Omnivore
Episode 5
Plant-Based Meat Challenges, Quality Pet Food Demand, Sensory Tech Toolkit
Episode Description
In this episode of Omnivore, Food Technology’s editorial team serves up new content with stories and interviews taken from the February print issue.
UMass Distinguished Professor Julian McClements shares insight into the state-of-the-science when it comes to developing meat analogues that will resonate with consumers. Renaldo Webb discusses his experience in the pet food industry and why consumers have high demand for their furry friends. Dragonfly SCI’s Rebecca Bleibaum shares some new technologies helping to solidify sensory science’s place in the product development toolkit.
Plus: Information on IFT FIRST Annual Event and Expo, July 16-19, 2023.
Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Featured Guests
-
Rebecca N. Bleibaum President and Chief of Sensory Intelligence
Rebecca N. Bleibaum is the president and chief of sensory intelligence at Dragonfly SCI. She has over 30 years of experience in applying sensory and consumer research with major multinational businesses.
-
D. Julian McClements
D. Julian McClements is distinguished professor and director of the alt-protein research lab at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He is the recipient of the 2019 IFT Lifetime Achievement Award in Honor of Nicolas Appert and author of Future Foods: How Modern Science is Transforming the Way We Eat.
-
Renaldo Webb Founder of PetPlate
Renaldo Webb is the founder of PetPlate, a whole-food pet food brand. He graduated from the Massachussetts Institute of Technology with a bachelor’s degree in physics. Before starting his pet food brand, he worked as a consultant for Catterton and McKinsey.
Categories
-
Food Categories
-
Sensory Science
-
Food Sciences
-
Pet Food
-
Podcasts
-
Omnivore
Omnivore
IFT’s Omnivore and Omnivore Presents: SciDish podcasts spark lively, thought-provoking conversations with the science, business, and regulatory leaders shaping the future of food. Each episode delivers sharp analysis, practical insights, and bold ideas designed to challenge assumptions, ignite innovation, and energize your work across the global food system.
Recent Podcasts
Apr 13, 2026
Designing Climate-Resilient Food Systems
Explore how circular food systems, upcycling, and new technologies are reducing food waste and transforming sustainable food production.
Podcasts
Mar 23, 2026
2026 Consumer Food Trends, Why Alt-Meat Is a Long Game
Dr. Liz Sloan shares her take on the defining consumer trends of 2026 and John Ruff draws on decades of product development experience to explain why alternative meat is a long game.
Podcasts
Mar 16, 2026
How Food Science is Reinventing Meat
Bruce Friedrich explores how cultivated and plant-based meat could reshape food production—and what it means for the future of protein.
Podcasts