Category Archives: Uncategorized

Omnivore Presents: SciDish | Myth Busting Misinformation: How to Counter Science Denial | OCT 2025

October 20, 2025UncategorizedOmnivore

Scientific misinformation has become a defining challenge of our time—fueling consumer confusion, eroding public trust, and influencing policy in ways that can undermine health outcomes and industry credibility. From nutrition myths and food additive fearmongering to unscientific claims from influential voices, food professionals now face an imperative to engage with science denial—not just ignore it. In this special live podcast recording from IFT FIRST 2025, Science communication experts Charlie Arnot and Veronica Jaramillo unpack why misinformation spreads, how it shapes public attitudes, and what the science community can do to push back.

Plus: This episode of Omnivore is brought to you by IFT Membership. It’s where you belong. As a member, you’ll enjoy a global community united by purpose and driven by science ready to make a lasting impact on the global food system. Visit ift.org/join.

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EP 69: UPFs and the Queston of Hyper-Palatability, Revisiting Reusable Packaging

October 13, 2025UncategorizedFood Policy, Food Processing and Packaging, Ultra-Processed FoodsOmnivore

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 poor health outcomes. Packaging expert and contributing editor Claire Koelsch Sand about why reuse is worth reconsidering as the industry struggles to keep pace with the demand for more sustainable packaging.

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EP 68: How Plantible Foods Is Unlocking the Power of Plants, IFT FIRST 2025 Trendspotting

September 29, 2025UncategorizedCulinary Trends, IFT FIRST, ingredient trends, New Ventures, startupsOmnivore

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.

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Omnivore Presents: SciDish | Delivering Nutrition in Every Bite: The Science of Healthier, Tastier Foods | SEPT 2025

September 22, 2025Uncategorizedfood ingredients, Health and Nutrition, sensory scienceOmnivore

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 nutrition scientist for IFT, and Angela Cauley, cofounder and executive director of the George Washington Carver Food Research Institute, give practical insights into how to make food and beverage products as healthy as possible without losing the sensory attributes that consumers love.

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EP 67: Scaling Food As Medicine, Redesigning the Way We Eat

September 15, 2025Uncategorizedfood as medicine, Health and Nutrition, product developmentOmnivore

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 former head of Google’s Global Workplace Programs, including Food at Google, calls on food and beverage companies to innovate with greater intention. In his keynote at IFT FIRST, he urged industry leaders to move beyond taste, convenience, and cost—and embrace food as experience design to better support human and planetary health.

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EP 66: Navigating Supply Chain Volatility, How AI is Supercharging Food Product Development

August 25, 2025UncategorizedOmnivore

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 episode of Omnivore is brought to you by IFT’s Science and Policy Initiatives, your food science advocate elevating the central role of food science in food and nutrition security, food safety, and sustainable food systems, and championing the adoption of science-based regulations in policies and legislation. Learn more at ift.org/policy-and-advocacy.

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Omnivore Presents: SciDish | Research Integrity in Scholarly Publishing | AUG 2025

August 18, 2025UncategorizedOmnivore

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 have a strong reputation for publishing quality research, but you might be surprised at how many problematic submissions are screened out before and during the peer-review process. In this chat with the editors-in-chief of IFT’s journals, learn about the most common issues, how IFT’s journals assess research to identify possible problems, and how you can avoid making common mistakes in your research.

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EP 65: Talking With a Cultivated Meat Innovator, MAHA at IFT FIRST

August 11, 2025UncategorizedOmnivore

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, and ingredient safety strategies across the food industry in this live session recorded at IFT FIRST.

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EP 64: Open Innovation for Food System Transformation, Decoding Consumers’ Food Behaviors

July 21, 2025UncategorizedConsumer and Marketplace Trends, Innovations & Insights, Startups & New VenturesOmnivore

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 the marketplace in the years ahead.

Plus: This episode of Omnivore is brought to you by Almond Board of California. Almonds offer endless possibilities for innovation. Visit Almonds.com/Trends to learn more.

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Omnivore Presents: SciDish | JULY 2025: The Scientific Skinny on Sugar Reduction

July 14, 2025UncategorizedOmnivore

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 to tackle sugar reduction challenges and hit the sweet spot of consumer appeal and functionality.

Plus: This episode of Omnivore is brought to you by Almond Board of California. Almonds offer endless possibilities for innovation. Visit www.Almonds.com/Trends to learn more.

Also, be sure to check out the free-to-download Sugar Alternatives At A Glance resource and the IFT members-only Sugar Alternatives Overview mentioned in this podcast episode!

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