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NATURALLY HEALTHY www.gourmetnews.com n MARCH 2020 n GOURMET NEWS N H 7 8 New Campaign Sheds Light on Beef Animal Care Standards Consumers will soon learn about the steps beef farmers and ranchers take to care for their animals and to produce high quality beef in a new promotion and advertising campaign about the Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program. BQA trains farmers and ranchers on best practices and cattle manage- ment techniques to ensure their animals and the environment are cared for within a stan- dard set of guidelines. The program began 30 years ago, and today more than 85 percent of beef produced in the U.S. comes from a farmer or rancher who has been BQA certi- fied. The formally producer-facing BQA pro- gram, will now be introduced to consumers via a campaign designed to meet their desire to learn more about how beef is produced. The integrated marketing and communica- tion campaign includes a new video from Beef. It's What's for Dinner. that brings the BQA program to life by highlighting how cattle farmers and ranchers across the coun- try raise cattle under BQA guidelines. The video will be used in marketing efforts and is available to consumers on the new BQA section of BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com. Consumers will also be able to learn more about BQA through interactive "BQ&A" In- stagram stories addressing common ques- tions about how cattle are raised. The video, website and social activations provide con- sumers with an overview of the BQA pro- gram and the ongoing commitment of cattle farmers and ranchers to caring for their ani- mals and providing the safest and highest quality beef possible. "According to market research, the major- ity of consumers say they consider how and where their food is raised when making a meal decision," said Josh White, Executive Director of Producer Education at the Na- tional Cattlemen's Beef Association, a con- tractor to the Beef Checkoff. "The BQA program offers consumers assurance that there are consistent animal care standards in place across the beef industry. BQA exem- plifies what beef farmers and ranchers have always cared about – a commitment to car- ing for their animals and providing families with the safest and highest-quality beef pos- sible, and we look forward to introducing this important program to consumers." The foundation of BQA is a set of educa- tional resources promoting animal care prac- tices that are based in science and align with governmental regulations. These resources are reviewed by an expert advisory group consisting of farmers and ranchers, veterinar- ians and animal scientists who meet quar- terly to evaluate the program, discuss trending topics, review the latest research and make recommended changes or updates, as needed. The BQA program specifically addresses and provides training on cattle handling, an- imal health, animal nutrition and transporta- tion, among others. "With the vast majority of the beef supply in the U.S. today coming from a BQA certified farmer or rancher, and many packing plants and restaurant chains setting BQA requirements, consumers should have the utmost confidence in the beef they consume and purchase both at restaurants and supermarkets," White said. Cattle farmers and ranchers can become BQA certified by either attending a class- room course taught by a network of hun- dreds of state BQA coordinators and trainers or by completing a series of robust online courses. Certification is good for three years, after which time farmers and ranchers must become re-certified to ensure they have the most up-to-date information and are trained on the latest BQA guidelines. Not only does the BQA program provide guidelines for proper animal care and wel- fare, these management guidelines also re- sult in the production of higher quality beef. Today, the beef industry is producing more high-quality beef today than ever before, with more than 80 percent of beef grading the highest available USDA quality grades of Prime or Choice. For more information about the BQA pro- gram and the high-quality beef produced today by U.S. cattle farmers and ranchers, visit www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com. A Righteous Salty Snack with Crunch By Lorrie Baumann Bubba's Fine Foods offers a line of snack mixes for customers who love the salt and crunch of the snack foods they grew up eating but who've gone grain-free in adulthood. Bubba's Fine Foods Grain Free Snack Mixes were invented by gourmet chef Jared Menzel, who co-founded the company along with Jeff Schmidgall, a for- mer CrossFit trainer and health coach. "We couldn't find salty, crunchy snacks that fit our new diet criteria," Schmidgall said. "If the food had the right ingredients, it didn't taste good. If it tasted good, it just had too many ultra- processed ingredients." The two men are brothers-in-law and be- came business partners in 2014 after Menzel – nicknamed Bubba as a child – showed up at a family vacation with a grain-free snack mix he'd put together so he could nosh with- out throwing his blood sugar out of whack. "Both of us had started changing our diets to- ward more whole foods, less processing, less sugar," Schmidgall said. "Jared ended up making this snack mix from banana chips and nuts with nothing but kitchen pantry ingredi- ents, and it tasted great and had the crunch." At that point, neither of the men had any experience at all in bringing a food product to the retail market – they just knew they were onto something