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GOURMET NEWS SEPTEMBER 2019 www.gourmetnews.com NEWS & NOTES 8 Tierra Farm Acquires Señor Sabor Organic Spice Company Tierra Farm has acquired Pennsylvania- based Señor Sabor, an organic spice com- pany that sells bulk and freshly ground, certified organic spices and seasonings. The transaction closed July 1. Señor Sabor is the second acqui- sition this year by Tierra Farm. In February, the Valatie, New York- based company acquired Maine- based Power of 3 Nutrition, a company specializing in protein-rich seed blends used as a condiment in salads, smoothies and other dishes. Power of 3 products will now be marketed under the Tierra Farm, Señor Sabor brand. The acquisition of Señor Sabor will allow Tierra Farm to further enhance the flavor of its products with spices that are ground fresh onsite as needed, ensuring the highest quality and most flavorful spices when processing its trademark dry-roasted, flavored nuts. The acquisition also allows Tierra Farm to enter into the marketplace for organic seasonings — whole and ground — sold to food co- ops, independent grocers and other outlets. "After the acquisition of Power of 3 Nutrition, we realized that the dry sea- soning market would be a natural brand extension of our core organic food prod- uct line," Tierra Farm Chief Executive Officer Todd Kletter said. "The addition of Señor Sabor to the Tierra Farm family of products means that we will be selling not only freshly flavored nuts for snack- ing but also the organic seasoning we use, as separate food toppings and sea- sonings." Kletter noted that Tierra Farm will be de- veloping new combinations of seasonings, the first of which is a dry seasoning called Everything But the Bagel, a condiment mimicking the salty, seedy, garlicky, oniony flavors topping an "everything" bagel. By year-end, Tierra Farm anticipates introduc- ing eight to 10 new seasoning blends to the spice aisle. GN complained about the EU's failure to com- ply with the WTO's finding, which re- sulted in an appellate finding that the EU subsidies to Airbus "have caused serious prejudice to U.S. interests," according to the U.S. Trade Representative. Based on the appellate report, the U.S. requested au- thority to impose countermeasures worth $11.2 billion per year, and a WTO arbitra- tor is currently evaluating that request as well as the counter-argument advanced by the EU. The U.S. Trade Representative's of- fice expects that the WTO arbitrator will issue its report regarding the level of coun- termeasures that will be authorized later this summer. "The Administration is preparing to respond immediately when the WTO issues its finding on the value of U.S. countermeasures," said U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. "Our ul- timate goal is to reach an agreement with the EU to end all WTO-inconsistent sub- sidies to large civil aircraft. When the EU ends these harmful subsidies, the addi- tional U.S. duties imposed in response can be lifted." Repercussions Reverberate The proposed tariffs could have repercus- sions far beyond the higher prices that re- tailers will be forced to pass on to their customers. Although the tariffs won't affect American cheese producers directly, it's likely that the EU will impose retaliatory tariffs on American products, which could hurt companies that export cheese to Eu- rope. Consumers could be disappointed and turned off cheese when they find fewer options in their favorite stores, according to Tanner. "It might mean that people buy less cheese, when they go to the cheese case and won't see the stocks," he said. "You can't buy ahead on these cheeses because they are perishable." Although he doesn't expect that the Spe- cialty Food Association's comments on the issue will stop the tariffs from taking effect, he's expressing the specialty food industry's objection to the proposal. "What we're say- ing is that this is a dispute between aircraft companies, and small businesses should not be affected," he said. "We're picking on small ag businesses. That's not the right way to go about doing it." GN Tariffs Continued from PAGE 1 the U.S. filed a complaint about those sub- sidies to the World Trade Organization in 2004. In 2011, the WTO found that the EU provided $18 billion in subsidies to Airbus between 1968 and 2006 and that those subsidies caused Boeing to lose sales of more than 300 aircraft around the world. In response to the WTO judgment, the EU removed two minor subsidies but left the other unchanged and then granted Airbus an additional subsidy of more than $5 billion to help Airbus get its A350 XWB off the ground, according to the U.S. Trade Representative's office. The U.S. Headed to Court Continued from PAGE 1 plant-based, meatless, vegetarian or vegan. The law's proponents have admitted that the law's purpose is to protect the agricul- tural producers in the state. "The only confusion here seems to be on the part of the