My Food Job Rocks!

Lin Carson is one of those amazing people who will give away knowledge for free. In this case, her amazing technical expertise in the bakery industry has made her able to share this on an awesome website called Bakerpedia. Think of it as Wikipedia, but for bakers! If you are into bread, especially in a commercial sense, you will absolutely love this interview. So get ready, for an exciting segment about baking, along with the tips of finding and joining high growth companies, the latest amazing technology in the baking industry, and maybe this episode will inspire you to make a wiki site on your own. About Lin Carson A passionate trailblazer who constantly challenges current ways of thinking when it comes to innovation and sustainability in the field of grain science, Dr Lin Carson’s love affair with baking started about 20 years ago when she earned her BSc degree in Food Science & Technology at the Ohio State University. Keen on deepening her knowledge in baking, bread and grain product texture, she went on to earn her MSc then PhD from the Department of Grain Science at Kansas State University. In 2007, she started the R&D program and baking lab at Wendy's New Bakery Company in Ohio where she managed the team responsible for product development, ingredient and equipment sourcing, analysis equipment and procedures, specification development and commercialization. Opportunity came knocking in 2013 and Dr Carson took up the position of Director of Technical Services at Dave's Killer Bread (DKB) in Portland, OR. There, she oversaw food safety, quality, co-manufacturing and R&D procedures. Her experience heading the R&D departments at two of America’s leading food brands was invaluable and was how she discovered a huge gap in technical information sharing. When she’s not running BAKERpedia, Dr Carson serves as Treasurer on the Board of Directors at the American Society of Baking, a role she has held since 2007. One of her notable achievements is spearheading the Product Development Competition that aims to identify and reward innovative thinking in commercial baking processes. Aside from all things bakery, Dr Carson is married with three boys and is a self-proclaimed health nut. She trains regularly for Triathlons as a hobby with a transition goal of under 1 minute. About BAKERpedia A year later, armed with knowledge, conviction and sheer guts, Dr Carson launched BAKERpedia with the ultimate aim of strengthening the entire baking ecosystem, allowing ideas to thrive, improving efficiencies and encouraging opportunities for growth. Today, as the world’s only FREE and comprehensive online technical resource for the commercial baking industry, BAKERpedia is used by commercial bakers, ingredient sellers, equipment suppliers and baking entrepreneurs who have easy access to the answers they need to make informed decisions daily. This Episode is Sponsored by Foodgrads This episode is sponsored by FoodGrads, an interactive platform for the Food & Beverage Industry, which focuses on closing the gap between students and employers with a broader mission to attract and retain people to a meaningful career in food. From Food Scientists to Farmers, Chefs to Plant Managers, QA Technicians to Dieticians, or Marketing and Sales, no matter what your passion–there’s something for everyone in Food—and they will help you find it. Join FoodGrads for support, mentorship and guidance to start your career. Just go to foodgrads.com [New] This Episode is Also Sponsored by Steviva Ingredients Hey everyone, we have a new sponsor on the podcast and I am happy to introduce you guys to the wonderful people at Steviva, a sweetener company in Oregon. If you want to hear more about this amazing company, listen to episode 72 with their CEO Thom King. What’s really cool about Steviva is that they are changing their whole company into something bigger and better and I love telling the story of how this will happen. As we progress, we plan to go through the process of Steviva’s transformation and inform you on what this amazing company can do for you. For more information about Steviva, go to http://www.stevivaingredients.com/ Housekeeping If you like what you heard, like us on facebook or write a review on itunes. It helps wonders. I am also inviting you to sign up on our email list at myfoodjobrocks.com. I am doing this new thing called the 5 course meal where I send you 5 pieces of hand picked content and deliver it every Friday morning. Like a meal kit… If you have any questions or suggestions on how to improve the podcast, don’t be afraid to email me at podcast@myfoodjobrocks.com Knowledge Bombs Why baking is complicated versus other areas of food Being in Operations versus in the Lab A discussion about clean label and skilled labor Question Summary One sentence: I’m the CEO of Bakerpedia.com . A free resource on baking technology How Bakerpedia happened: Food Science Degree, Grain Science Degree, running technical teams in the bakery industry, had an idea, found a gap, worked 2 years without any pay to get it off the ground What do you consider a growing company?: To be really aggressive, have double digit growth percentage a year. Can any company at any size be a growing company?: Great people make growth happen. Big companies just have a harder time getting great people What have you taught your team to be great at their jobs?: Mainly technical skills and basic knowledge of the baking industry. Be open to learn more and more Where do you gather your technical knowledge?: On the job training, courses, AIB, etc. You have to be on the job. Was it hard to make Bakerpedia?: Not at all. Launching is really easy. The most challenging thing: How to monetize My Food Job Rocks: I get to learn something different from different bakers every time and bake amazing bread. Consulting arm: Lin works with 2 high growth clients. That’s enough for her Food trends and Technology: Rapid Hydration. A high seed sprayer. Patent: Rapido-jet When can we expect these new bakery innovations to happen?: Biggest factor is cost. Equipment can last a very long time. Some mixers can last 30 to 40 years. What is something in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: Why aren’t companies cleaning up their labels? Why are they fighting to change their ingredients? The technology is there. Job Hopping: You can’t change that. You have to identify good leaders How do you identify good leaders?: Your network needs to be large. Many years of experience. Do you have a question on how to identify good leaders?: No Who inspired you to get into food?: My father owned a food brokerage and I hung out in their kitchen Favorite Quote: The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond the limits and test the impossible. Arthur C Clark: Scifi Writer Favorite Book: David and Goliath – Malcolm Gladwell also does Revisionist Gladwell Favorite Kitchen Item: Table Top Hobart Version Favorite Food: Bread. I am on this 90 loaves in 90 day journey. Check eatbread90.com Favorite bread: An imported Australian bread with a peral flour Do you have any advice for people wanting to go to the food industry?: Go ahead, we need you! A lot of startups do not have food scientists on their teams. How do we contact you?: If you want inspiration as a working mother, connect with me on facebook. You need to be passionate about what you do. Once you have enough passion, it doesn’t feel like work. Links AIB facility in Kansas Cracker Training Course Kansas State University Grain Science Wendy’s Dave’s Killer Bread Bakeryconcepts.net Why are manhole covers round? eatbread90.