[Listen] "Omnivore" podcast: Insights on sustainable product positioning and plant-based product safety

In the ever-evolving landscape of sustainable food products, there lives an intricate balance between product positioning and safety. In the podcast OMNIVORE, Episode 17, “Sustainable Product Positioning & Plant-Based Product Safety: Where NOVA Goes Awry,” professors Allen Levine and Job Ubbink of the Department of Food Science and Nutrition are featured as they shed light on the complexities of plant-based products, sustainability, and consumer health. 

They discuss the nuances within the NOVA classification system (four categories based on criteria how much a food is processed) and emphasize the need for transparency and authenticity when marketing plant-based products as sustainable choices. Plant-based alternatives often involve the use of novel ingredients and production methods, which can pose challenges in terms of safety assessment and regulatory compliance. 

They argue that sustainable product positioning should be rooted in truth and backed by evidence, ensuring that claims resonate with the product's actual impact.

“There are foods that are good or bad for you in both categories—highly processed or completely unprocessed," said Levine. 

Listen on the web to hear more of their conversation. 

"Curated from the pages of Food Technology, each episode of Omnivore 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." The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) is a community of professionals and students passionate about the essential role science and innovation play in ensuring that our global food system is safe, nutritious, and sustainable.