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BUYERS GUIDE: UPDATE: MARKETWATCH: Soups Mixes Food Innovation SEE PAGE 23 SEE PAGE 17 SEE PAGE 25 GOURMET NEWS ® T H E B U S I N E S S VOLUME 78, NUMBER 11 NOVEMBER 2013 n $7.00 SPECIALTY RETAILERS n Quality, Service and Ambiance Create a Neighborhood Shopping Experience at The Fresh Market PAGE 13 GROCERY & DEPARTMENT STORES n Yucaipa Picks Up Fresh & Easy From Tesco, 50 Stores Close in Transition PAGE 14 SPECIALTY DISTRIBUTORS & BROKERS n KeHE Distributors Unites Suppliers, Retailers at Intimate Asian Supplier Carousel PAGE 15 SUPPLIER BUSINESS n Improvisational Italian: Actor Louis Lombardi Introduces New Italian Food Line PAGE 16 News..............................................2 Ad Index .......................................27 Smorgasbord/Classifieds ..............27 www.gourmetnews.com N E W S P A P E R F O R T H E G O U R M E T I N D U S T R Y Questions Over Safety of U.S. Spice, Chicken Imports Driving Consumer Insecurity BY LUCAS WITMAN A recent survey found that consumer confidence in the safety of foods and beverages that are sold in the United States is currently at its lowest point in five years. Just one in six of those surveyed said that they felt a "great deal" of confidence in the foods they purchase. In contrast, in a similar survey conducted in 2008, four in six expressed a "great deal" of confidence. There are a number of reasons that consumers today are feeling less confident in the foods and beverages currently on the market. Recent outbreaks of foodborne illness, concerns over pesticides, hormones, antibiotics and genetically modified organisms in the food supply and health concerns related to preservatives, artificial sweeteners and trans fats are causing alarm for a growing number of American consumers. Now, news has emerged regarding the safety of spices and chicken imported into the United States, further proliferating insecurity among those already wary of what they eat. Spice imports This summer, the Food and Drug Administration released a report, which revealed that as much as 7 percent of all spices imported into this country may be contaminated with salmonella. The agency inspected 20,000 shipments of spices imported into this country and found high levels of contamination on coriander, oregano, sesame seeds, curry powder, cumin and black pepper. The highest percentage of spices contaminated with salmonella arrived from Mexico (14 percent) and India (9 percent). With such a high percentage of U.S. spice imports reportedly contaminated with salmonella, spices and seasonings companies are scrambling to assure venience and drug store channels offer some distinct advantages. Further broadening the appeal of convenience and drug stores to consumers shopping for everyday staples is the growing selection of private label products offered within this channel. "The convenience stores are a contingent. The drug stores are a contingent. All of them Continued on PAGE 4 Continued on PAGE 10 Continued on PAGE 8 Convenience, drug stores carving into specialty retailers' market as sellers Gourmet companies are broadening the retail locations at which their products are sold, moving from specialty retailer shelves to the shelves of convenience and drug stores. And consumers, retailers and specialty food purveyors themselves are moving fast to adapt to this changing gourmet marketplace. Nearly one in four people today say they shop in conven- ience stores more or as frequently as they do grocery stores. Meanwhile, drug stores also boast a $230 billion revenue profile, bolstered by food and drink sales in-store. This is partly driven by the consumer push for more convenient shopping options. Shoppers may still flock to grocery stores when they are looking to discover new items. However, when looking to retrieve everyday staples, the con- BY ALICYNN KING As you stroll down the street in Bra, you can catch a glimpse of the Alps as if they are growing out of the terra cotta roofs that are so characteristic of the Italian countryside. The cobblestone streets are adorned with charming boutiques, wine shops, cafes and specialty markets. Bra is the quintessential, quaint, picturesque town that fills the pages of guidebooks. However, from Sept. 20-23, Bra was anything but quaint, as more than 150,000 cheese aficionados came to the town to taste, discuss and enjoy thousands of cheeses from around the world. The Slow Cheese Festival happens every two years in Bra, Italy, a town in the northern Piedmont region that is the birthplace of Slow Food International, an organization that promotes gastronomic diversity and the connections between food, culture and the environment. This year's ninth edition of the biannual event featured a variety of workshops and dinner dates, as Gourmet Food and Beverage Companies Bring Their Products to Unexpected Retail Locales BY JAZMINE WOODBERRY Slow Cheese Festival Unites 150,000 Cheese Lovers for Massive Bra, Italy Exposition Label Wars: When Governments Define a Product, Some Win, Some Lose BY LUCAS WITMAN Last year, when media reports emerged that many Greek yogurts on the U.S. market contain additives that are not customarily introduced to the authentic product, many consumers ran to their refrigerators and combed through the ingredients listings on the labels of their favorite brands. Traditionally, Greek yogurt is produced by straining yogurt in cheesecloth to remove the whey, resulting in a thicker, more protein-rich product. Some companies, however, have begun adding thickeners like corn and tapioca starch to achieve this desired consistency. The result is often indistinguishable from the authentic product. However, the problem for many is that true Greek yogurt and the technologically enhanced version are often indistinguishable on store shelves. Both types of products can be labeled "Greek yogurt," with no requirement that they identify on the front label when additives have been introduced. The Greek yogurt controversy is just one example of a widening concern among U.S. consumers about how their products are being labeled. Unlike in some European countries where governing bodies more clearly define how foods must be labeled, U.S. companies have considerably more leeway in how they define themselves for consumers. As a result, many companies that produce Greek yogurt, but also olive oil, cheese, wine, meat, coffee and more have been criticized for misleading consumers into purchasing something that is somehow different from what they might expect. When it comes to food labeling, a particular product may repre- sent much more than just a potential profit to those who produce it. Many products are in fact reflections of cultural identity. Especially for foods and beverages that are tied to a specific region or nation, these items are often symbols of that place, highly valued and protected by those who live there. Thus, when a company reinvents the authentic components and methods behind products like Champagne, Parmigiano-Reggiano and Greek yogurt, the result can be damaging Continued on PAGE 6

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