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Omnivore

Omnivore
Author: Food Technology Magazine
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Advances in food science and technology are key to solving one of the world’s greatest modern challenges: How to sustainably and safely feed and nourish a global population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050. Join the award-winning editors of Food Technology, the flagship magazine of the Institute of Food Technologists, every other Monday for Omnivore, the podcast that amplifies the voices of the international food science and technology community working to feed the world. Curated from the pages of Food Technology, each episode serves up a series of solutions-oriented content and expert viewpoints on the food industry’s most top-of-mind issues, fortified by sound, science-based analysis. Featuring lively discussion and interviews with leading food scientists and researchers, product innovators, policy makers and thought leaders from across the world of food, you’ll find the Omnivore podcast an audio smorgasbord where the business and science of food intersect, from growing and harvesting to production, distribution, and consumption.
74 Episodes
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Purdue University’s Richard Mattes chats with consulting nutrition scientist Lisa Sanders about the concept of hyper-palatability—foods designed with specific combinations of fat, sugar, and salt that may override natural satiety signals—and discuss what makes a food hyperpalatable, how researchers identify and test for it, and whether evidence exists linking hyperpalatable foods to increased consumption and … Continue reading EP 69: UPFs and the Queston of Hyper-Palatability, Revisiting Reusable Packaging →
Entrepreneur Tony Martens shares the story of IFT 2025 pitch competition winner Plantible Foods—from the early rough days living on-site in a trailer to the company’s recent success commercializing its plant-based protein ingredient. Food Technology’s editors talk about the hot topics and trends they discovered at IFT FIRST 2025. Plus: This episode of Omnivore is … Continue reading EP 68: How Plantible Foods Is Unlocking the Power of Plants, IFT FIRST 2025 Trendspotting →
In this episode, we bring together three food and nutrition experts to talk about the latest science behind foods and ingredients that pack a nutritional punch while tasting great. Dr. Kirstie Canene-Adams, director of Ingredion’s Nutrition Center, Global Scientific and Regulatory Affairs, Dr. Lisa Sanders, owner and principal scientist at Cornerstone Nutrition, LLC and consulting … Continue reading Omnivore Presents: SciDish | Delivering Nutrition in Every Bite: The Science of Healthier, Tastier Foods | SEPT 2025 →
In a special segment, recorded at the Hot Topics Studio stage at IFT FIRST 2025, we’re listening in as The Rockefeller Foundation’s Dana Thomas talks with IFT’s Anna Rosales about scaling up food as medicine programs into sustainable models that can reach millions of people. Michiel Bakker, president of the Culinary Institute of America and … Continue reading EP 67: Scaling Food As Medicine, Redesigning the Way We Eat →
Food industry experts Darryl Riley and Arlin Wasserman share their insights and expert tips on how to create and build resilient and adaptive supply chains to help overcome the operational and economic challenges of today’s volatile business environment. Futurist Tony Hunter forecasts the transformative potential for generative AI to supercharge food product development. Plus: This … Continue reading EP 66: Navigating Supply Chain Volatility, How AI is Supercharging Food Product Development →
Researchers are under increasing pressure to “publish or perish” in the academic ecosystem, which leads some to employ unethical practices to increase their publication metrics. With so many scandals rocking the research world—mass retractions, paper mills, falsified data, misuse of AI—how do IFT’s journal editors ensure the integrity of the research they publish? IFT’s journals … Continue reading Omnivore Presents: SciDish | Research Integrity in Scholarly Publishing | AUG 2025 →
Bianca Lê, a cell biologist and head of special projects at Mission Barns, shares the story of the groundbreaking startup’s path to the creation of cell-cultivated pork fat. Martin Hahn, a regulatory attorney and partner at Hogan Lovells, and Maha Tahiri, CEO of Nutrition Sustainability Strategies, explore how the MAHA agenda could reshape formulation, labeling, … Continue reading EP 65: Talking With a Cultivated Meat Innovator, MAHA at IFT FIRST →
EIT Food’s Adam Adamek shares why open innovation is essential to solving food system challenges—and how startups, corporates, and researchers can collaborate more effectively to turn breakthrough science into real-world impact. June Jo Lee explains how food ethnography works and how it can help food companies anticipate the kinds of culture shifts that will shape … Continue reading EP 64: Open Innovation for Food System Transformation, Decoding Consumers’ Food Behaviors →
