IFT Sci Dish: Recent Episodes
Institute of Food Technologists
Ensuring a safe, nutritious, and sustainable global food supply requires scientific rigor, creative problem-solving, and shared knowledge to not only address today’s challenges but to also identify opportunities for future innovation. The IFT Sci Dish podcast brings together unique perspectives from multiple disciplines to thoughtfully discuss topics and insights impacting our global food system. Whether it’s showcasing scientific advancements, sharing research and discoveries, or providing insightful resources to advance your career and the science of food profession, you’ll get it all with the IFT Sci Dish podcast.
Join podcast host Matt Teegarden and guest Claudia Fabiano from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as they discuss food waste management. In this episode, we explore the collaborative efforts from the EPA, USDA, and FDA in formulating a national strategy to halve food loss and waste by 2030. Discover the innovative funding programs, educational campaigns, and the newly updated Wasted Food Scale that are driving change and offering practical solutions for individuals and communities alike. Tune in as the speakers discuss the environmental, economic, and societal implications of food waste and learn how simple changes in our daily habits can make a significant impact.
Low and no-calorie artificial sweeteners have a long and controversial history. Originally developed to reduce caloric intake, these sugar substitutes have become a hot topic for consumers. Join host Bruce Perkins and guest experts, Drs. Gavin Thompson, Ray Matula, and Jim Coughlin, as they unravel the intricacies of artificial sweetener safety.
Beginning with a look at what artificial sweeteners are, the experts provide a brief historical overview of key sweeteners, including saccharine, aspartame, sucralose, and stevia, among others, and their presence in our food. Then, they will review the regulatory approval process for artificial sweeteners as food additives/ingredients in the United States. The discussion will conclude with a conversation regarding the assessment of sweeteners for safety vs. studies evaluating their potential health benefits.
By the end of this podcast, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of the nature of artificial sweeteners and the complexities of safety evaluation.
Join host Matt Teegarden and guest speakers (enter names of ingredion speakers) as they explore the interconnections between accessibility and the future of the food ecosystem. Discover how Ingredion leverages diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), supplier diversity and well-being, pipeline programs, and community-driven initiatives to drive innovative solutions within their organization, helping create a more … Continue reading Episode 23: DEI’s Role in Supporting a Sustainable Food Ecosystem →
Plastics have been a popular choice for food packaging for a considerable time, but the resulting accumulation of non-biodegradable plastic waste has caused growing concern about its detrimental effects on both the environment and human health. In this enlightening discussion, our host Bruce Perkin and guest speakers Dr. Maya Al Sid Cheikh from the University of Surrey and Paul Takhistov from Rutgers University dive into the topic of micro and nano plastics. Join the speakers as they share their expert insights and shed light on the impact of micro and nano plastics.
This is the second podcast in a sensory sciences series in collaboration with the Sensory & Consumer Sciences Division. Host Bruce Perkin and guest speakers Becky Bleibaum and Anna Leachman will be discussing tools to get rapid and reliable consumer feedback on products. This conversation highlights the advantages of consumer research, what consumer acceptance is and why it is important, how tight timelines and budgets impact outcomes, and more.
This podcast is the first episode in a Sensory Sciences series in collaboration with the Sensory & Consumer Sciences Division. Join host Bruce Perkin and speakers Becky Bleibaum and Heather Thomas as they discuss Quantitative Description Analysis (QDA.) QDA is a sensory tool that was developed in the mid-1970s to correct perceived problems with flavor profile analysis. During this conversation, the speakers will be covering what QDA is and how it works, QDA strengths compared to other tools, taking QDA into a new space, making sure consumer voices are not lost when using culinary professionals and more.