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An Overview of Ideation to Commercialization This episode is going to be a bit different than other episodes. Most episodes were reflection based or stuff about my life but I guess I might have ran out of things to talk about in my life. At least for now. So in this episode, I’m going to talk about the life cycle of a product, how an idea forms, goes through the gauntlet and then commercialized to make tens of thousands of something you've created. Along the way, I’ll give you some tips on how to make this process faster, or who you have to deal with to succeed in this aspect. Most people in a food company don’t know the whole process. Those that do either learn from a startup or force themselves to get involved. I’m the latter. After a recent project where it’s finally launching, I now have full confidence in how a product is made. There are a ton of moving parts and I hope that this episode will break down and show you how to actually make a food product from idea to selling it to millions. This Episode is Sponsored by Foodgrads This episode is sponsored by FoodGrads, an interactive platform for the Food & Beverage Industry, which focuses on closing the gap between students and employers with a broader mission to attract and retain people to a meaningful career in food. From Food Scientists to Farmers, Chefs to Plant Managers, QA Technicians to Dieticians, or Marketing and Sales, no matter what your passion–there’s something for everyone in Food—and they will help you find it. Join FoodGrads for support, mentorship and guidance to start your career. Just go to foodgrads.com [New] This Episode is Also Sponsored by Steviva Ingredients Hey everyone, we have a new sponsor on the podcast and I am happy to introduce you guys to the wonderful people at Steviva, a sweetener company in Oregon. If you want to hear more about this amazing company, listen to episode 72 with their CEO Thom King. What’s really cool about Steviva is that they are changing their whole company into something bigger and better and I love telling the story of how this will happen. As we progress, we plan to go through the process of Steviva’s transformation and inform you on what this amazing company can do for you. For more information about Steviva, go to http://www.stevivaingredients.com/ Housekeeping If you like what you heard, like us on facebook or write a review on itunes. It helps wonders. I am also inviting you to sign up on our email list at myfoodjobrocks.com. I am doing this new thing called the 5 course meal where I send you 5 pieces of hand picked content and deliver it every Friday morning. Like a meal kit… If you have any questions or suggestions on how to improve the podcast, don’t be afraid to email me at podcast@myfoodjobrocks.com Transcript Ideation There are two types of areas where ideas come from: external or internal. External ideas are based off of market research, or what’s currently selling, or even as simple as “this product exists, but it has x problem, let’s invent a product that doesn’t have x problem”. Most of the time, people in the marketing department develop something called a competitive or gap analysis which lists 5 to 10 of the top selling product’s strengths and weaknesses. An easy way to develop an idea is to just look at a competitive analysis and increase the positive attributes by like 20% and then also remove anything negative. One example is if I did a competitive analysis about protein bars and I see that the max protein bar is 20 grams  of protein and uses sucralose, I could probably be “innovative” and sell a protein bar with 24 grams of protein and no sucralose. Though most companies would balk at the idea that this is the way they “innovate”, when you boil it down, it’s pretty much that. Another method of ideation is internal and this takes a high amount of intuition and out-of-the-box thinking. This is an extremely hard type of innovation that is based off of finding the cutting edge of innovation and thinking differently. Only a few people have the talent of connecting the dots, but if you feel like you do, then go for it. Again, I want to stress how hard and risky this is. The bigger the company, the more people are going to think you are insane for even bringing it up. But what do they know? They don’t know food as much as you do right? The best example I have in this situation is Apple (of course). Innovation doesn’t have to be completely new, but it has to be so out of the box people think you’re insane. For example, no headphone jack? That’s insane! Why would they do that? I’m not a tech expert, but that is one example, of an internally inspired innovation. Another food related example is taco bell. In my podcast, I talk about the naked chicken chalupa a lot because I am so amazed that taco bell made a taco shell out of fried chicken. No average company would ever think about doing that. So ideas are great but convincing a whole team that an idea is great is the fun part. Most ideas come from founders or marketing. Depending on the company, research and development is involved, but not as often as you think. They’re the experts and they know their customers, so they are in charge with their ideas. As a product developer, you should respect that. But idea approval is messy and there are several ways of doing this. So how do you validate an idea? The biggest toolset in your arsenal is data. Collecting data that your idea will work out is the best way to prove that this idea is legit, but event that has its downfall. Most really innovative ideas might not even come to fruition because it’s so ahead of their time, or the method of collecting data is wrong. In all due respect, the best way of having an idea be approved by a body just takes a charismatic person who knows how to push the right buttons and convince someone that their idea will make a lot of money. I know this isn’t what most people want to hear, but that’s the way most crazy ideas happen, and also the most terrible mistakes. This is a really specific type of company culture: the culture of accepting ideas. Most companies say ideas come from anywhere, but most companies don’t implement it. All that is true is that the chain of command is really long and eventually, a product has to reach someone at the top and they have to stamp their mark of approval. Good luck! Pre- Commercialization So an idea gets approved and then what? You have to then do the work to make the product tangible to the manufacturing team, whether this manufacturing team is a copacker or owned by your company. This includes a variety of steps which mainly includes making optimal prototypes and gathering documentation on what the