Episode Details

Welcome to The Food Professor podcast Season three, episode 16.

Our special guest is Tom Margeson, President & CEO at Healthy Berries, live from PEI, talking to us about Superfruit Puree! Tom shares with us the fascinating origin story, growth trajectory and experiences of his business, and his experiences as a contestant on Dragon's Den.

In the news, Sylvain reviews the grocery CEOS performance in front of the Parliamentary Agri-Food committee and awards the grocers and parliamentarians based on their opening statements, questions, and overall performance.

We check back in on a story we talked about last week, reported in the New York Times, where big brand owners were found to have child labour deep in their supply chains.

The episode also provides a sneak peek into a new report from the Agri-Foods lab, coming out next week, that looks at price errors and customer service in grocery stores. Next, Sylvan discusses a new bill, Bill C-234, on track to become law before summer. This bill would immediately exempt fuel used to dry grain and heat barns from the carbon tax.

The episode concludes with a discussion on AI in the food industry, the offer made by Russia to extend the Ukrainian grain export deal, and the risks farmers face in Ukraine due to mines planted in their fields. Finally, Michael & Sylvain discuss Aldi's packaging mishap and how it reflects the company's position on hard discounting.

About Tom

A dynamic, seasoned, enterprising senior leader known for building strong relationships combined with a belief in leading-by-example. Extensive achievements in the consumer packaged goods sector with a reputation for insight and vision. Strong knowledge of P&L drivers and strategic planning. Possesses a natural talent for motivating and engaging teams, facilitating both personal and professional development. Focused on continuously meeting or over-achieving targets through rewarding excellence and smart business decisions. A solutions-focused professional with a natural passion for serving the community as well as the organization.

About Us

Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Professor in food distribution and policy in the Faculties of Management and Agriculture at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He is also the Senior Director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab, also located at Dalhousie University. Before joining Dalhousie, he was affiliated with the University of Guelph’s Arrell Food Institute, which he co-founded. Known as “The Food Professor”, his current research interest lies in the broad area of food distribution, security and safety. Google Scholar ranks him as one of the world's most cited scholars in food supply chain management, food value chains and traceability.

He has authored five books on global food systems, his most recent one published in 2017 by Wiley-Blackwell entitled “Food Safety, Risk Intelligence and Benchmarking”. He has also published over 500 peer-reviewed journal articles in several academic publications. Furthermore, his research has been featured in several newspapers and media groups, including The Lancet, The Economist, the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, BBC, NBC, ABC, Fox News, Foreign Affairs, the Globe & Mail, the National Post and the Toronto Star.

Dr. Ch