Arkansas legislature, which seems to have forgotten its respon- sibility to its constituents in its rush to pass an unconstitutional law at the behest of its special interest donors," said Jaime Athos, Chief Executive Officer of Tofurky. "When consumers choose plant-based foods, it is not because they are confused or misled, it is because they are savvy and educated about the health and environ- mental consequences of eating animal products. What's really going on here is that the state of Arkansas is seeking to limit access to healthier, more sustainable food choices for its constituents, and it is doing so to benefit the animal agriculture industry." The Arkansas law is substantially simi- lar to meat-labeling censorship laws re- cently passed in Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Dakota, and other states. A number of those laws face simi- lar legal challenges, including by the ACLU, Good Food Institute, and the An- imal Legal Defense Fund. The Missouri law, for instance, was initially proposed by the Missouri Cattlemen's Association. When discussing the perceived need for the Missouri law, state representative Jeff Knight publicly admitted that: "We're just trying to protect our product." GN True Salt: Clean, All Natural, Affordable True Salt is bringing out a new line of salts just in time to add an extra fillip of flavor to holiday dishes. "We're excited to intro- duce these new products to help both home cooks and professional chefs alike take their holiday cooking and baking to the next level this season," said Brian Pierce, a co-Founder of True Salt. "We worked hard and made some great partner- ships in order to develop innovative and in- spired products that will create amazing flavors from savory to sweet." True Salt is a brand based on the simple idea that the culinary world needed a pure sea salt that would enable high-end chefs and home cooks alike to make the switch from mass-market iodized salts to a higher- quality sea salt in a price-neutral way. "We had been looking at a number of opportu- nities within the ingredients stack — areas that we can disrupt and add value to the in- gredients ecosystem," said True Salt co- Founder Kelly Egan. "We spend a lot of time keeping it as natural and untouched as possible, and that comes out in the end product." True Salt is harvested in Mexico on the coast of the Sea of Cortez, one of the clean- est water bodies in the world, according to Egan. "What's great about the Sea of Cortez is that it's not really touched by the global water flow. It's phenomenally clear and pure and beautiful, with sun and consistent temperatures that create a wonderful envi- ronment for both salt and natural evapora- tion," he said. There, the company produces a natural, unfiltered, unprocessed sea salt that's sepa- rated from the sea water by natural solar evaporation. "It creates wonderfully clean and beautifully tasting sea salt," Egan said, adding that top chefs in the southwestern U.S. who've tried it have told him that they still taste the sea, with its brininess without overly heavy salty taste, and the True Salt really acts to bring out the natural flavors. From Mexico, the salt is imported into the U.S. to Phoenix, Arizona, where it's hand-sifted and packed into 1-pound bags for retail sale at around $3.79 and larger bags and buckets for culinary and hospital- ity applications. The new holiday products include a Hol- iday Brine that features a blend of sea salt with herbs and spices designed for turkey and other holiday meats. Peppermint Salt is a finishing salt co- created by True Salt Co. and Seely Mint Farms, a fourth-gener- ation mint farm lo- cated in Oregon. This is a finishing salt that elevates the flavor of holiday baking, desserts and cocktails. This flavor combina- tion, with bright pep- permint and salty finishing notes, is perfect for sprinkling on cookies, cakes and breads and can also be used to rim holiday cock- tails and eggnog. True Salt's new Flake Salt helps develop complex flavor profiles in a variety of dishes from sweets (such as chocolate chip cookies) to seafood and steaks. Designed to be used as a finishing salt, Flake Salt pro- vides a stunning visual effect along with a delicious flavor that penetrates every bite. Combining some of True Salt's most popular items into one fab- ulous holiday gift, the com- pany's new Holiday box includes a bag of kosher-grain True Salt (ideal for everyday use); a bag of fine-grain True Salt (great for soups, stews, pastas and more); a bag of Cocktail Salt (perfect for rimming cocktail glasses and as an added element for creative spirited sips); a 16-ounce jar of Peppermint Salt and a 24-ounce jar of Flake Salt. The new holiday line will be available October 1. Orders must be made by No- vember 18 to guarantee delivery before Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 28. For more information, visit www .truesaltco.com. GN

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