ingredients are. Again, different companies have different methods but the big idea is, you have to develop a good recipe that is easily reproducible and make sure it doesn’t kill or sue anyone. So for me, developing a prototype is the fun part and there are tons of ways to do it. If you are under nutritional barriers such as it has to be under this amount of calories or must have this much protein, then it’s best to start doing the nutritional data analysis first than to go in the kitchen and go to town. A good prototype has to go through a vetting process and there are many ways to do it, but all of them involve having someone taste your product. In small companies, maybe you just need a couple of people who like it. In big companies, maybe 20 to 50 people have to like the taste before validating your product can be brought up to a higher being. This higher being is what I liked to call, a judge. Someone who has the authority to approve or disaspprove your hard work. In some cases, this is the marketing department, or the executive, or the founder of a company. The more data you have where people actually like your product, the more you can convince the “judge” to approve your product. Most rational people will approve something if the majority of people like it, even if he or she doesn’t. But that’s not always the case. Sometimes, the judge will say “I don’t like this, I wish it has this, this this, and you have to go back to the lab and try again. Barely anyone gets it right the first time. Some ideas go through 100s of iterations and still get scrapped. But that’s the life of a product developer. So let’s say you convince marketing and the “judge” that your prototype is awesome? It’s going to be very important to eventually get documents of all of these ingredients and archive them. For me, this is the worst part of the job, but it is a necessary evil. There are some innovations in the pipe line to make this easier, like RogoHub, but it will be a very long time before everyone is on board. Getting documents usually involves getting proof from a sales person about the ingredients you put into your food. For example, you need the nutrition facts. If your product is gluten free, then you need a certificate verifying it’s gluten. If it’s Non-GMO, you have to get a statement, but maybe you even need a certificate. Ideally, your boss should have a good system to gather, sort, and archive docuemtns so in case of any outbreak, you’ll be ready to pull out the source. If you don’t have something like this, start one. In some companies, this task is shared among product development, quality assurance, and regulatory or maybe just one of them. This is serious stuff and is going to be super important in the future. Do note, in most companies, this is the sole purpose of a product developer, or a person in research and development who develops new products. If you had to focus on one thing in the corporate behemoth, this is where you should be the expert at. Commercialization Once pre-commercialization passes, then you go into the complex world of commercialization which now involves almost every department working together to complete a timeline. This includes planning, inventory, transportation, packaging, labels, product marketing, procurement, product development, regulatory, and quality assurance, oh, and generally, a Project Manager is in charge of it too. So it works like this: the “Judge” approves of a product in pre-commercialization, and then the company has to make a huge investment to actually make the product. Planning has to make the forcast oh how many will sell, inventory has to make sure there’s enough room in the warehouse and develop systems to track the product, transportation has to coordinate moving the product everywhere, packaging has to develop or confirm the packaging used is correct, labels has to design something pretty and compliant, product marketing monitors if everything’s ok, product developers get blamed for everything, regulatory makes sure we have all of the doohickies to pass it thoggh the boarders (if necessary), and quality assurance makes sure we have all of the specs necessary to document in case we get into trouble. You see this sort of ecosystem sprout out that depending on the company, is either treated as a harmonious beautiful, collaboration, or like Game of Thrones in which a lot of unexpected drama happens either internally in the company, or externally say, a factory mishap or a communication error. So commercialization takes a tremendously long time just because of so many people and professions are collaborating together. Technically, you’re going to do the least amount of work here but that might not always be the case. You now take on the role of someone who verifies things such as factory manufacturing reports, and how labels writes things on the level. If you have the confidence, you also become an authority figure on the product (though marketing might fight you for it). The best way to handle commercialization is not only be an expert at what you do (creating great products) but also be a great communicator with all of the clashing personalities, and the clashing professions. In general, the time frame from commercialization starts with a forecast which goes into motion. If you don’t have a forecast, then well, better just throw money in the pot and see what happens. A Label file gets circulated around departments that all departments confirm around. Your job here is to verify they are using the right ingredients, the right claims, and the right label. That’s about all. Marketing copy or what ugly color they use to represent your products has nothing to do with you. During this time, we communicate with the manufacturer. The manufacturer sends replicate samples of the formula to cross check if communication between formulas is ok. Usually, a triangle sensory test is used to make sure no one can statistically tell the difference between the two products. between corporate and procurement gets a pilot protocol in motion. A pilot is a test run with the manufacturer to make sure they can actually run the lab sample. A pilot is a big step for a small investment. It tests everything about communicating with the contract manufacturer. It tests their mettle in gathering ingredients, communicating with the corporate team, and most importantly, confirms that the product can be made and tastes relatively the same compared to your formula sheet. Packaging is also important, and are usually packaged in blank film or white stocked depending on the product. After the pilot sample is approved (byt the way, you’ll have 100s of samples to give away), procurement initiates the production run which takes about 6 to 10 weeks at minimum before starting production. Post- Commercialization For a product developer, not much goes on here. Quality assurance usually takes the reigns and deals with some check list stuff. However, it is important to keep track of how well your product is doing. You can always ask planning or marketing for the digits. However, now since your product has launched, there are so many other things that can go wrong and all of them