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Gourmet News Feb. 2014

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UPDATE: SPECIAL FEATURE: Gluten-Free Vegan & Vegetarian HOT PRODUCTS: SEE PAGE 15 SEE PAGE 19 SEE PAGE 20 & 21 GOURMET NEWS ® T H E B U S I N E S S VOLUME 79, NUMBER 2 FEBRUARY 2014 n $7.00 TRADE SHOW BUZZ n National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show Returns to Albuquerque this February PAGE 8 GIFTWARE n Cookbooks PAGE 9 SUPPLIER BUSINESS n Bob's Red Mill Grinding Up Something Special with Unique Line of Grains and Flours PAGE 11 RETAILER NEWS n Peppers of Key West: Specialty Food Sales as Performance Art PAGE 12 SPECIALTY DISTRIBUTORS & BROKERS n Drinks Americas Teams Up with Major Distributor to Bring Mexican Craft Beer to New York PAGE 14 News..............................................2 Ad Index .......................................23 Smorgasbord................................23 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 Popularity of Raw Milk Cheeses Surging as More Dairies Embracing Unpasteurized Trend BY ALICYNN FINK & LUCAS WITMAN Cheeses made from raw or unpasteurized milk have been staples of world cuisine for millenia, but they have been largely unavailable to U.S. consumers for almost a century. Although proponents of raw milk cheeses tout the products' health benefits and heightened flavor, the United States Public Health Service decided in 1924 that all milk sold to consumers in this country should be pasteurized to prevent milk borne disease. As a result, most Americans are simply unfamiliar with the raw milk cheeses that are so popular in Europe and elsewhere. However, as U.S. con- sumers have become more familiar with global cuisine, raw milk cheeses have begun to experience an American renaissance, leaving many to weigh the risks and benefits of adding unpasteurized dairy products to their diets. Currently, U.S. food law states that all cheeses sold in this country must be pasteurized, unless they are aged for at least 60 days at a temperature not lower than 35 degrees Fahrenheit. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration argues that it is unsafe to eat any milk, cream, cheese, yogurt, ice cream or pudding that has not been heated to kill harmful bacteria. There are legitimate reasons for consumers to be wary of drinking unpasteurized milk or eating unpasteurized milk products. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1,500 Americans became ill between 1993 and 2006 after consuming raw dairy. Unpasteurized milk products have been linked to a number of health problems, including listeria, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, diphtheria, and brucellosis. Symptoms of milk borne illness may include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, headache, body pain and more. As of the end of 2013, a salmonella outbreak linked to chicken produced in California by Foster Farms had sickened at least 416 people in 23 states and Puerto Rico. The majority of reported cases have been in California, but at least 10 individuals have been left ill in several other states, including Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Texas and Wash- ington. This outbreak of salmonella has been particularly severe in that 13 percent of all of those sickened suffered blood infections as a result. According to the Centers for Disease Control, typically only 5 percent of those sickened by salmonella get blood infections. In addition, further complicating matters, the salmonella linked to Foster Farms is multi-drug resistant. BY LUCAS WITMAN According to a report published in the February issue of Consumer Reports, potentially harmful bacteria was found on 97 percent of all poultry samples the company tested. The publication purchased 316 raw chicken breasts at retail stores across the United States. Almost 80 percent of samples were found to be According to the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, approximately 1 in 133 Americans has celiac disease, an autoimmune digestive disease that makes it difficult and painful to consume gluten, a naturally occurring protein found in wheat and related grains. In addition, at least 6 percent of Americans suffer from some degree of gluten sensitivity, and a staggering 29 percent of Americans recently surveyed stated they are trying to reduce the amount of gluten in their diets for health reasons. With so many U.S. consumers making the decision to incorporate more gluten-free foods into their day-to-day lives, anyone planning a dinner party, cocktail reception or special event has to consider some gluten-free party fare. The good news is that specialty food companies are hard at working adapting classic special event staples for a new generation of wheat-free dieters. Denise Day, Senior Marketing Manager at Rudi's Gluten-Free Bakery, the Boulder, Colo.-based Continued on PAGE 8 Continued on PAGE 16 Continued on PAGE 6 Consumer Group Urges Restriction of Antibiotic Use among Livestock as Salmonella Cases Soar BY LUCAS WITMAN Home Entertainers Satisfying Guests With New GlutenFree Party Foods General Mills: Cheerios to No Longer Be Made with GMO Ingredients On January 2, food giant General Mills announced that it will no longer use any genetically modified ingredients in producing its most famous breakfast cereal, Cheerios. Specifically, the company has vowed to stop sourcing genetically modified corn starch and sugar cane for the product. Cheerios' main ingredient, whole grain oats, is not currently available in GMO-form, and is thus unaffected by the announcement. General Mills' move comes on the heels of a year-long campaign by consumer activists who have been pressuring the company to abandon GMOs. Since November 2012, the group GMO Inside has been promoting social media protests and circulating an online petition urging the company to offer the same non-GMO Cheerios in the United States that it markets in Europe. GMO Inside not only objects to General Mills' use of genetically modified ingredients, but the group also argues that General Mills has not been adequately transparent about its use of GMOs. It seems that GMO Inside may have been at least partially responsible for General Mills' recent announcement that it is changing the way it sources and handles ingredients. However, according to a statement released by the company, the decision to take Chee- rios non-GMO has been gestating for some time. "It's the unique and simple nature of original Cheerios that made this possible—and even that required significant investment over nearly a year," read the statement. Regardless of the impetus behind the company's move, GMO opponents are cheering the cereal behemouth's decision. "Removing GMOs from original Cheerios is an important victory in getting GMOs out of our food supply and an important first step for General Mills," said Todd Larson, Corporate Responsibility Director for Green America. "Original Cheerios in its famous yellow box will now be non-GMO and this victory sends a message to all food companies that consumers are increasingly looking for non-GMO products and companies need to meet that demand." Cheerios is the latest brand in a long string of products that have responded to consumer demand and vowed to eschew GMO ingredients. Companies that have pledged to not use GMOs in their products include Ben & Jerry's, Enjoy Life, Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, Hodgson Mill, Kettle Brand, NestFresh, Navitas Naturals, Numi Organic Tea, Silk and Way Better Snacks. GN

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