Behind Clean Lines is your go-to medium for insights into hygienic manufacturing, innovation, and design.
You'll find expert knowledge on the design process, the strategic drivers, and mind set it takes to push innovation in manufacturing for food and beverage industries forward.
The topics we'll discuss include:
Strategic Growth Drivers in Hygienic Manufacturing
The Role of Collaboration in Innovation for the Food Industry
Product optimization with Hygienic Design
... and much more.
This podcast is brought to you by NGI (https://ngi-global.com).
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This podcast is produced by Montanus (https://montanus.co).
21: What Food Equipment OEMs Need to Know About the New 3A Standards
Host Mikkel Svold interviews 3-A Certified Conformative Evaluator Gabe Miller and NGI A/S Sales Director Tue Skrubbeltrang about the latest 3-A Standards update and its impact on food equipment OEMs.
18 Feb 2026TRANSCRIPT
Food Industry 2026: The Race Between Labor, AI and Automation
Expert Roundtable · 2026 Factory Priorities
Is your factory ready for the transformation ahead?
The food industry is shifting fast. Labor gaps, accelerating automation, and the rise of AI are reshaping how factories operate.
In this special episode of Behind Clean Lines, three industry experts break down the forces redefining food manufacturing in 2026 - and what it will take to stay competitive in a landscape where technology and human expertise must work hand‑in‑hand.
In this special roundtable episode of Behind Clean Lines, we bring together three industry experts from different corners of the food sector:
Richard Smith – Managing Director, NewTech Intelligent Automation (machine builder perspective)
Jennifer Crandall – Founder & CEO, Safe Food En Route (food safety consultancy + cross-industry view)
Carl Thorson – Food Safety & Sanitation Manager, General Mills (large-scale food producer perspective)
Together, they explore the converging forces reshaping food manufacturing in 2026 and beyond; from the factory floor challenges of training workers who aren't there, to the promise and reality of AI-powered automation, to the counterintuitive revolution happening in sanitation practices.
For food manufacturers, the message is clear: the winners in 2026 won't be those with the most technology, but those who strategically navigate the balance between human expertise and technological capability.
In this episode, you'll learn:
Why labor shortages are the defining challenge, and how micro-learning and wearables are changing training.
Where automation is finally becoming viable in fresh food production (and where it's still years away).
How AI is tackling the "black box" of equipment changeovers and planned downtime.
The counterintuitive "cleaning by exception" philosophy reducing water use while improving safety.
What "food as medicine" means for formulation, equipment, and regulatory compliance.
Why all three experts agree AI is the universal disruptor—and why implementation will be gradual.
Episode Content
00:36 Introduction to food industry trends for 2026
02:49 The labor availability crisis: More than just empty positions
07:31 YouTube and TikTok-style training: Learning tools for the modern workforce
13:21 Technology advances opening up fresh food automation
17:05 Manual activities and the black box of equipment downtime
20:06 Imagining the food plant of 2030: Lights on or off?
24:07 The reality: Many companies are still on paper
30:25 Using visual assessment to reduce human error
38:06 UK and EU cybersecurity directives for machinery
44:43 Food as medicine: Consumer trends reshaping production
53:40 Cleaning by exception: The counterintuitive sanitation philosophy
58:33 The one disruptor defining 2026: Artificial intelligence
This podcast is brought to you by NGI A/S (https://ngi-global.com).
This podcast is produced by Montanus (https://montanus.co).
15 Oct 2025
19: Food Safety on Trial – The Legal Side of Contamination
Could your food company be tomorrow’s headline for all the wrong reasons?
Food poisening can be a devastating for the consumer. And for the food company involved, it too comes with high costs: It will damage reputation, shut down lines, trigger recalls, and put entire businesses at risk.
In this episode of Behind Clean Lines, food safety attorney Bill Marler shares three decades of experience from the front lines of outbreaks.
He’s seen how E. coli in hamburgers, listeria in ice cream, and unpasteurized juice ended up in courtrooms - and why the warning signs were visible long before disaster struck.
For food manufacturers, the message is clear: regulators may not catch every risk. That responsibility falls on your processes, your supply chains, and your culture.
In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
1. The weak spots in production where contamination typically begins.
2. Why supplier practices can make or break your food safety strategy.
3. How genome sequencing is changing traceability and liability.
4. Where contracts and documentation protect you (or leave you exposed).
Episode Content
00:08 Introduction to foodborne illness lawyer, Bill Marler
01:10 Process after a food contamination case reported
04:48 Current statistics on foodborne illnesses in America
06:43 Tracing pathogens: The outbreak investigation process
09:20 Role of CDC and genetic fingerprinting in food safety
12:25 Manufacturer liability in food contamination cases
15:40 Importance of supplier relationships in food safety
23:42 Food safety culture: Engaging professionals in prevention
28:12 The moral vs. PR dilemma in food safety
30:41 Recommendations for manufacturers to enhance safety
34:31 Current battles against public health challenges
This podcast is brought to you by NGI A/S (https://ngi-global.com).
This podcast is produced by Montanus (https://montanus.co).
Inside a recent episode
21: What Food Equipment OEMs Need to Know About the New 3A Standards
Published 8 Apr 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] And the headaches of a suboptimal hygienic design every day. I want to look a little bit into the future. What can we expect from the standards going forward? Do you expect the European standards, maybe even the UK standards, anyway, that they, of course, look alike, but the European standards and the US standards, the three A standards, do you expect them to be more aligned in the future? Do you expect them to yeah, collaborate more? Okay, so we do have a collaboration. We call it harmonization between EHEG and 3A. Okay, I actually collaborate with EHEG frequently. I do training for the EHEG of Central American conferences. […]
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