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GOURMET NEWS JULY 2014 www.gourmetnews.com GENERAL NEWS 6 Cheese Continued from PAGE 1 specialty cheese producers] are very con- cerned about anything that would alter that as well," said Nora Weiser, ACS Executive Director. "Any changes that the FDA makes are not only for U.S. producers but for the U.S. market. Imported cheeses would have to meet the same safety criteria." In criticizing this method of cheese aging, the FDA points to the proliferation of potentially harmful pathogens on the boards, most notably Listeria. Metz's letter points to several studies showing that Lis- teria can persist on wooden boards even after they are cleaned and sanitized. How- ever, critics of the FDA's position argue that there is no evidence that aging cheese on wood presents a health hazard. "There has never been a health concern with this issue," said John Umhoefer, Execu- tive Director of the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association. "There has never been a food outbreak with cheese boards as the origin." Proponents of aging cheeses on wooden surfaces argue that with proper sanitation pro- cedures in place, the risk of Listeria contami- nation can be mitigated. "There are legitimate concerns to be aware of in food production in general, and wood is a part of it. There is not something inherent in wood that would make a food dangerous to be placed on it," Weiser said. "Wood is a surface that research has shown is very safe and can be properly cleaned. The issue is the cleanliness and the sanitation. We do not see wood as the bad guy. We see wood as one of the many tools that make up traditional cheese making." Indeed, the Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research has published guidelines for the care of wooden cheese boards, detailing a specific process through which these boards can be treated in order to eliminate harmful pathogens while at the same time promoting the growth of the beneficial bac- teria that aid in the ripening process. The Center recommends cleaning the boards with hot water and detergent and then heating the boards to a temperature of 176 F for 5 minutes (or, alternately, 149 F for 15 minutes). Certain sanitizer solutions can also be used. "Considering the benefi- cial effects of wood boards on cheese ripen- ing and rind formation, the use of wood boards does not seem to present any danger of contamination by pathogenic bacteria as long as a thorough cleaning procedure is followed," the Center concluded. Cheese makers both in the New and Old Worlds have long used wooden boards for ripening a variety of cheeses, including Parmigiano Reggiano, Comté, Beaufort, Re- blochon and more. According to the Wis- consin Center for Dairy Research, wooden shelves naturally improve the taste, aroma and texture of many aged cheeses, as the surface develops a biofilm of beneficial mi- croflora that aids in the ripening process. Weiser argues that aging some cheeses on wooden boards imbues them with cer- tain characteristics that are simply un- achievable otherwise. "There are a number of positives," she said. "[The boards have] certain qualities that allow cheeses to age in a way that other materials do not. There are a lot of beneficial qualities that the wood brings to the cheese which give us the wonderful variety of cheeses that are made around the world." In a bit of positive news for the industry, the FDA appeared at press time to be back- tracking somewhat from its original decree that the use of wooden shelves for cheese ripening does not conform to its standards. The Administration issued a clarification on its position arguing that it is not FDA policy to entirely ban this cheese making process. "In the interest of public health, the FDA's current regulations state that utensils and other surfaces that contact food must be 'ad- equately cleanable' and properly main- tained," the statement reads. "The FDA will engage with the artisanal cheese-making community to determine whether certain types of cheeses can safely be made by aging them on wooden shelving." "I think what the FDA has done is clarify and change their position, recognizing that they had extrapolated from one artisan, looking to the entire industry without put- ting thought into the implications," said Umhoefer. "There are food safety protocols in plants that require sanitizing cheese boards before and after use. They are as good as the protocols for plastic or stainless steel." "We are delighted that the FDA has stated that they do wish to meet with us and work with artisan cheese makers as key stake- holders in this issue," added Weiser. "We want to discuss the broader issue of tradi- tional cheese making methods. I would hate to see this type of issue crop up time and time again as miscommunications emerge … I would rather approach it in a holistic way that these are traditional methods and we want to make these processes clear." As the FDA seems to be primarily con- cerned with eliminating Listeria and other harmful pathogens from wooden cheese boards and not the beneficial biofilm, many in the specialty cheese industry are tenta- tively confident that they can come to an agreement with