Consumers haven’t soured on the low- and no-sugar trend. Food and ingredient manufacturers are heeding the call, looking to reformulate or develop reduced and zero-sugar product lines at a record pace. In this episode, Renee Leber and Lisa Sanders provide scientific insights, practical formulation techniques, and marketing strategies designed to equip attendees with actionable knowledge … Continue reading Omnivore Presents: SciDish | JULY 2025: The Scientific Skinny on Sugar Reduction →
Behavioral science researcher Dave Lundahl proposes a solution to the problem of food product hyper-palatability, which is believed to be a significant contributor to the obesity crisis. In the wake of the recent high-profile Make America Healthy Again report calling for bans on dozens of food ingredients, Anna Rosales, IFT’s senior director of government affairs … Continue reading EP 63: Have We Made Food Too Tasty?, Exploring the MAHA Report →
Food safety experts Jennifer McEntire and Tejas Bhatt discuss the FDA’s traceability rule delay, what’s still holding the industry back, and why companies need to act now—not wait. Passionate about reducing food waste, a Texas A&M University graduate student is working to apply a novel technology to help safely improve post-harvest wheat treatment. Plus: This … Continue reading EP 62: Time to Act on Traceability, Novel Technology Could Improve Wheat Processing →
In just the past several months, we’ve seen a sharp uptick in food recalls—affecting everything from leafy greens to frozen meals. And it’s not just one culprit—Listeria, Salmonella, E. coli, and even viruses like norovirus and parasites like cyclospora are in the headlines. Is this a coincidence, or are we facing a deeper shift in … Continue reading Omnivore Presents: SciDish | June 2025: Food Safety 2025: Insights on Recalls, Risks, and Resilience →
The AI era is unquestionably here, and it’s advancing at lightning speed. In this episode, AI “futurist” and IFT FIRST keynote speaker Steve Brown discusses the unprecedented opportunities that AI offers, its benefits for the global food system, and why it’s important to embrace its new technologies with a mindset of curiosity instead of fear. … Continue reading EP 61: Riding the AI Wave, The Iron Man Speaks →
In this episode, we chat with ‘Yemisi Awosan, founder and CEO of Egunsi Foods, a Harlem, New York-based food company focused on producing ready-to-eat African food derived from classic West African dishes, to find out more about this flavorful and trending cuisine. Cornell University researchers Aamir Iqbal and Jessica Uhrin take listeners through the product … Continue reading EP 60: African Food Trend Heats Up, Cornell Scientists Serve Up Food Solutions, Hitting the Sweet Spot with Sugar Reduction →
MAY 2025: Insider Tips on Launching Your Food Science Career Get the latest insights from the food science and technology community in the Omnivore Presents: SciDish podcast. In this episode, executive search expert Moira McGrath, HP Hood senior manager of R&D engineering Dr. Karunanithy Chinnadurai, and Land O’Lakes quality assurance manager Srinivasarao Bandla share practical … Continue reading Omnivore Presents: SciDish | May 2025 →
Global nutrition and food systems leader Alyson Greenhalgh-Ball shares her passion for creating a healthy food ecosystem that connects the dots between the health of people and the health of the planet. Consulting food scientist Rick Stier explains the historical significance and the science behind aseptically processed foods, beverages, equipment, and packaging—and why this processing … Continue reading EP 59: Building a Better Food Ecosystem, Inside Aseptic Processing, GRAS Reform →
Leading food science recruiter Moira McGrath gets real about what it takes to land your dream job. Food scientist Micaela Cox unpacks the science behind sugar reduction, the challenges and potential benefits of sugar alternatives, and what the future holds for food and beverage companies looking to capitalize on the zero-sugar trend. IFT’s Anna Rosales … Continue reading EP 58: Getting Your Résumé Right, The Sweet Science of Sugar Reduction, IFT’s Advocacy Roundup →
Dr. Liz Sloan, who has kept a close eye on functional food and beverage trends for decades, shares her take on what’s ahead for this market in the year ahead. Dr. Lara Ramdin, widely known as the Upcycling Queen, talks to Omnivore about how upcycling not only reduces food waste but also offers a chance … Continue reading EP 57: The Hottest Trends in Functional Foods, Upbeat About Upcycling, Welcome Gen Z →
Award-winning sensory scientist Henriette de Kock discusses her efforts to adapt sensory science practices to effectively address the food preferences and cultural traditions of African consumers. Michigan State University’s Dr. John Spink, the world’s leading expert on food fraud prevention, sheds some light on why food fraud remains a significant but unseen problem and suggests … Continue reading EP 56: Sensory Science in Africa, Preventing Food Fraud, GLP-1 Skepticism →
Obesity policy expert Ted Kyle shares his thoughts on how the food industry should respond to consumers’ need for more healthful food options, and why he’s not a fan of the food as medicine concept. Process engineer Shalima Sreenath, whose previous work with Beyond Meat focused on scaling up transformative alt-meat technologies, shares the exciting … Continue reading EP 55: Rethinking Approaches to Obesity, Precision Fermentation Takes Off, GLP-1 Drugs: A Boon for Product Development →