focus on either cost reduction or raw material issues. Things that are very hard for a product developer to predict. Cost reduction involves changing one ingredient with another, usually cheaper ingredient. Cheap doesn’t mean lower quality, over time, things get cheaper due to technological advancements. Low cost projects are usually due to high volume and a bunch of other stuff I don’t really focus on. Raw material issues involve a supplier completely running out of a material and everyone panics. Issues like this are terrible because sometimes the material is so unique or there is a shortage in the world in general. Purchasing will hound you to find a replacement and then there is no replacement because there is no substitute! Whatever. So what separates good product developers from great product developers? Well, it’s a simple answer. How far do you want to understand the process? Do you just want to do your thing? From the people I’ve interviewed, and the people I’ve asked for advice, understanding the complexities of turning your idea into something people buy and eat is one of the keystones to becoming a great product developer. But you actually can’t be an expert at everything. The best product developers are the ones who can communicate and understand the process, and have the confidence to convince people that they know what they are doing. They are the ones who can convince marketing on the challenges of making something, or can work with a manufacturer to make their formula a reality. It’s getting info from various sources on what’s running out so you can prepare to kake changes or subsitutution. To summarize, a good product developer knows not only their role, but how to communicate their role to others. The more you understand the process, the more autonomous you can be, and the more you know what you’re actually talking about. Yes, it’s a daunting step to know how all of this works, but you don’t become great in your own bubble.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elliot Begoun is the Principal of The Intertwine Group, which a practice focused on helping emerging food and beverage brands grow. He works with clients to design and execute customized route-to-market and go-to-market strategies that build velocity, gain distribution, and win share of stomach. His articles appear in publications such as the Huffington Post, SmartBrief, and FoodDive. Elliot has had a lot of experience in the food industry. 25 years to be exact and he knows what makes good companies tick. His knowledge about marketing, supply chain and retail management astound me and I hope they do for you too. In this episode, be prepared to learn how to be a successful food company, our predictions in the grocery space, and the common obstacles brands struggle with, and how to over come this obstacles Sponsor This episode is sponsored by FoodGrads, an interactive platform for the Food & Beverage Industry, which focuses on closing the gap between students and employers with a broader mission to attract and retain people to a meaningful career in food. From Food Scientists to Farmers, Chefs to Plant Managers, QA Technicians to Dieticians, or Marketing and Sales, no matter what your passion–there’s something for everyone in Food—and they will help you find it. Join FoodGrads for support, mentorship and guidance to start your career. Just go to foodgrads.com Housekeeping If you like what you heard, like us on facebook or write a review on itunes. It helps wonders. I am also inviting you to sign up on our email list at myfoodjobrocks.com. I am doing this new thing called the 5 course meal where I send you 5 pieces of hand picked content and deliver it every Friday morning. Like a meal kit… If you have any questions or suggestions on how to improve the podcast, don’t be afraid to email me at podcast@myfoodjobrocks.com Knowledge Bombs - When to share information versus asking for money - What Elliot describes as being a food lifer - Why entreprenuers should focus on what the grocery industry will become in 5 years Question Summary Sentence or less: I help emerging food and beverage brands grow How do you network?: It’s more about establishing relationship. How do you establish trust?: Go all in and help someone when asked What do you do?: I’m a principal. I understand and analyze emerging businesses and make them grow How did you get to where you are today?: Almost went to law school, so he got into general management at a small restaurant franchise, Bon Vorong, Graduate School, Shamrock Foods for 18 years, Foster Farms, then Intertwine Did you find an MBA useful?: I got more self-confidence and I absorb information better, but it’s debatable What skill do you need to be a successful food company?: You have to learn how to listen. You also have to learn how to be a problem solver My Food Job Rocks: I get to be part of a lot of companies and I love seeing them in stores Food Trends and Technology: Meal kits and how to bring amazing foods to busy families The biggest challenge the food industry needs to face: How are we going to feed 9 billion people? Are there any companies that are changing the food system?: There are lots of companies doing it in different ways. For example, dairy farms collecting methane and ugly fruit What is one thing in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: After 28 years, I still have no idea what it’s about Who inspired you to get into food?: Restaurant management job: it was offered to me. On my next job, I got a mentor and she taught me everything. Then I got into retail and it was like a real fun puzzle. Favorite Book: A More Beautiful Question My Quote: The quality of your life is determined by the quality of your questions. — Dr. John Demartini What do you think new brands struggle with the most?: Distribution philosophy. Build a compelling argument for your consumers to buy your products again and again and again to build velocity What is your advice for funding?: Make money first Do you have advice for anyone who wants to go into the food industry?: Run! Just kidding: The food industry is enormous. Go somewhere where you can make a difference. Also. Learn! How to reach Elliot: www.theintertwinegroup.com ; elliot@theintertwinegroup.com Other Links (we link Elliot's Articles Here) Food Dive Huffington Post Aldi’s Lidl Fancy Food Show   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While scrolling through some linkedin folks I found Jessica Goldstein’s lecture she did at the RCA. About a week before, one of my friends sent me a link to her and said she might be good to interview. So I did. Jessica is part of the Nu Spice family business, with her partner in crime being her father. She’s grown up in the food industry all of her life but she first decided to work in an electronics firm’s marketing company. But after a few weeks, she hated it and decided to go all in for the food industry. That means hustling small buisnesses, reading the USDA Standards and Labeling guideline page to page, and enjoying and analyzing every part of her food. One of my favorite things about Jessica is her ability to describe flavors in such a way, that both the technical minded and the culinary minded would just melt. You’ll hear a couple of great food descriptions within this interview such as when I ask her what she had for dinner yesterday. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Sponsor This episode is sponsored by FoodGrads, an interactive platform for the Food & Beverage Industry, which focuses on closing the gap between students and employers with a broader mission to attract and retain people to a meaningful career in food. From Food Scientists to Farmers, Chefs to Plant Managers, QA Technicians to Dieticians, or Marketing and Sales, no matter what your passion--there's something for everyone in Food—and they will help you find it. Join FoodGrads for support, mentorship and guidance to start your career. Just go to foodgrads.com Housekeeping If you like what you heard, like us on facebook or write a review on itunes. It helps wonders. I am also inviting you to sign up on our email list at myfoodjobrocks.com. I am doing this new thing called the 5 course meal where I send you 5 pieces of hand picked content and deliver it every Friday morning. Like a meal kit… If you have any questions or suggestions on how to improve the podcast, don’t be afraid to email me at podcast@myfoodjobrocks.com Knowledge Bombs How Jessica went from marketing to food The dynamic between Jessica and her father in the family business How Jessica learns and keeps learning about food science Question Summary The influences in how to where you got to where you are today: Grandfather owned food business in New York, Grandpa sold it, father worked in food industry and then bought it. Jessica decided to step in and modernized the business after she hated her marketing job Popular in Cuba: no Cubano's, after the age of seven, people don’t eat dairy What do you tell people when you first meet them?: I play with your food, I design flavor profiles for food manufacturers Education: Jessica has a masters in food science and bachelors in creative writing and psychology Nu Spice’s niche: medium sized meat manufacturers who want to develop new flavors Important Skills for developing: Know the customer’s consumer. Whole foods customer has a different perspective than Food City How did you learn food science vocabulary?: My suppliers educate me. Also learning to educate people on this vocabulary Important skills for selling: It’s a people business. People buy from people that they like Food Trends and Technology: Veggie Burgers, Safeway launches Beyond Meat burgers Who is feeding the world?: Monsanto (despite their controversy) is feeding the world in poor places Food trends: Northern African flavors, stews, Horesus hue – Paprika paste, savory, fermentation such as sriracha and miso Favorite Book: Modernist Cuisine. You can download it on a tablet Be creative and innovation is everywhere What was the most amazing thing you ate last?: Stuffed Artichoke Butterflies Advice in the food industry: You need to love food Other Links RCA Conference James Calvetti Meats Nu Products Seasoning Company or Nu Spice – Family owned business Hoboken, New Jersey LG Electronics Marketing Department Thai Basil Sweet Basil Red basil USDA Standards and Labeling Guidelines book Bone Marrow and bread Bone Marrow in Hawaii where you take a shot in the bone Life is too short to eat the same thing twice Standards of Identity Top-Note Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is all about Fair Trade, you’ll not only learn about Equifruit’s focus on bananas, but also what other products can be fair trade, awesome resources in the fair-trade industry, and things of that nature. Kim herself is an expert salesperson. Ever since she was 18 years old, she learned to go out and sell, and we talk over her expert techniques and here’s a secret… it’s all about perspective. Also to note is Kim’s philosophy in life. She’s had so many jobs but because she loved what she did, and that opened more and more opportunities in her life. Something to think about. So in this episode, you’ll learn where bananas come from, how a diamond ring can be fair trade, and how to be an amazing sales person About Kim Kim is a native Montrealer with a passion for all things food.  She graduated from Concordia University with a degree in Psychology and pursued further education at St. Pius X Culinary Institute, where she attained a diploma in French cuisine.  Kim has worked in sales from the start of her career: restaurant, retail, spa industry, catering and now, Fairtrade bananas! Kim joined Equifruit as sales manager in late 2014.  After nearly 15 years of sales experience, she wanted to be more connected on a social justice level.  She loves the challenge of convincing Canadian customers to put farmers first.  Kim brings to the table relentless optimism, contagious enthusiasm and an irrevocable passion for fair trade. Sponsor This episode is sponsored by FoodGrads, an interactive platform for the Food & Beverage Industry, which focuses on closing the gap between students and employers with a broader mission to attract and retain people to a meaningful career in food. From Food Scientists to Farmers, Chefs to Plant Managers, QA Technicians to Dieticians, or Marketing and Sales, no matter what your passion--there's something for everyone in Food—and they will help you find it. Join FoodGrads for support, mentorship and guidance to start your career. Just go to foodgrads.com Housekeeping If you like what you heard, like us on facebook or write a review on itunes. It helps wonders. I am also inviting you to sign up on our email list at myfoodjobrocks.com. I am doing this new thing called the 5 course meal where I send you 5 pieces of hand picked content and deliver it every Friday morning. Like a meal kit… If you have any questions or suggestions on how to improve the podcast, don’t be afraid to email me at podcast@myfoodjobrocks.com Knowledge Bombs Where fair trade bananas come from How everything can be fair trade How fair trade funds farmer’s kids with money Question Summary What do you tell people you do?: Exotic fair trade fruit saleswoman. A light intro on fair trade Fair Trade: Doing business on fair terms. The producer gets paid properly. When I was 18 years old: Sales as B2B. Cold calling. Selling a product from door to door How did you put yourself out there when finding your next gig?: Social media How to be a good sales person: A really good salesperson reads people well. Everything from the tone of your voice to the language Does good sales people come from books or experience?: It might be more innate than you think. You can develop a salesperson, but you have to be perceptive. An introvert can be a salesperson Food Trends and Technologies: Purchasing habits of Bananas. People are buying products because of the value of the products Where do you find your sales research?: Canadian Government Websites Who inspired you to get into food?: My family Career path: I study the things I find interesting. You have to love what you do, but there will be challenges. Ask the questions: what would you do for free? Or what excites you? Kitchen Item: I’m a knife snob. I have to carry my knives for