the FDA, under which they will continue to be permitted to engage in this method of cheese ripening as long as they continue to adequately clean and san- itize the wooden shelving surfaces. However, the tentative confidence ex- pressed by many specialty cheese makers is not stopping some lawmakers from taking their own preliminary steps toward protect- ing the industry. Immediately after Metz's letter to the New York State Department of Agriculture went public, Vermont Con- gressman Peter Welch introduced an amendment to the Agriculture Appropria- tions Bill for fiscal year 2015 that, if passed, would explicitly prohibit the FDA from making the use of wooden boards for cheese aging illegal. According to a state- ment released by Congressman Welch's of- fice, the amendment was designed to eliminate any ambiguity on the issue. "Artisan cheese makers cannot afford to live with this threat to their livelihoods caused by regulatory ambiguity at the FDA," the statement read. Regardless of the outcome of this emerg- ing debate surrounding the aging of cheeses on wooden surfaces, the swiftness with which this news swept across the country and the severity of the public re- sponse indicates that passions run hot among contemporary consumers when it comes to protecting the specialty foods that they know and love. "There was certainly a strong social outcry … from blogs, consumers, legislators and the media," said Umhoefer. "I think it shows that there is a great interest now in preserving these natural foods, these locally produced foods, and keeping some sense of tradition and quality in the foods that we eat." "It shows that Americans more and more care about what they eat, where it comes from and, most importantly, the people who make it," added Weiser. "There is al- ways a fear of losing a product you love, but even more, there is a fear of losing the people you love who make it. There are some very passionate people who make these products, and they do put safety first. They are at risk of losing the very things that they are passionate about." GN California Wine Exports Reach All-Time High In 2013 U.S. wine exports, 90 percent of which come from California, reached a record high $1.55 billion in revenues in 2013, up 16.4 percent compared to the previous year. This marks the fourth consecutive year in which U.S. wine export revenues have increased. Vol- ume shipments reached 435.2 million liters or 48.4 million cases in 2013, up 7.5 percent. "Consumers across the globe continue to recognize the quality, diversity and value of California wines, despite significant trade barriers and heavily subsidized foreign com- petitors," said Wine Institute President and CEO Robert P. Koch. "While the United States remains our largest, most important market, California exports a fifth of its wine, and we are on track to reach our goal of $2 billion in exports by 2020. Our outstanding 2012 and 2013 California vintages, heralded for quality as well as quantity, were a record high so we have the ability to expand." Of the top export markets for California wines, the European Union's 28 member countries form the largest, accounting for $617 million in 2013, up 31 percent com- pared to the previous year. This is followed by Canada with $454 million, up 12 percent; Japan with $102 million, down 7 percent; Hong Kong with $78 million, down 12 per- cent; China with $77 million, up 6 percent; Mexico with $22 million, up 21 percent; and South Korea with $18 million, up 16 percent. "We have an aggressive global marketing campaign underway that communicates Cal- ifornia as an aspirational place with beautiful landscapes, iconic lifestyle, great wine and food, and as an environmental leader," said Wine Institute Vice President of Interna- tional Marketing Linsey Gallagher. "Our ac- tivities in 25 countries convey these messages across the world through a full slate of activities, including our global social media campaign and consumer website, www.discovercaliforniawines.com, which has been translated into Chinese and will soon be launched in seven other languages. Our programming in China has greatly ex- panded and allowed us to continue to show gains in that top priority market when our key competitors saw losses last year." "Wine Institute partners with the U.S. gov- ernment to lower tariffs and eliminate un- necessary technical barriers in our key export markets," said Tom LaFaille, Wine In- stitute Vice President and International Trade Counsel. "In particular, the Asia-Pacific Eco- nomic Cooperation 'Wine Regulators Forum' helps developing countries to implement sci- ence-based regulations and eliminate bur- densome and duplicative regulations. This five-year project will help significantly re- duce the costs of cross-border wine trade, stimulate demand and increase U.S. exports to this important region." Since 1985, Wine Institute has served as the administrator of the Market Access Pro- gram, a cost-share export promotion pro- gram managed by the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service. More than 150 wineries participate in Wine Institute's California Wine Export Program and export to 125 countries. GN

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