Table Talk

It’s been 8 years since the introduction of the UK’s front of pack traffic light system which was intended to offer consumers a simple guide for the nutritional value of the food that they are about to buy. With rising levels of obesity and a lack of consumer understanding, is it time for an alternative approach to food labelling?  In this episode  - brought to you in partnership with Danone -  Stefan Gates is joined by Rachel Bradford, Nutrition Policy Manager to talk through Danone’s Nutri Score System, which is their commitment to simplify front of pack nutritional information. Can this new system -  which is already available to consumers in France, Germany and Spain - succeed in enabling healthier consumer food choices across all areas of society?

If you want to know how cashew apples can be turned into beautiful burgers, or how the millions of tonnes of waste from coffee cherries can be turned into nutrient rich drinks, you will love this episode of Table Talk. Join the conversation to understand how the current relationship between sustainability and consumers is changing - and how an innovative, sustainable supply chain can deliver exciting, healthier, nutritious, traceable and safe food to satisfy changing consumer needs.

In this podcast we are joined by barley experts and enthusiasts EverGrain, an ingredients company supplying nutrient dense barley for plant-based products whilst delivering circularity in the food system. How can barley help formulators deliver higher protein and fibres to meet growing consumer demand? What unique role does barley play in supporting sustainability and circularity? 

The plant-based market is absolutely booming, with more and more consumers choosing plant-based foods and meat alternatives as they look to reduce their impact on the climate and improve their health. While the taste and texture of plant-based products has come on leaps and bounds in the past few years, is it still a barrier to some consumers who might make flexitarian choices otherwise? In this podcast we join the plant-based experts from Barentz, an ingredients company supplying plant based ingredients for plant based product concepts, to find out how brands can improve texture and taste of their products. What innovations are available for producers, and why is texture so important to our overall enjoyment of food? Host Stefan Gates is joined by Tracey Sanderson, Managing Director, Sensory Dimensions, Mariano Vasconcellos, Technical Director – Food, Barentz and Angela Whitney, Area Manager, Barentz to explore our senses and how they impact the popularity of plant-based products. Join the conversation on T

Last July, Mintel labelled collagen a ‘hero ingredient’, with the global market set to hit €828.6m by 2023. What is behind the growing consumer demand for supplements, and how is the trend for ‘beauty from within’ driving significant growth in the collagen market. This episode, in partnership with BioCell Technology, brings together a panel of experts to help explain how the demand for collagen has exploded, and why brands are looking at collagen instead of other products such as whey. Joining host Stefan Gates are Suhail Ishaq, President, BioCell Technology LLC Nathan Gray, Science and Technical Director, Collagen Stewardship Alliance and Rowena Thomson, Nutrition Science Communications Manager, Solgar International, The Bountiful Company. Together they’ll explain why self care is so important for consumers right now, especially following COVID-19, and how collagen can help support healthy ageing and overall wellbeing. About our panel Suhail Ishaq, President, BioCell Technology LLC Suhail Ishaq

When you think of Japanese food it’s unlikely that you’d think of plant-based meat alternatives. With a diet rich in fish and meat you’re more likely to think of Wagyu beef or some freshly made sushi delicacy, however the scene in Japan is changing thanks to food-tech start-ups like Next Meats. With products like the NEXT Egg 1.0, a dairy-free egg product, and the NEXT Yakiniku barbecue meat alternative products the company is looking to deliver tasty meat and dairy alternatives to the world from Japan. On this episode we’re joined by Saaya Matsukubo, US Area Manager, Next Meat, who will explain the rich plant-based culture that has existed in Japan for a long time,  how the market for plant-based meat alternatives is growing there, and their ambitions for global expansion for their brand. Join us to hear how Japan might be the perfect location for the next explosion of plant-based innovation. About Next Meats Next Meats Co, the alternative meat venture company from Tokyo, is known for commercialising t

In this episode we cast our eyes toward Singapore, home of a rapidly growing food and agri-tech sector. Why is food tech booming in Singapore? What start-ups are disrupting the future of food in the region? What is making investors so excited when it comes to innovation in the country? Join us to find out! From pioneering cellular meat tech to plant-based innovation centres, we'll discover why Singapore has proven such a fertile ground for next-gen solutions to the challenges our food systems face. Providing their unique insight and perspective are Dilys Boey, Assistant CEO, Enterprise Singapore and Andrew Ive, Founder, Big Idea Ventures. They'll explain the reasons why Singapore is leading the way on food and agri tech and what exciting things are coming from the investment that's being made in the country. About our panel Dilys Boey, Assistant CEO, Enterprise Singapore Ms Dilys Boey is Assistant Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Singapore, overseeing industry development of the Lifestyle & Con

When you think of plant protein you immediately think of vegan food, right? Yet plant protein is also being used to make meat products healthier and more sustainable. Producing animal protein requires considerably more resources than plant protein. Using plants to enhance the meat most people already enjoy is a great way to reduce the meat products’ carbon footprint. In this episode of Table Talk we join Paul Shapiro, CEO, The Better Meat Company, to discover how plant protein can be used effectively in meat products as well as in 100% plant-based applications. “If you contemplate that the best tasting frozen chicken nugget in America is only 50% chicken, just imagine what we could do if every chicken manufacturer in the country were utilising these products,” said Paul Shapiro, co-founder and CEO of The Better Meat Co. “We’re using a combination of plant protein, fibre, fat and flavours that when combined in proprietary ways help to seamlessly blend directly into meat and improve on taste. That’s the real

