panel. As consumers have been increasingly cooking at home during and post-pandemic, the panel predicted that brands will focus on providing tools and recipes for at-home chefs looking to make simple meals via meal kits and meal starters. The panel also predicted that consumers will be looking out for innovative packaging that can offer increased portability while lessening messiness. Continued sustainability and environmental concerns led environmentally friendly foods to rank second on the panel’s 2023 trends. Other major specialty food trends that the panel identified included an increased desire for globally inspired condiments, sauces and oils; interest in international fruit beverage and snack applications; and a continued shift toward naturally occurring sweeteners.Read the full articles here:New Food Safety Testing Tool Can Detect Multiple Foodborne Illness-Causing PathogensTop Trending Specialty Foods to Expect in 2023For more food and beverage industry content, visit the Xtalks Vitals homepage.Follow Us on Social Media Twitter: @XtalksFood Instagram: @Xtalks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Xtalks.Webinars/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/xtalks-webconferences YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/XtalksWebinars/featured

Why Plant-Based Meat Sales are Declining + Food and Beverage Innovation at SIAL 2022

In the late 2010s, Beyond Meat developed the next generation of plant-based meat products, winning over consumers with its innovative new take on the veggie burger. However, 2022 hasn’t been as kind to the plant-based meat market leader. In this episode of the Xtalks Food Podcast, Sydney talks about where plant-based meat marketing falls short, resulting in declining sales amid inflation and a crowded market. Since there is little to no differentiation in the space among the most prevalent brands, consumers have no reason to consume one company’s soy-based products over another’s. Differentiating within a commodity category requires creativity, innovation and imaginative elevation, which are things that, unfortunately, few plant-based meat companies are attempting. The team agree that plant-based meat brands must market to all consumers, rather than just plant-based eaters, and differentiate themselves by highlighting certain ingredients or environmental benefits. Also, in this episode, Sydney talks about the recent SIAL food conference in Paris, which brought together more than 7,000 companies from 130 countries. From collagen water to protein chips to a plastic straw alternative, the exhibitors did not disappoint the more than 300,000 attendees from around the world. Key contemporary food trends in the spotlight this year included a natural approach to formulation, a heightened focus on the environment and ethics, and a digital transformation of the food and beverage industry. Sydney discusses three products featured at the event: a collagen-enhanced water, protein chips and a plastic straw alternative made from rye. Ayesha is skeptical of the collagen-enhanced water, worried that the company might be promoting false health claims. The team praise the conference for including not only food and beverage companies, but also those that focused on utensils and packaging. Read the full articles here:Why Plant-Based Meat Sales are Stagnant in 2022SIAL 2022 Brought Food and Beverage Innovation from Around the WorldFor more food and beverage industry content, visit the Xtalks Vitals homepage.Follow Us on Social Media Twitter: @XtalksFood Instagram: @Xtalks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Xtalks.Webinars/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/xtalks-webconferences YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/XtalksWebinars/featured

Nestlé Acquires Seattle’s Best Coffee from Starbucks + Food Safety Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic

Nestlé said it has agreed to acquire the Seattle’s Best Coffee brand from Starbucks, further strengthening the Nescafe and Nespresso owner’s coffee business in the US. In this episode of the Xtalks Food Podcast, Sydney talks about this latest acquisition and the longstanding partnership between Nestlé and Starbucks. Their perpetual licensing agreement has allowed Nestlé to sell and distribute some Starbucks products at retail and food service locations outside Starbucks stores around the world. Despite shrinking coffee sales, coffee has been a consistently strong point in Nestlé’s portfolio, with coffee products contributing to more than $25 billion, or approximately 27 percent of Nestlé’s total sales last year. The team is surprised to learn how lucrative coffee is to Nestlé’s overall sales and commend Starbucks for working so closely with the food and beverage giant in the coffee industry when they could have been direct competitors.Also, in this episode, Sydney talks about a recent review published in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice that revealed the challenges of conducting retail food inspections during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as lessons learned regarding food safety best practices. The review identified five key areas of difficulty that impacted food safety best practices at the local level during the pandemic: difficulty prioritizing routine food safety inspections; challenges with conducting virtual inspections; distrust of public health; inspectors facing threats and harassment; andchallenges with contact tracing and tracing foodborne illness outbreaks. The review also identified strategies to ensure that food safety best practices are upheld. The team posit that food safety inspectors and foodservice employees should have open and honest communication since they are working towards the same goal.Read the full articles here:Nestlé Acquires Seattle’s Best Coffee from StarbucksFood Safety Best Practices: Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 PandemicFor more food and beverage industry content, visit the Xtalks Vitals homepage.Follow Us on Social Media Twitter: @XtalksFood Instagram: @Xtalks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Xtalks.Webinars/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/xtalks-webconferences YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/XtalksWebinars/featured

Why Turkey Prices Are on the Rise + Are New Food Labeling Mandates Coming?