vacation Advice for a Sales Job: Ask to be paired to an expert salesperson Favorite Food: Salad and fresh fruits. I would wait for the seasons to enjoy my fruit Advice about life: It’s more important to love what you do because it opens up amazing opportunity. You’ll be a happier human being. Equifruit.com Equifruit Twitter Equifruit Instagram Equifruit facebook Equifruit linkedin Other Links Fairtrade Canada Fairtrade.net Canadian Fairtrade network Guelph Organic Tradeshows Canadian Produce Marketing Association Fair Trade Chocolate, Sugar, Tea Fair Trade cotton shirt Fairtrade Diamond Ring Farm and Food Care BA Psychology Concordian University Saint Pious the 10th – Culinary School Catering Company Fighting the Banana Wars Harriett Lam Social introvert Good survey about personalities Neilson   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Food Law is one of those topics I fell asleep at in college. But it wasn’t until working in the industry did I find just how important it really is. If you’ve been a fan of this podcast, you might have heard my frustrations learning about how the Europeans deal with GMOs. If you’re a first time listener, I’ll talk about it again. But Ceasare Varallo is the man when it comes to making me excited about food law. He’s a lawyer in Italy who focuses on such things as food fraud, regulatory compliance, and communicating crises. This is an amazing interview all about being a food lawyer. You’ll learn how to get a job in regulatory, how to get people to trust you as an expert and the amazing food technologies Cesare’s really into. One in particular that I haven’t heard of until recently… block chain technology Sponsor This episode is sponsored by FoodGrads, an interactive platform for the Food & Beverage Industry, which focuses on closing the gap between students and employers with a broader mission to attract and retain people to a meaningful career in food. From Food Scientists to Farmers, Chefs to Plant Managers, QA Technicians to Dieticians, or Marketing and Sales, no matter what your passion--there's something for everyone in Food—and they will help you find it. Join FoodGrads for support, mentorship and guidance to start your career. Just go to foodgrads.com If you like what you heard, like us on facebook or write a review on itunes. It helps wonders. I am also inviting you to sign up on our email list at myfoodjobrocks.com. I am doing this new thing called the 5 course meal where I send you 5 pieces of hand picked content and deliver it every Friday morning. Like a meal kit… If you have any questions or suggestions on how to improve the podcast, don’t be afraid to email me at podcast@myfoodjobrocks.com Knowledge Bombs Ceasare’s work is three fold: food safety, regulatory, and managing communication How Ceasare found his niche in food law Why regulatory is getting more and more important The interesting things about food marketing How to learn more about food regulatory Question Summary Introduction in a sentence or less?: I’m a food lawyer. I help food companies to reach the compliance Cesare started with commodities at first and then went to more complicated things later Steps it took to get to where you are today: Criminal lawyer, switched law firm and found food clients. Noticed about the specific type of advice Foodlawlatest.com Blogging advice If you have good content, it will be successful Avoid scandal or “fake news”, give useful facts Interacting with your audience is super important What’s the most important skill you need for your job?: How you communicate and interact with people How do you get people to trust you more?: A blog with good content is a sign of trust, facts are a sign of trust, showing that you really know what you’re talking about. Keep on delivering good content and make them comfortable.The customer today is much more informed Customers are reading more food labels and are willing to spend good, safe, tasty and authentic food. Food Technology: Smart Agriculture, Drones, Artificial Intelligence to spot food safety issues, block chains, Block Chain: Technology used to secure the financial transactions: bitcoins/ cryptocurrency. Will help food fraud a lot. Biggest Challenge the food industry needs to face: Fraudulence and trust. Big companies are not trusted. Local is more trusted. A small minority has a lot of power What is something you would like to know more about?: Marketing. How much work it takes to do marketing campaigns. How do you make things Viral? Favorite Book: Lord of the Rings Favorite Quote: Winston Churchill: success consists of going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm Favorite Kitchen Item: My favorite dish is risotto so I like a really big wooden spoon If anyone wanted a job in regulatory, what should they study on their own?: You can find many courses in food law in United States. California and New York has plenty Study the objective official source depending on countries. Common websites. FDA website, Code of Federal Regulations Not so simple in Europe: 26 countries with deviations Independent blogs can work too Advice getting into the food regulatory industry: Get your hands dirty. You can’t imagine the complexity with regulatory issues. It’s more about how you approach the problem Where can we find you?: Foodlawlatest@gmail.com Other Links Foodlawlatest.com Baby formula scandal Olive Oil Book: Extra Virginity Anti-Vaxxers “We don’t trust science but everyone is eating supplements” Viral Marketing Coca-cola put names on the cans, and they monitor and test everything Food Marketing Nerds Podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What’s the point of a food industry podcast if I can’t help you with your careers? That’s why I’ve actually taken a liking on interviewing recruiters because recruiters know the best way to get a job. Bob Pudlock is one of those people. He is an independent recruiter who knows his stuff. Taking an unconventional route, Bob went into recruiting because companies would pay him top dollar to recruit. Yep, one sentence solidified his career. Bob has a lot of practical advice in the show such as how to make 100% use of job interviews when you have to pay for your own flight, the power of long-term networking, and one of my favorite topics, which is better? Factory experience or a master’s degree? Shownotes: http://myfoodjobrocks.com/075Bob About Bob Pudlock Bob Pudlock is the owner and President of Gulf Stream Search, an executive search firm that works with companies in the food and nutritional supplement industries to identify, assess and capture top talent for their organizations. Bob has been in the search industry for 17 years - he has placed individuals all throughout the US and Caribbean at all levels - most of the positions he fills are in R&D, Quality, Sales/Marketing, and Plant Operations throughout the US - he works with venture capital firms that focus on the food industry, start-ups, as well as established brands in the food and supplement industries. Bob grew up in Cleveland, OH and attended John Carroll University where he played on the golf team.  He moved to South Florida in 2011 and is active outdoors with running, swimming, stand-up paddle board racing, fishing and bicycling. 