In the latest in a series of episodes focused on Net Zero, and its impact on food industry manufacturers, producers and retailers, we join Aditi Sen, Policy Lead at Oxfam to find out whether the focus on net zero is distracting us from the priority of cutting emissions to reduce our impact on the environment. Aditi co-authored Oxfam’s ‘Tightening the Net’ report which discovered that many governments are hiding behind unreliable, unrealistic and unproven carbon removal schemes to meet their 2050 goals. Is net zero causing more of a distraction than a help as we address climate change? Join host Stefan Gates as he chats to Aditi, and discovers the detail and research that has gone into Oxfam’s report, and what can be done next to effect real change.  About Aditi Sen Aditi Sen, Policy Lead, Oxfam Working at the intersection of climate change, sustainability, and international development and advancing equity in climate solutions. Broad experience in policy analysis and advocacy, program design and

Over 3,100 listeners from across the world of food, nutrition and health joined the Table Talk community in August, and in a stellar month on the podcast we unpacked some of the most important challenges for food, drink, diet, sustainability and nutrition. The top trending Table Talk episodes in August included a look at how Edlong are perfecting their plant-based cheese flavours by incorporating regional tastes and nuances, how the latest research is exploding some important myths about the health benefits of intermittent fasting, and how the food industry can come together to achieve net zero by 2040, ten years ahead of national targets. Each week Table Talk connects you to the key thinkers and change-makers from food and drink, sharing future trends and giving you a glimpse of the science-backed research that will shape how we eat. Follow on Apple, Spotify or your preferred platform to hear each new episode each week and join a community of more than 75,000 food industry professionals getting a head start

In the second of our Behind the Brand series, we catch up with Food Matters Live Awards Innovative natural and organic product of the year winner, Melligel, and find out how the brand behind it, Mellifera, has created a sports nutrition supplement from organic honey.  What motivated them to head down this path, and what are the potentials for organic honey within the sports nutrition sector? Join the conversation on Table Talk to find out. About MelliGEL by Mellifera Ltd. Carbohydrate is needed to fuel almost every type of activity as the amount of glycogen has a direct effect on physical and mental performance. Organic honey with its predominantly carb content is first class source used from the time of the first Olympian runners of the ancient Greece. Nowadays, there is numerous scientific documents and evidence that honey is the perfect fuel to consume before exercise in order to achieve both fast energy and endurance. MelliGEL is the first 100% organic certified energy gel, which is also cert

What are the leading global food and agtech scenes? In this episode of Table Talk we join experts from the food and agtech investment community to shed some light on how countries are helping to support innovation and disruption and find out what is the secret to success. Joining host Stefan Gates are Christian Guba, Associate, Atlantic Foods Ivan Farneti, Co-Founder, Five Seasons Ventures and Nadav Berger, Founder & Managing Director, Peakbridge VC. Join the conversation to find out what different countries are doing to nurture food and agtech start-ups in this fascinating look at the future of food. About our panel Christian Guba, Associate, Atlantic Foods Christian is an Investor with Atlantic Food Labs, an early-stage VC Fund & Venture Studio based in Berlin. Atlantic Food Labs invests in ambitious and mission-driven startups along the entire food value chain and has backed companies such as Gorillas, Formo, Mushlabs or Infarm. Christian gained a Master in Management from HHL Leipzig and

In this new series we get personal with the people behind the brands, with the debut episode focusing on Beau’s Gelato. We join Co-Founder and CEO Joseph Eyre to find out how two partners with no previous experience in the food industry, one with a background in nursing the other in finance, came to start an award winning plant-based gelato brand. We discuss what made them take the plunge and start a business in an industry that was so alien to them, what fuels their passion and what comes next as they scale their brand. Join the conversation on Table Talk. About Beau’s Gelato Beau’s Gelato was born out of our shared passion for travel, discovery and – most importantly – great food. Prior to setting up Beau’s we travelled extensively, searching high and low for vegan dishes that were good enough to write home about. Along the way, we were lucky enough to meet many incredible artisans doing amazing things with vegan ingredients. Inspired, we decided we would go back and craft our own contribution to t

Healthy soil is full of living organisms that help to generate the nutrients crops need to grow. But many conventional farming practices inadvertently degrade soil health over time, which in turn can reduce crop yields. Regenerative Agriculture aims to capture carbon in soil and aboveground biomass, reversing current global trends of atmospheric accumulation. At the same time, it offers increased yields, resilience to climate instability, and higher health and vitality for farming and ranching communities. To explore regenerative agriculture and to find out the impact it could have on our environment, we once again, in partnership with Anglo American, join experts in the field to share their insight and experience. We speak to Ross Mitchell, Head of Agronomy and Technical Services, Anglo American Crop Nutrients and Paul Davey, seventh generation farmer and conservation agriculture contractor. Find out how we can regenerate our agriculture to improve sustainability in the future. About our panel Ross Mitche