According to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), turkey prices have reached their highest point since 2015 at $6.70 per pound. In this episode of the Xtalks Food Podcast, Sydney talks this year’s highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak, which has played a major role in driving up turkey prices ahead of Thanksgiving. Since February, a viscous and enduring strain of the HPAI virus has devastated nearly 250 commercial flocks and close to 300 backyard flocks. In total, the virus has killed 44 million birds this year, including 4.5 million turkeys, or 2.5 percent of US turkey production. While consumers should have little trouble finding frozen turkeys in time for Thanksgiving dinner, finding fresh turkeys may require some advanced planning. The team wonder whether avian viruses like HPAI are caused by poor living conditions and lack of hygiene on farms.  Also, in this episode, Sydney talks about the Biden administration’s plans to update food labeling mandates to help consumers make healthier choices. The FDA was tasked with researching and developing a front-of-package (FOP) labeling system, which may come in the form of star ratings or traffic light schemes. Current food and beverage industry rules mandate that nutrition facts be printed on the back of a food or beverage package, but companies want the placement of additional nutrition information to stay voluntary. Industry leaders have already devised a voluntary label called Facts Up Front, which many brands including Kellogg’s and The Coca-Cola Company already use. Not to mention, new food labeling mandates could further drive up consumer prices at a time of inflation. The team discuss why food companies are pushing back and question whether the FDA’s ideas would be successful in helping consumers make healthier choices. Read the full articles here:Avian Flu Drives up Turkey Prices Ahead of ThanksgivingHere’s How the FDA Plans to Update Food Labeling MandatesFor more food and beverage industry content, visit the Xtalks Vitals homepage.Follow Us on Social Media Twitter: @XtalksFood Instagram: @Xtalks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Xtalks.Webinars/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/xtalks-webconferences YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/XtalksWebinars/featured  

Allergy Friendly Food Companies + Why Some Grocery Chains are Removing Best Before Dates

According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, about 32 million people in the US have food allergies, which means allergy friendly food brands not only have a large audience base, but are also necessities. In this episode of the Xtalks Food Podcast, Sydney talks about three popular allergy friendly food companies: Partake Foods, Enjoy Life and Free2b Foods. Each company offers a wide variety of sweet and savory snack foods free from all major allergens while prioritizing taste and quality ingredients. Sydney asks the team whether they think we’ll see large food and beverage companies offering allergen-free versions of popular snacks or whether smaller allergy friendly companies will have a monopoly over the space. The team also wonder whether there are any allergy friendly meal kit companies since the space is mainly comprised of snack food companies. Also, in this episode, Sydney asks whether best before dates could be contributing to food waste. While food and beverage manufacturers have used the labels for decades to estimate peak freshness, consumers are confused about date codes, often causing more food waste than necessary. Unlike ‘use by’ dates, which can be found on perishable food items like meat, dairy and produce, best before dates have nothing to do with food safety and may encourage consumers to throw out food that is perfectly safe to eat. To tackle this problem, some UK grocery chains recently removed best before dates from pre-packaged fruits and vegetables. The team wonder whether it was the right decision to remove best before dates altogether but conclude that it’s best to use the senses to determine whether food is safe to eat. Read the full articles here:Top 3 Allergy Friendly Food BrandsAre Best Before Dates on Food Packaging to Blame for Food Waste?For more food and beverage industry content, visit the Xtalks Vitals homepage.Follow Us on Social Media Twitter: @XtalksFood Instagram: @Xtalks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Xtalks.Webinars/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/xtalks-webconferences YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/XtalksWebinars/featured

What’s Next for the Future of Food Tech? + Why a Plant-Based Meat Company Shut Down

