Beyond managing programs at the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences that focus on food safety protocols, Dr. Francisco Diez-Gonzalez also is the co-author of recent research into the eradication of Listeria monocytogenes using blue light and polymers. In this MeatingPod, he’ll discuss progress in food safety management at food plants and the need for processors and researchers to maintain flexibility as pathogens adapt or emerge during the manufacturing stage. He also outlines the attributes that food safety experts of the future will need as challenges in maintaining food safety standards evolve.

The Israeli plant-based meat company Chunk has skipped over the patties and nuggets that dominate the alt-meat space at retail in favor of filets that fit quite nicely among high-end steakhouse offerings. Using a fermentation process, Chunk replicates the “grain” of a whole cut of beef steak, so it cooks and eats like its animal-based counterpart. Chunk founder and CEO Amos Golan spoke with Alt-Meat about its restaurant focus and the success the company has experienced in white-tablecloth steakhouses in the United States.

The expanding role of automation and robotics in meat processing plants remains a hot topic as companies and workers adapt to systems that can improve yields, affect food safety and avoid potential worker injuries. In this episode, Neal Walsh, chief operating officer at Butterball LLC outlines how these advances also have improved communication between executives, plant employees on and off the line, sanitation partners and customers. He also addresses what other factors beyond cost that other companies might consider with regard to their future upgrade plans.

Now that USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued its final ruling designating Salmonella as an adulterant in raw, breaded and stuffed chicken products, poultry processors may soon be required take another look at their operations. In this episode, Dr. John Maurer from the School of Animal Sciences at Virginia Tech will outline some of the options available to the makers of such prepared foods have in addressing the new rules. Dr. Maurer has an extensive history studying how Salmonella colonization works in chickens and describes the status of plans being developed by the poultry industry to meet the FSIS standards when they go into effect in 2025.

Applegate Farms Vice President of R&D, QA and Project Management at Applegate Farms Chad Clem wears a lot of hats as he guides his teams through the process of developing and fine-tuning the processor’s lines of all-natural and organic deli meats, bacon, sausage, chicken, snacks and cheese. In this episode, Clem describes how staying on top of regulatory issues, innovation, food safety and other projects keeps his staff on their toes while meeting company objectives. He also discusses how working in partnership with parent Hormel Foods Corp. benefits both sides by making processes and operational strategies more efficient and effective.

A few years ago, drawing comparisons between software development and food product development was seen as evidence of forward thinking. That phase didn’t last long, though, because food is not software — and nobody knows that better than JJ Kass, senior vice president and managing director for TiNDLE, a maker of plant-based chicken, sausages and dairy products. With substantial business development experience in both software and agricultural products, Kass has led TiNDLE in a series of business successes in just the last few months — swimming upstream against strong economic currents. JJ Kass spoke with Alt-Meat to discuss her plan of action.

With major meat processors making bold investments in high-tech upgrades, companies like Cargill Inc. are seeing benefits in terms of increased efficiency, higher levels of plant safety, improved yields on the production line and workers with new skills. In this episode of MeatingPod, Enrique Villars, Cargill North America’s Manufacturing Excellence Leader, outlines how the Minneapolis-based processor’s Factory of the Future concept is spreading to 35 Cargill plants and how the high-tech modernization effort is affecting operations.

Drew Getty, vice president of environmental sustainability and government relations and chief compliance officer at Perdue Farms, provides insights into two greenhouse gas abatement programs that the poultry processor launched and expanded within six months. The program with GreenGasUSA has reduced carbon emissions by 17%, representing the elimination of 4.5 million gallons of gasoline being consumed by automobiles. Getty notes that the effort is expected to include more Perdue facilities beyond the current programs in Kentucky and North Carolina.