5 top reasons My Food Job Rocks 1. I can work from anywhere - I conduct nearly all of my work via phone, email, and video. 2. I choose what companies, searches, and candidates I work with. 3. I make my own hours - I work as much or as little as I like - although my business demands a lot of my time, I still have the flexibility and control over my schedule to do the things I enjoy outside with the people close to me. 4. I control my income. 5. I get to work with up and coming talent in the food industry and I also get to work with companies that are changing the way we look at nutrition and health in general.  I get to work with people that are truly making a difference in the world. Sponsor This episode is sponsored by FoodGrads, an interactive platform for the Food & Beverage Industry, which focuses on closing the gap between students and employers with a broader mission to attract and retain people to a meaningful career in food. From Food Scientists to Farmers, Chefs to Plant Managers, QA Technicians to Dieticians, or Marketing and Sales, no matter what your passion--there's something for everyone in Food—and they will help you find it. Join FoodGrads for support, mentorship and guidance to start your career. Just go to foodgrads.com   If you like what you heard, like us on facebook or set a review on itunes. It helps wonders. If you have any questions or suggestions on how to improve the podcast, don’t be afraid to email me at podcast@myfoodjobrocks.com Knowledge Bombs How to make the most of paying to fly to a job interview Why you should go to hiring managers and not HR How even the smallest talks can be impactful The value of factory experience The many factors about the lack of free labor Question Summary Sentence or less: I identify or recruit top talent in the food industry What do you do specifically?: 2 things: companies go to him to find people and he finds great people I focus on relationships and connecting What was the time you talked to someone who didn’t accept the job at the time?: I try to open up to people to imagine the possibilities. I try to set more expectations. What’s the best advice for growing your network?: Throw your net wide, not deep The best thing about your job: The journey of hiring Steps it took to get to where you are today: Ohio, Private schools, good at sports, underachiever, didn’t think what would happen when he grew up, golf coach, training salesmen, “Bob, we will pay you top dollar to find salespeople”, pet food recruiting, then expanded to more - Sometimes it’s ok not to know what you’re going to do What’s the most common theme between excellent candidates?: For young people: curiosity for learning and getting to really understand all the different steps on the product development cycle What is more valuable? Masters experience or Factory experience?: Factory experience. It can’t be replaced or supplemented at a later date. For many people, most people want to do different things Why Does Your Food Job Rock?: It’s all about the journey. Also, I work for myself and I get to have control over who I work with What is Bob’s Win Rate (Hired versus not hired): Average is 10-15 interviews for one hire. Bob has had impressive numbers. The secret is understand what the company is looking for Food Trends and Technologies: The blurred lines between mainstream food and nutrition What is the biggest challenge the food industry needs to face?: Skilled labor. Some reasons: we put our manufacturing plants in the middle of nowhere, lobbying to reduce regulations for hiring skilled labor. Favorite Quote: The Man in the Arena. Favorite Book: Oh the Places You’ll Go Favorite Kitchen Utensil: Utensils that are not utensils Advice on the food industry: If you’re going technical, get a degree. Think of other degrees like Masters or MBAs What is a common myth that you’d like to dispel about job hunting?: The best resume doesn’t always win Where can we find you?: Gulf Stream Search. Email: bob.pudlock@gulfstreamsearch.com Phone number: 561-450-9490 Other Links Hiring Manager – Someone who requests a new employee H1B Visa Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve Gendel has worked in the FDA for 25 years and this guy has had an amazing career doing so. He’s been involved in the latest and greatest technologies ranging from early stage GMOs, Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act, and of course, our favorite one right now, FSMA. The best part of this episode is the very practical and real advice he give son how to get a job at the FDA. Of course, it’s a special mix of fiscal year luck, and who you know. He tells you the best places to meet people in the FDA, where the FDA usually works at (which of course, it’s not easy find), and when to start asking your contacts if there are positions open.  http://myfoodjobrocks.com/074Steven About Steven M. Gendel, Ph.D. Dr. Gendel works to ensure safe food for everyone through education, consulting, and support of food manufacturers and organizations of all sizes as the Vice President, Division of Food Allergens, IEH Laboratories and Consulting Group. This includes facilitating compliance with the rules issued under the Food Safety Modernization Act, and supporting the development of Hazard Assessments and Food Safety Plans. He applies a scientifically sound approach to allergen control and testing, and to resolving compliance issues.  He is a Food Safety Preventive Control Alliance Preventive Controls Lead Trainer, a Certified Food Scientist, and an experienced speaker.  Previously he was the Food Allergen Coordinator for the US Food and Drug Administration where he lead policy initiatives, the development of regulatory documents, and assisted in enforcement activities.  He has over 25 years of experience in food safety science and policy and over 90 techincal publications. He held postdoctoral positions at Harvard University and the University of Toronto and was on the faculty of the Department of Genetics at Iowa State University before joining the FDA. Sponsor This episode is sponsored by FoodGrads, an interactive platform for the Food & Beverage Industry, which focuses on closing the gap between students and employers with a broader mission to attract and retain people to a meaningful career in food. From Food Scientists to Farmers, Chefs to Plant Managers, QA Technicians to Dieticians, or Marketing and Sales, no matter what your passion--there's something for everyone in Food—and they will help you find it. Join FoodGrads for support, mentorship and guidance to start your career. Just go to foodgrads.com Knowledge Bombs Steve talks about why he stayed in the FDA for 25 years How the FDA is funded What the FDA controls What Steve thinks has the best food safety programs The best advice on how to get into the FDA When to start looking for a FDA job Question Summary One sentence or less: I’m a food safety scientist. My job is the next thing you eat will not kill you Best thing about your job: I feel like I’m really making the world safer Step to get to where you are today: Undergraduate degree in engineering in KS Western