A few weeks ago, brand executives, investors and entrepreneurs from around the world came together for the Future Food-Tech event in London to discuss large-scale solutions in alternative proteins, health and nutrition. In this episode of the Xtalks Food Podcast, Sydney talks about the future of food tech, namely the future of protein and precision fermentation. A major category highlighted at the event was the potential for cultivated meat, which speakers and exhibitors at the event identified as a way forward for sustainable meat production. Precision fermentation was another popular topic at the event as the benefits of this technology could offer the dairy sector a clearer path towards becoming more sustainable. The team wonder whether food produced using these technologies will ever replace tradition methods of food production and whether there will be pushback from consumers when they become more mainstream.Also, in this episode, Sydney talks about Planterra Foods, a plant-based meat company that shut down after only two years on retail shelves. Owned by meat giant JBS, Planterra Foods’ products were sold at retail in 2020 under the Ozo brand, which offered plant-based burger patties, grounds and meatballs. While all the major meat players have made moves into the plant-based meat category, JBS’s move to shut down Planterra Foods follows Maple Leaf Foods’ decision to reallocate some resources from its plant-based meat businesses, back to conventional meat amid slowing sales. Prominent plant-based meat players also experienced flat or declining sales in the last few quarters. The team discuss the ethics of traditional meat companies owning and operating plant-based meat brands and wonder why plant-based meat hasn’t been as popular in recent months.Read the full articles here:What’s Next for the Future of Food Tech?Why Plant-Based Meat Brand Planterra Foods is Shutting DownFor more food and beverage industry content, visit the Xtalks Vitals homepage.Follow Us on Social Media Twitter: @XtalksFood Instagram: @Xtalks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Xtalks.Webinars/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/xtalks-webconferences YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/XtalksWebinars/featured

Is There a Coffee Shortage Brewing? + FDA Warns Against Cooking Chicken in NyQuil

Coffee inventories in South America are declining so severely that reserves are predicted to be extremely low, but can we expect a coffee shortage? In this episode of the Xtalks Food Podcast, Sydney talks about a potential coffee shortage as prices have been volatile in recent months. However, the situation is predicted to get even worse in the weeks ahead as Brazilian coffee exports hold on to their supplies to drive up prices. She discusses both the environmental and economic factors contributing to the shortage and the fact that coffee giants like Starbucks, Lavazza and Costa will absorb the price hikes and pass them on to the customer. The team wonder whether lab-grown coffee and other alternatives to traditional coffee will help curb future shortages of the popular commodity.Also, in this episode, Sydney talks about the latest dangerous TikTok challenge of cooking chicken in NyQuil. The FDA issued a stern warning to address the disturbing challenge, which encourages participants to cook chicken in NyQuil and other over-the-counter (OTC) cold medicines. While consuming too much NyQuil can be dangerous on its own, the agency also stated that simply heating up the medication can make it much more concentrated and change its properties in other ways. Sydney discusses the origins of the challenge and some potential reasons why TikTok users are participating. The team wonder why TikTok and other social media platforms don’t condemn or remove these videos sooner and whether participants have a low risk threshold or simply don’t understand the dangers associated with these types of challenges.  Read the full articles here:Is There a Coffee Shortage Brewing?FDA Warns Against Cooking Chicken in NyQuilFor more food and beverage industry content, visit the Xtalks Vitals homepage.Follow Us on Social Media Twitter: @XtalksFood Instagram: @Xtalks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Xtalks.Webinars/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/xtalks-webconferences YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/XtalksWebinars/featured

New Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Executive Order + Steakholder Foods’ 3D Bio-printed Cultivated Meats

US President Joe Biden recently issued an executive order entitled, “Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy.” In this episode of the Xtalks Food Podcast, Sydney talks about the new executive order, which prioritizes research and innovation in a variety of fields, including food. While biotech in general is often associated with energy, medicine and pharmaceuticals, it plays a significant role in the food and beverage industry. She discusses the regulation, safety and controversy behind genetically modified organisms (GMO) as well as precision fermentation to create animal protein without the animals. The team talk about how anti-GMO groups are doing a disservice to consumers and wonder whether biomanufacturing is the key to sustainably feeding future generations.Also, in this episode, Sydney talks about cultivated meat company Steakholder Foods, whose 3D bioprinting capabilities allow it to print steaks, among other meats. To create the true taste, texture and mouthfeel of traditional steak, the company uses a special process that combines cell cultivation with 3D bioprinting, which can produce structured meat with any muscle-to-fat ratio at an industrial scale. Steakholder’s other offerings include cultured pork, chicken, fish and seafood. As the only cultivated meat company that is publicly traded on the Nasdaq market, the Israeli food tech company is hoping its 3D-printed cultivated meats will allow it to stand out among the 107 other companies in the space. The team are curious to know what bio-printed cultivated meat tastes like and wonder when these types of products will finally hit the market. Read the full articles here:How Biden’s New Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Executive Order Will Impact the Future of FoodSteakholder Foods is 3D Bioprinting Steak, Among Other MeatsFor more food and beverage industry content, visit the Xtalks Vitals homepage.Follow Us on Social Media Twitter: @XtalksFood Instagram: @Xtalks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Xtalks.Webinars/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/xtalks-webconferences YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/XtalksWebinars/featured

New Food Industry Regulations in 2022 + HelloFresh Ground Beef E. Coli Outbreak

Food and beverage companies across the supply chain must always be prepared for new regulatory developments in 2022 as they seek to bring new ingredients and products to market. In this episode of the Xtalks Food Podcast, Sydney talks about four potential new food industry regulations that food and beverage companies should look out for this year, including changes to the FDA’s definition of “healthy,” labeling clarity on lab-grown meat, regulating heavy metals in baby food and cannabinoid regulations. A common theme among these regulations is that multiple federal agencies must work together to move the needle, which takes time, money and resources. The team emphasise that the FDA’s focus should include food just as much as it does drugs and that these regulations are in place to keep consumers safe. Also, in this episode, Sydney talks about a public health alert related to concerns that the ground beef in some HelloFresh meal kits may be associated with E. Coli illness. While the FDA would normally issue a recall, no recall was issued because the products are no longer available for purchase. The public health alert comes as some federal health authorities in the country are investigating an outbreak of E. coli, with ground beef being the probable source of the illnesses. Sydney gives two other examples of ground beef-related E. Coli outbreaks and discusses the symptoms and facts about the foodborne illness. The team wonder whether companies should be blamed for not doing enough to prevent an outbreak or whether they are to be expected.Read the full articles here:Top Food Industry Regulations to Watch in 2022Federal Officials Report of HelloFresh E. Coli OutbreakFor more food and beverage industry content, visit the Xtalks Vitals homepage.Follow Us on Social Media Twitter: @XtalksFood Instagram: @Xtalks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Xtalks.Webinars/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/xtalks-webconferences YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/XtalksWebinars/featured

What is Protein Coffee? + National Food Bank Day 2022

 Protein coffee is currently trending on the social media platform TikTok, with the hashtag gaining nearly ten million views, but is it as simple as mixing espresso with protein powder? In this episode of the Xtalks Food Podcast, Sydney talks about the trending protein coffee drink, whether it’s healthy and which companies sell it. Protein coffee, which is typically made by combining protein shakes, coffee and milk, along with some ice, is healthy in moderation, but adding too much caffeine can cause an increase in heart rate, stress and cortisol. Sydney talks about three companies that sell various versions of the drink, including Chike Protein Iced Coffee, Thunder Coffee Milk and Alani Nu. The team wonders whether it’s necessary to combine the two functional beverages and if these drinks could potentially do more harm than good. Also, in this episode, Sydney talks about National Food Bank Day 2022. The day is honored to bring awareness to the persistent issue of hunger around the world, and while food banks receive attention and canned goods year-round, National Food Bank Day is a reminder that hunger must be eradicated. The day was founded on the 50th anniversary of the world’s first official food pantry: St. Mary’s Food Bank in Phoenix, Arizona, which was founded by John van Hengel in 1967. Sydney shares the history of food banks and pantries as well as ways to participate in National Food Bank Day. The team discuss the issue of unequal food distribution that leads to hunger in various communities as well as the need for holidays to commemorate those that help those in need.  Read the full articles here:Is Protein Coffee Healthy and Which Companies Sell it?National Food Bank Day 2022: History and Significance For more food and beverage industry content, visit the Xtalks Vitals homepage.Follow Us on Social Media Twitter: @XtalksFood Instagram: @Xtalks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Xtalks.Webinars/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/xtalks-webconferences YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/XtalksWebinars/featured