Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/331883
Fo o d M a g i c D a i l y M o n d a y, J u n e 2 3 , 2 0 1 4 1 8 personal goals in life is to make every- thing taste better! From creamy ice cream to salty snacks, Jim has the knack for iden- tifying flavor profiles and pinpointing where they can be improved. He has con- tinued to be Gold Coasts' go-to taste buds for triangle tests and matching projects. Gold Coast Ingredients' R&D lab is the heart of the company. Some would say this is where the magic happens, from cre- ating new and interesting flavor combina- tions to our R&D chef testing our wide range of products in end user recipes. Although this is where the creation of fla- vors start, the dedication to this line of work does not stop there. Gold Coast's quality control department, production team and customer service departments G old Coast Ingredients ( Cont'd. from p. 1) work together to ensure every customer is satisfied, and every order is made, pack- aged and shipped with the same standards that have been instilled since 1985. The company prides itself on providing the food, beverage, confectionery, baking, snack and nutraceutical industries with a go-to company that can turn your flavor ideas into a reality. With convenient and free online sam- pling ordering, a wide selection of flavor formulas and the ability to custom formu- late based on your specific needs, GCI is truly a one-stop shop that never stops searching for answers to your questions. Visit Gold Coast Ingredients at booth 835. For more information, go to www.goldcoastinc.com, call 800-352- 8673 or fax 323-724-9354. the counter. Sampling the dried toma- toes, my eyes lit up and I thought, 'This could be fun.' I didn't open a deli, but I did found Culinary Farms, and I set out to produce dried tomatoes that would light up other people's eyes. FMD: Your product line is really unique. You have dried tomatoes, Mexican chiles, roasted/smoked items, smoked sea salts – the list goes on and on. How did this come about? KB: I like flavors that are interesting and that make a person say 'Wow!' I seek out foods that are delicious and unique. We started in dried tomatoes, and the chiles evolved from customer requests and wanting to give them something great. Our customers knew I was a fan of good, true Mexican food and they kept after me to source high- quality Mexican chiles. Our chiles are authentic and excellent quality. The roasted/smoked products are the result of another passion of mine. I absolute- ly love the nuances of exotic smoke- flavored food. I have a farmer who grows great cherries that we dry, and I thought, 'The sweet with the smoke flavor could be incredible.' Our smoke process is the real deal, too – cherries, peppers and salts are really smoked over our proprietary blend of woods. FMD: What food trends fit Culinary Farms? Culinary Farms ( Cont'd. from p. 1) KB: We are seeing a trend to foods that are more authentic, true artisanal-style, natural. And smoked anything is a big trend right now. Demand is growing nicely. The diversity of the American, really the global consumer, is driving it. We live in a great time, with access to a broad range of cuisines. That fits Culinary Farms perfectly. FMD: What is Culinary Farms working on now? KB: We have a couple of new things in the works. One is expanding our line of pastes. They really intrigue me. I like how a paste delivers concentrated fla- vor. Ours are frozen, made with 100 percent product, with no additives or preservatives. We've brought the entire paste-making process in-house. It is really opening the door for more exper- imenting. We can make them from just about anything – vegetables, kale, fruits, peppers. In addition, we're opening our doors to more custom toll services for other small producers and manufacturers who need our quality approach, safety assurance and processes. Yet, because of their vol- umes and quality requirements, they don't fit with large processors. It's great to work with other folks who are just as passionate about their products. Visit Culinary Farms at booth 1535. For complete information on Culinary Farms products and capabilities, visit www.culi- naryfarms.com, call 916-375-3000 or email kbewley@culinaryfarms.com. posted for comment by the World Health Organization. We want people to know that natural sugar is better for you than processed sugar, and that dried fruit has been a staple food for centuries – there's even mention of it in the Bible and the Koran. Also, we have a team of health and nutrition experts working on our behalf. Dr. James Painter, PhD, RD is developing recipes using raisins as an alternative sweetener. Dr. Arianna Carughi, PhD, CNA, has developed research projects on the health benefits of raisins. And Dr. Suzanne Nelson, ScD, RD, our sports nutritionist, has been blogging about raisins as a fuel food before and after exer- cise. Her blog is at www.sunmaid.com/fit- ness/raisin-your-nutrition. FMD: You mentioned the blog. Has the social media bug bitten The Sun-Maid Girl? SMG: Funny you should say! I use my Facebook page regularly to reach our cus- tomers and stay engaged in what interests them. In fact, if you go to www.face- book.com/SunMaidGirl you'll find infor- mation about our latest promotions, microsites, recipes and nutrition. We also use Twitter @SunMaidRaisins to con- nect. For example, we recently encour- aged people to upload a photo related to their workout or exercise routines using #RaisinYourWorkout, and they received