Intermittent fasting has been accepted for many years as a fast and effective way to lose weight, in fact Michael Moseley has published a number of best sellers on the 5:2 diet. However, a new and recently published study looks at the effects of fasting and lower energy intake in lean people. This podcast will explore the results of the study and what this means for our understanding of the success of intermittent fasting as a weight loss tool. "Ultimately, fasting did result in weight loss in our experiment, so it is true to say that it was an effective approach in that regard," said James Betts, professor of metabolic physiology at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom and senior author of the new study. "However, we can confidently say it was not better than standard dieting in achieving that outcome and there were no other benefits specific to fasting within the context of our study." In this episode of Table Talk we speak to Professor James Betts to find out about the study, and what it means fo

The UN has described our degradation of soil being 'as important as climate change' yet soil is often overlooked when we talk about the threats to future generations. It's easy to degrade soil quickly, but not easy to repair the damage that is caused so what can be done to protect our precious resource for agriculture in the future? To find out we've assembled a panel of experts including Caroline Drummond, CEO, LEAF, Carl Edwards, Director of Education and Public Engagement, LEAF, and Dr Felicity Crotty, Lecturer in Soil Science, Royal Agricultural University. We'll discuss the scale of the challenge we face, what is happening now to raise awareness of the issues we're facing, and what we can do to fix our agriculture system. Join us for a fascinating and lively debate on Table Talk. About our panel Caroline Drummond, CEO, LEAF Caroline Drummond has been Chief Executive of LEAF since it started in 1991. After graduating in Agriculture she worked on farms in the UK and overseas before joining LEAF. She w

The UK Government has committed to going 'net zero' by 2050. In practice this means getting rid of as many emissions as we produce. This can be achieved through removing harmful emissions as much as possible and in the instances where we still rely on fossil fuels, offsetting the emissions we produce. In the second of a series of podcasts focused on net zero, we rejoin the Food and Drink Federation to hear about the roadmap they've published that shows the food and drink industry could hit net zero by 2050, and find out how this will impact manufacturers. Joining host Stefan Gates once again is Emma Piercy, Head of Climate Change & Energy Policy - FDF, and this time we also speak to Matt Loose, Chief Executive & Founder, Canopy Consulting. Join us to hear the scope of the challenge ahead, how it creates opportunities for food brands, and what the government needs to do to help support food and drink brands on their journey to net zero. About our guests Emma Piercy, Head of Climate Change & Ene

The traditional foods we love often have regional differences that make them unique. For example, the cheddar cheese you buy from your local supermarket may have a completely different flavour profile from the one you’d find in a sandwich in a pub in Ireland. These subtle differences can greatly impact our enjoyment of food, and flavour experts are applying this knowledge to create innovative and delicious plant-based dairy to meet a growing consumer demand. Joining us to explain how are the experts from Edlong, a global flavour house with offices around the world. With over 100 years of experience in the dairy market, and over four decades of plant-based dairy expertise, they’re perfectly positioned to explain how regional nuances and flavours can affect our enjoyment of plant-based dairy products. We’ll discuss all aspects of plant-based cheese, and host Stefan Gates gets the chance to sample some of the products and flavours they’ve developed. Join the conversation on Table Talk. About our guests Ju

Some of the largest ingredients companies are leading the way with food and drink innovations that will feed the future. In this special edition of the Table Talk podcast we look back to conversations we've had with Cargill, Gelita, Givaudan and Ÿnsect to find out how they're developing the flavours to support consumer trends. Find out why insect protein could be the future of sports nutrition, how e-sports athletes are gaining an edge through supplements, how umami can be harnessed to improve flavour and what challenges still need to be conquered in order to expand the world of dairy alternatives as host Stefan Gates joins the leading names from the ingredients world. About our guests Antoine Hubert, Chairman & CEO, Ÿnsect Antoine is Ÿnsect’s Chairman and CEO. He also leads the cooperative insect industry association, the International Platform of Insects for Food and Feed (IPIFF) and is Board Member of Protéine France consortium and LFD. Prior to co-founding Ÿnsect, Antoine worked on scientific p

One year ago Table Talk Podcast host Stefan Gates sat down with members of the food industry and the UK government to hear about the new strategy that was intended to tackle a growing obesity epidemic in the country. One year on, what impact have the measures had, what will be adapted for the future, and is the strategy working? Joining us to dissect the benefits of the UK obesity strategy, and to find out what further changes will be needed if we’re to become a healthier country in the future, are Dr. Jennifer Dixon, CEO, Health Foundation and Anna Tayler, Executive Director, Food Foundation. Join us for a fascinating and lively discussion to see where we’re going wrong in our efforts to improve our health and wellbeing. About our guests Dr Jennifer Dixon, CEO, Health Foundation Dr Jennifer Dixon joined the Health Foundation as Chief Executive in October 2013. Jennifer was Chief Executive of the Nuffield Trust from 2008 to 2013. Prior to this, she was Director of Policy at The King’s Fund and was the