Bird Flu is a term that is used to describe the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). The first instance of HPAI in 2022 was confirmed in a commercial turkey flock in Indiana on February 3 and since then, over 50 cases have been identified across 17 states, in both commercial and backyard flocks. The records … Continue reading Episode 19: Bird Flu – Sorting Fact from Fiction →
Join the Sustainable Food Systems Division along with host Bruce Perkins and guest speaker Sue Klapholz as they discuss her passion about addressing climate change by moving away from animal agriculture, while ensuring nutrition and public health are not compromised. In addition to sharing her passions Sue shares her insights as one of the original … Continue reading Episode 18: Alternative Meat and a More Sustainable Food System →
Ancient grains have become a buzzword in the food and nutrition industries – and there’s a reason that humankind has cultivated and utilized these grains for centuries. AB InBev founded EverGrain to explore the potential of an ancient grain it knows better than anyone else – barley – and how through upcycling, it could eventually … Continue reading Episode 17: Wellness Flavors: Exploring new taste profile category emerging in 2022 →
Are you looking to start a career in the food space? Join Bruce Perkin, Armetha Pihlstrom (Senior Director of U.S. and Canada Foodservice Sales at Future Farms) and Dr. Owen Carryl (Executive Recruiter/Head of the Food Industry Practice at Kaye/Bassman International) as they discuss tips and tricks on how to nurture your career! Learn tips … Continue reading Episode 16: Starting Your Career in the Food Space →
Wellness and personal health is on our minds now more than ever. That is why Virginia Dare has named Wellness Flavors the most influential taste trend of 2022, as physical and mental health takes priority and becomes the dominant driver behind new product launches and consumer goods. During this episode, host Bruce Perkins, Philip Caputo … Continue reading Episode 15: Supplier Solutions: Virginia Dare →
Join host Bruce Perkin and guest Dr. Brendan A. Niemira as they examine and explain cold plasma technology. Listen in to find out advantages cold plasma has over traditional methods, the environmental impact, benefit of cold plasma and food packaging, food preservation and more. Dr. Niemira has also reached out to a grower cooperator to … Continue reading Episode 14: A look into Cold Plasma Technology →
Join host Bruce Perkins to learn more about the student group who won the Don’t Spoil It! An International Digital Hackathon in March 2021. The students share their motivations for joining the competition, the benefits from the competition, how they overcame obstacles, what they are currently working on and more. Marcela Silva: Zamorano Pan-American Agricultural … Continue reading Episode 13: Hacking Food Waste: A follow-up with IFT Student Competition Winners →
Did you know it has been over 30 years since genetically modified crops were introduced for consumption? In this episode, guest Dr. Haven Baker joins us to talk about a relatively new form of gene editing technology called Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, or CRISPR. Listen in to find out how CRISPR repairs faulty … Continue reading Episode 12: A CRISPR Food Future →
Water is a critical resource for growing and processing food. This episode discusses the challenges we face regarding water, and present and future solutions to resolve them. Host Bruce Perkin and guest speakers Danielle Gallet and John Robinson examine different aspects of water, and how to ensure water quality and safety. What would the current … Continue reading Episode 11: The Challenge of Water →
African Swine Fever (ASF) continues to be hot topic to those working in food. ASF has been spreading across the globe, killing millions of pigs and is a viable threat to the US pork industry as it has recently reached the Dominican Republic. In this podcast, you will learn what ASF is, what the US … Continue reading Episode 10: The Current State of African Swine Fever →
Fresh fruits and vegetables are a delicious part of any meal and are the area of focus for our next discussion. As the episode unravels, we will learn about increasing fresh produce consumption in school–aged children, using genetics to make delicious fruits into manageable crops, and how “new” produce is introduced to the market. From … Continue reading Episode 9: Fresh Produce – Ready to Eat and Ready to Explore →
The global pet food market is worth over $90 billion a year. As the pet food field continues to grow, many may be surprised to learn about the level of science that goes behind developing our furry friend’s favorite meals. How can one meal a day provide complete nutrition for a pet? Do animals need … Continue reading Episode 8: Pet Food: The surprising use of science hiding in plain sight →
Humans have been eating microalgae for thousands of years. With consumers looking for innovativeand sustainableproducts, microalgae ispopping up asauniqueingredient in modern timesas well.In this episode, we will hear the ways microalgae production is becoming more efficientand what the environmental impact of commercializing microalgae productionis. We will also learn what ingredients can be replaced by using … Continue reading Episode 7: Microalgae: Modernuses of an ancient ingredient →
It wasn’t long ago that the generally accepted view of growing food indoors was not commercially viable. As technology improves and input costs decrease, growing food indoors vertically is becoming more common and more efficient. Our speaker, Jim Pantaleo, speaks on his own experience as an indoor farm manager and advisor. Listen in to hear … Continue reading Episode 6: Growth in Food Production Requires “Inside Knowledge” →
How do you create apple pie flavoring when everyone has their own memory of their favorite apple pie? This episode’s guests will help! Dave Franz, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at FlavorSum, and Lisa Jackson, Director of Marketing, join us to talk about the flavor industry. We explore why consumers may like or dislike a certain taste, and the challenges that product developers may experience when launching new flavored products. We also discuss guardrails to consider when launching foods and beverages and get insights into the end-to-end process of product development. This podcast is brought to you by FlavorSum.
With up to 40,000 products in a grocery store, many consumers are on auto–pilot when deciding what products to buy. Most management consultants would say their greatest challenges are the ones that involve change management. When consumers find a set of products and foods they like, they typically don’t want those things to change. Yet we are seeing more change in the space of consumer wants and needs than ever before. This podcast we hear from a food scientist and anthropologist about what the plant–based food industry can learn from Tesla, or about the importance of understanding the ‘Job’ consumers are hiring your product to do.
Speaker: Kevin Ryan, CEO & Founder, Malachite Strategy and Research, LLC