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GOURMET NEWS JULY 2014 www.gourmetnews.com GENERAL NEWS 8 Trade Show Buzz The 31st annual American Cheese Society Conference is scheduled to take place July 29-August 1 at the Sacramento Convention Center in Sacramento, Calif. Organizers hope that this year's conference, titled, "Cel- ebrating the American Cheese Plate," will bring special attention to the vast bounty of produce, meat, wine, craft beer and spe- cialty food and beverages that are produced in or near the Central Valley of California. This year's ACS Conference will also focus on the concept of "local," reflecting the ever-increasing consumer interest in lo- cally produced artisan cheeses. Nearly 1,000 industry leaders are expected to con- vene in Sacramento to celebrate cheese, share knowledge and sample some of the best cheeses produced in the United States. The centerpiece of the ACS Conference each year is the annual cheese Judging & Competition. This year's judging of Amer- ican cheeses and cultured dairy products is scheduled to take place July 27 and 28, im- mediately preceding the Conference. Win- ners will be revealed at the annual ACS Awards Ceremony on Thursday, July 31. The largest competition of its kind, the ACS Judging & Competition saw a record 1,794 entries in 2013, submitted by 257 cheesemakers. As the ACS Judging & Com- petition returns to California for the first time in more than ten years, participation in 2014 is expected to be stronger than ever. The ACS Judging & Competition has en- listed 38 renowned judges from around the world to evaluate products across 106 differ- ent categories. The Judging & Competition recognizes cheeses of the highest quality for their aesthetic and technical merits. Members of the public are also invited to attend the ACS cheese sale on August 2, where they will have the unique opportu- nity to purchase artisan cheeses at incredi- ble prices. All proceeds from the cheese sale benefit the nonprofit American Cheese Ed- ucation Foundation. Additional highlights at this year's ACS Conference include an opening celebration in Sacramento's historic Memorial Audito- rium, a poolside reception for new ACS members and first-time conference atten- dees, educational sessions tailored to all in- dustry segments and experience levels, a keynote address by California culinary trail- blazers Darrell Corti and Narsai David, a pub crawl and dine-around pairing Sacramento's best chefs, brewers and restaurateurs with American cheesemakers for unique dining and networking experiences and, finally, a Festival of Cheese featuring over 1,700 com- petition cheeses and gourmet foods. Registration for the ACS Annual Confer- ence is now open. Individuals who pur- chase a full conference registration or a Thursday Day Pass can attend the ACS Awards Ceremony on July 31. It is also pos- sible to purchase individual tickets to the Awards Ceremony. Members of the public are also encour- aged to participate in the 2014 ACS Confer- ence & Competition by volunteering. All volunteers receive one complimentary ticket to the Festival of Cheese. Those interested in volunteering must be 18 years of age or older and are encouraged to sign up for a va- riety of events and shifts at www.cheese society.org/conference/volunteer/. For more information on the ACS Con- ference and Competition, or to register as an attendee, visit www.cheesesociety.org. Interested parties can also contact the American Cheese Society by phone at 720.328.2788, by fax at 720.328.2786 or by email at info@cheesesociety.org. GN The American Cheese Society Conference Comes to Sacramento, July 29-August 1 Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute Announces Improvements to Responsible Fisheries Management Certification Program To continue to provide the highest assur- ance of responsible fisheries management of Alaska's fisheries, the Board of Direc- tors of the Alaska Seafood Marketing In- stitute recently voted to enhance the Responsible Fisheries Management Cer- tification program. "We've built a credible third-party certi- fication program for our industry and cus- tomers, and we are evolving the program," said Michael Cerne, ASMI Executive Direc- tor. "Just as Alaska's fishery managers and biologists are dedicated to improvements in the fishery management system, we too re- main committed to continuous improve- ment with RFM." Improvement of the RFM Certification program includes several key areas of evo- lution. ASMI will provide further well-de- fined governance and clarity addressing ownership and fishery clientship. Addition- ally, ASMI will establish terms of reference and membership for the RFM Confor- mance Criteria Committee. The further definition and clarity of governance will fa- cilitate the participation of additional cer- tification bodies. Further, the ASMI Board directed Ex- ecutive Director Cerne to work with Board Chairman Kevin Adams to create a strategic taskforce composed of the Board, as well as industry and technical experts. The taskforce will further the acceptance and use of RFM certification by Alaska's seafood customers and the Alaska seafood industry, as well as con- sider new client relationships with RFM certifying bodies. A work plan for each of the improve- ment areas is posted to the ASMI website, www.alaskaseafood.org. To monitor the progress of RFM certification, and its evo- lution, visit http://certification.alaska seafood.org/certification, or sign up to re- ceive RFM Certification Update eblasts at http://certification.alaskaseafood.org/ e-blasts-sign-up. RFM Certification is an independent third-party fisheries certification program with formal ISO accreditation. RFM is di- rectly based on the world's most compre- hensive and respected fisheries management guidelines developed by the United Nations Fisheries and Agriculture Organization, through collaboration amongst governments, scientists and conservationists. Currently, eight of Alaska's major fisheries are RFM Certified for salmon, halibut, black cod, Alaska Pollock and cod. GN Slave Labor Continued from PAGE 1 land. An estimated 270,000 of Thailand's 300,000 fishing vessel workers are be- lieved to be such immigrants, who are particularly vulnerable as they depend on Thai agents for passage into the country and the location of jobs. While CP Foods admits knowing that its suppliers deal in slavery, the company said it does not know "to what extent" its supply chain is tainted by human traf- ficking. That extent—considering the company ships nearly 50,000 tons of prawns worldwide annually (a full 10 percent of Thailand's world-leading 500,000 tons)—could be heavy indeed. U.S. retailers bought roughly 46 percent of the shrimp exported by Thailand in 2011. Thailand's shrimp trade is part of the country's export-rich seafood indus- try that did $2.75 billion in business in 2012, with 36 percent of that trade ac- counted for by U.S. companies. Costco, one of the retailers named in The Guardian's report, has had a Sup- plier Code of Conduct in place since 1999, which it revised most recently in 2010. The code specifically prohibits "practices such as human trafficking, physical abuse of workers [and] restrict- ing workers' freedom of movement," among other things. When reached for comment, Costco's Vice President of Quality Assurance and Food Safety Craig Wilson explained that the company will be working to document the veracity of The Guardian's report before taking any specifc action. "It's pretty straightforward for us," said Wilson. "The agreements that we've got with our suppliers prohibit the use of slave labor or violations of any kind of labor laws." Wilson explained that Costco regularly visits and audits suppli- ers, including CP Foods, and then re- quires that the supplier audit those companies from which it sources materi- als such as fish feed. Here in the United States, any bad news for the seafood industry—even that occurring across the Pacific—has the po- tential to hit home. "There's always some sort of backlash," said Rob Moore, Exec- utive Director of the West Coast Seafood Processors Association. "When a [pro- duce] company has a contamination problem with its lettuce … suddenly everybody stops buying lettuce." According to Moore, the key is educat- ing the public about which companies use sustainable practices and employ labor- friendly production methods. He ex- plained that WCSPA was the first U.S. seafood association to adopt an encom- passing set of industry guidelines that cov- ered aspects ranging from sustainable fishing practices and habitat conservation to compliance with conservation laws and regulations. That means all WCSPA man- ufacturers signed an agreement to operate according to these guidelines. Growing from there, the industry, along with gov- ernment officials, have expanded this movement with a series of laws that, in combination with U.S. labor laws, guaran- tees the sustainability and human rights standards of all seafood products produced in the United States. "If you're eating American-caught fish that was caught legally, you are by defini- tion eating sustainble fish," said Moore. While a U.S. seafood manufacturer can produce 100 percent sustainable and labor-law compliant products, Moore contends that the benefit of doing so can be lost unless consumers are made aware of this fact. WCSPA helps retailers reach the conscious consumer. "The individual companies [manufac- turers] have their processes set up with their retail customers, to be able to edu- cate customers," said Moore. "A lot of times, what we will do is provide what- ever background information [facts re- garding sustainable and labor-friendly production] is needed, and then each in- dividual company will go forward and do things appropriate through their own market channels." Of course, achieving an elevated stan- dard for American-caught and produced seafood products may also increase prices for consumers. Moore thinks it is worth the trade-off. "We represent do- mestic processors here in the United States that buy fish from American fish- ermen and hire American citizens to process the fish," said Moore. "Our members pay the prevailing wages and benefits. They provide health insurance … and all of that sort of stuff you do with a good company in the U.S." A number of United Nations reports and various human rights organizations have cited the Thai seafood industry's issues with slavery on past occasions. As a result of these and other violations, Thailand stands at risk of being downgraded by the U.S. State Department to a "tier 3" status with regard to its handling of human traf- ficking. Such a status would put the coun- try in the same trade category as North Korea and Iran and possibly lead to a downgrade of Thailand's trade partnering status with the United States. GN

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