a free Sun-Maid Raisin workout shirt for participating. We have QR codes on all our packaging that link to our mobile sites. Of course, we have a lot of informa- tion on our website www.sunmaid.com and international sites available through www.sunmaid.org. Sun-Maid G rowers ( Cont'd. from p. 1) FMD: You recently celebrated your 100th anniversary. Does that mean the party's over? SMG: By all means, no! This year marks the 50th anniversary of our pro- cessing plant in Kingsburg, Calif., which opened in 1964. The plant was strategi- cally built in this location because all of the family farms are within about a 60 mile radius of the plant. When it first opened, our plant was hailed as a state- of-the-art facility, and voted one of America's top new plants by Factory Magazine. Since then, we have upgraded nearly every inch of the plant – process- ing, packaging technology, logistics and traceability – to support Sun-Maid's international food safety certifications. Over the past five years, we've made $12 million in capital improvements in our $120 million facility. FMD: What would you say makes your company unique? SMG: Sun-Maid is the world's largest processor of raisins and dried fruit, and when people see our brand, they might assume we're a Fortune 500 company. In reality, Sun-Maid is an American cooperative of family farmers, which means that the 750 family farmers that grow our raisins also own the company. I love that our 100-year-old company is owned by the people who actually har- vest the product and take it to market. In some cases, the grape vineyards have been farmed by the same families for generations. Visit Sun-Maid Growers of California at booth 1855. For more information, go to www.sunmaid.com, call 559-896-8000 or email info@sunmaid.com. the active enzymes, antioxidants, vita- mins, minerals or other phytonutrients – preserving the flavor, aroma, color and nutritional quality of the original materi- als in a manner that enhances the con- sumer experience. At the same time, Vibrant Harvest Whole Food Powders offer food and beverage manufacturers a number of processing advantages over raw foods and other fruit and vegetable inclusion processes, including a longer shelf-life, the organic option, better flowability with less dusting, enhanced solubility and dispersibility, a better par- ticle shape with greater density, and a lack of solvents or other adulterating pro- cessing aids. PLT Health Solutions offers 30 dif- ferent fruit-based products including pomegranate, marionberry, blueberry and PLT Health Solutions ( Cont'd. from p. 1) mango along with 13 vegetable-based products such as beet, pumpkin, spinach, sweet potato and kale, drawn from what the industry is asking for and the hottest trends in the consumer food and beverage market. Depending upon the consumer product application, starting materials for the Vibrant Harvest process can be whole fruits and vegetables or all-natural juices and purees. Vibrant Harvest Whole Food Powders enables manufacturers to go beyond the label claim of wholesome, clean-label nutrition and deliver con- sumers a vivid sensory experience of fruits and vegetables in their foods and beverages. For more information, go to www.plthealth.com, email plt@plthealth .com, call 973-984-0900 or stop by booth 4941. Braithwaite, "All data that ESHA collects is run through a variety of visual and electronic mathematical checks. Every data point for every food item is sourced. Outdated and discontinued food items are eliminated from the database." The variety and accuracy of the data- base, Braithwaite added, lets users obtain precise analyses in just seconds. Users type their formula's ingredients into the program, which automatically ana- lyzes the ingredients for up to 160 nutri- ents, including the basics (calories, fat, sugars, etc.) and the more obscure (amino acids, fat exchanges). The users can then take their formula and virtually tweak it "on paper" instead of sending it out to a lab for repeated, and costly, analyses. The program includes features for labeling and government compliance as well. With one click, users create NLEA- compliant nutrition facts panels and easi- ly modify the labels to fit their particular needs. Included with the labeling feature are all of the necessary extras: ingredient statements, allergen statements and nutri- ent content claims. The label formatting complies with U.S. government regulato- ESHA Research ( Cont'd. from p. 1) ry guidelines and users can purchase additional labeling modules that conform to Canada and Mexico rules. For companies whose primary con- centration is on nutritionals, supple- ments, teas and other wellness items, Genesis also has supplement labeling options. Again, the label formats comply with government regulations and a vari- ety of layout customizations are avail- able, including proprietary blend options, dual recommendation and others. "The success of Genesis is because of the work that goes into ensuring accu- rate data," said Product Consultant Chris Eakin. "It is designed for companies and nutrition professionals that have to put their name and reputation behind the data ESHA provides them, and they do so with confidence." Genesis software, said Eakin, is used by the top 100 food companies and found in more than 80 countries. It is, he said, probably the most recognized nutrition software in the world. For more information on Genesis, visit booth 3241 at IFT, call 800-659-3742 option 2, email sales@esha.com or visit www.esha.com.