that people like them- selves needed and the market wasn't offering. "We started Googling all the basics on how do you legally start producing a packaged food product for sale. That same morning we were brainstorming all of this," Schmidgall said. "One month later, we'd produced 150 packages of this grain-free snack mix." The first sales for the product came through the company's website, but it wasn't long before a manager at Hy-Vee came to them saying the store was getting customer requests for the product, and would they like to put it on shelves? "That was our first ex- perience with supermarkets was this little health food division of Hy-Vee," Schmidgall said. "They were just really great partners for us to sort of grow into and learn the ropes." Shortly after the two started the company, Schmidgall relocated from Iowa to the Boul- der, Colorado, area, where he found a community with the infrastructure to sup- port the natural foods industry. The com- pany relocated its op- erations to Loveland, not far outside Boulder, in 2016. Freed from the constraints imposed by the restaurant kitchen that Menzel had been able to borrow after hours, production of the snack mix started in earnest. In the five years since Menzel came up with that first snack mix, now known as Bubba's Fine Foods Original Savory Grain Free Snack Mix, the company's product range has grown to include several new fla- vors of snack mixes and then several flavors of UnGranola. The most recent addition to the range is 'Nana Chips, which is the snack mix without the nuts. Righteous Ranch is one of the most popu- lar flavors of the snack mix. "If you look at the ingredients of a lot of ranch flavors of anything, the ingredient deck gets a bit processed. What makes ours righteous is that the ingredient deck is just spices from your kitchen pantry, dairy-free as well for people who have problems with that allergen," Schmidgall said. Like all of the com- pany's products, the Righteous Ranch Snack Mix is grain free, gluten free, Paleo, non-GMO and kosher, with no refined sugar, no soy and no dairy. "The big trick that we're pulling off is naughty taste but with super-simple ingredients, and it's what sets us apart from almost all the other salty snack producers," Schmidgall said. The Bubba's Fine Foods Snack Mixes are packed in 4-ounce bags that retail for $4.29. 'Nana Chips packages are 2.7 ounces retail- ing for $2.99, and UnGranola, recently named the top Paleo granola by the readers of Paleo magazine, is packaged in 6-ounce bags that retail for $6.29. The products are distributed nationally, with the greatest density now in Colorado, Texas and California. They're generally sold in the natural channel and in conventional grocers with a strong natural foods presence. For more information, visit www.bubbas foods.com. A Dutch Masterpiece Announces Brand Redesign The classic but unique A Dutch Master- piece is a collection of four premium ma- ture cheeses that have won excellence awards around the world, including over- all World Champion at the World Cham- pionship Cheese Contest in Madison, Wisconsin, for both Rembrandt (2004) and Vermeer (2012). Thanks to the exclu- sive recipes and a commitment to the art of traditional Dutch cheesemaking, A Dutch Masterpiece produces premium cheese in a classic, traditional Dutch way and ensures that every Dutch Masterpiece cheese delivers a taste experience like no other. A Dutch Masterpiece varieties are works of art, with each variety named after a great Dutch artist. Each cheese has its own unique recipe and ripening process. This results in a distinctive and refined texture, taste and fla- vor. The packaging redesign, launching during the first half of 2020, will help make the award-winning collection more accessible to consumers. Distinctive in flavor like their artists, the new brand identity and package design showcases the distinctive features of each painter, their formative work, and the unique age and tasting notes of each of the awarding winning cheeses in the masterpiece collection. A Dutch Masterpiece collection of four premium mature cheeses is available in both wheels and wedges. Rembrandt: Traditionally ripened for one year, this award-winning Extra Aged Dutch Cheese has a firm texture, a robust flavor and an exceptional taste. Vincent: Where Gouda meets Parmesan, this rich, sweet tasting, fully ripened Dutch Cheese re- leases pleasant characteristic bursts of flavor with every bite. Frans Hals: A rich aged Dutch goat cheese that is naturally matured up to six months. Frans Hals is made from 100 percent goat's milk to create a unique full-bodied taste and delicate aroma. Vermeer: Traditionally ripened for six months, this award-winning aged Dutch Gouda cheese has a delicate fruity taste with a delightful flavor. Of course, this work of art is cre- ated by the biggest producer of Dutch Cheese in the world, Fries- landCampina. FrieslandCampina Consumer Dairy US, based in Paramus, New Jersey, is the world's largest producer of Gouda and Dutch cheeses and one of the largest importers of specialty cheeses to the United States. FrieslandCampina's rich portfolio in- cludes over a dozen cheese brands, includ- ing UK brands Wyke Farms ® and Organic Kingdom ® and Dutch made Kroon ® , Melkbus ® , Parrano ® , GayoAzul ® , Frico ® and A Dutch Masterpiece ® . Friesland- Campina is a company rich in heritage, with deep roots in Dutch culture, and a his- tory of selling products across the globe for a century and serving U.S. consumers for over 50 years.

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