reserve , Graduate in UC Irvine in biology, Department of Genetics in Iowa University, met someone at FDA which was now Institute of Food Safety and Health, stay with the FDA for 25 years, now a consultant What is the difference between the FDA then and now?: A lot of external factors shape the projects such as consumer, laws and regulations, and new congressional turnover The hot topic before you left: FSMA is coming into effect (well…. Maybe not anymore) Most important skill you can have in food safety: Flexibility. Food safety is a very integrative type of field. There are a lot of pieces in Food Safety. Projects Steve was involved in: Potential allergens in GMOs (back when it was new) Risk analysis modeling Joint project between FDA and Health Canada about Soft-cheeses and L.monocytogenes Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act. Thresholds for Allergens Lead author of an allergen threshold report Helped with FSMA’s preventative control New Food Trends and Tech: Advanced Genome Technologies. Can be a great tool to understand pathogens. It helps you understand where they come from and then we can do that Biggest Challenge the Food Industry has to face: Transparency. Mainly asking “why” One thing you’d like to know more about: How companies invest in food safety and food safety program Favorite Quote: To err is human but to really mess up, you need a computer Favorite Food: Grilled Cheese Sandwich. Sharp Cheddar, Swiss Cheese, Artisanal Food What Advice Would You Give TO Work In The FDA: At this particular time in history, it’s hard to say. However, meet people in the FDA. It’s who you know. How to meet FDA people: Scientific Conferences. Local meetings at IFT and IAFP, American Chem Society, Society of Toxicology, talk to them, they will know others who do. USAjobs.com Office of Regulatory Affairs. There are District Offices. Contact the Deputy Director of that office Commissioner’s Fellowship ORISE- Oakridge CIFSAN – Centers for Food Safety in Universities that work collaboratively. Can get graduate or postdoc positions Fiscal Year for the Federal Government: Begins October 1st, ends October 1st. But start looking now How to find Steve: linkedin Other Links Ep. 031 - Tiffany Lau Myrian Zboraj – Quality Assurance Magazine GATTACA Walmart Costco   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Darin’s son died of an E.coli outbreak and he has spent the last 25 years devoting his life to making the world a safer place. Within the last 25 years, he’s become a Doctorate in Law and Policy where his main focus is to implement Food Policy. He’s talked with doctors, scientists, law makers, and graduate students into fighting for food safety. In his spare time, he comforts people who have gone through the same troubles as he has, and shares their stories. Darin does a great job weaving intricate stories to give you the sense of importance in Food safety, which includes aspects of history, humanity and Chipotle. A serious note for this interview: This is a very dense and emotional conversation of food safety. Darin really cares about what he does, and by the end of the episode, I hope you have a renewed sense of importance in food safety. About Darin  Dr. Darin Detwiler is the Assistant Dean and a Professor of Food Policy at Northeastern University College of Professional Studies, Boston, MA.  He is a food industry consultant, columnist, and frequent speaker at events across the country and beyond.   He is coincidentally going to be on American Greed (yes, that's his voice) this week  Sponsor This episode is sponsored by FoodGrads, an interactive platform for the Food & Beverage Industry, which focuses on closing the gap between students and employers with a broader mission to attract and retain people to a meaningful career in food. From Food Scientists to Farmers, Chefs to Plant Managers, QA Technicians to Dieticians, or Marketing and Sales, no matter what your passion--there's something for everyone in Food—and they will help you find it. Join FoodGrads for support, mentorship and guidance to start your career. Just go to foodgrads.com Knowledge Bombs Why deadly foodborne illnesses spikes during the summer months, which causes a bad experience in Thanksgiving The stories behind statistics. Focus on the stories. How the FDA has changed in the last 25 years How people being lazy can cause massive damage How history impacts food policy Everyone has a role to play in food safety Understanding the cause and effect in food safety Why Darin chooses Academia to do Food Safety How Darin balances out food industry stories and family stories and the differences between them How Darin’s perception of food safety has changed over time The lack of Ethics in the Peanut outbreak We talk smack about Chipotle I’m as old as Chipotle Key Summary How Darin has improved Food Safety: 1992 – operating a nuclear reactor, supported the USDA on food safety, went back to university and taught for 15 years in forensic science, Doctorate in Law and Policy and focus was on implementing food policy, Two reasons why food safety fails: They don’t understand or they don’t care. Maybe we need to teach people earlier. Most Food Safety folly is based on greed My Food Job Rocks: Food affects everyone and we connect to it on all aspects of life What advice do you give people to excel at what they do?: If you see things and you don’t take action, or won’t eat your own product, ask questions. Be a self-advocate. Why did Chipotle fail their food safety protocols?: Failure to invest in safety. The system needs work, but their response is textbook What should Chipotle should have done to be better?: They can’t fix the past Other Links Stop Foodborne Illnesses Jack-in-The-Box E.coli outbreak 1993 Food Fraud: Big in Europe Bioterrorism Upton Sinclair – The Jungle Peanut Outbreak Chipotle Outbreak Contact: d.detwiler@neu.edu Quality Assurance Magazine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I usually do a pre-interview with my guest, to kind of explain what we do, if they listen to the show, and stuff like that. However Thom’s pre-interview was so good that I had to share it. Think of this as an episode where I invite an old friend out to coffee to see what’s going on with his life. Thom is an amazing person who reminds me a lot of Derek Sivers. Thom is also a guest who loves to swear so I edited a few things so the itunes police doesn’t get me. So you’re going to learn a bit about documentation, and also some great podcasts that Thom listens to. Also, the really awesome perks Thom has built up in Stevivia’s office. There is a reason for that. If you want a full reason, listen at myfoodjobrocks.com/072Thom Enjoy! Key Takeaways The importance of documentation Thom’s investment in employee happiness How to have employees talk to you Other Links Non-GMO in Europe Louis Hows – School of Greatness Tom Bilyeu - Impact Theory Mixergy Tom Bilyeu Tim Ferriss Show Kale Chips Healthy Crunch How I Built This One Question You Would Like to be Asked?: Why do you do what you do? Weird things in Steviva’s office: Tomato’s and chickens, food Friday Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices