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GOURMET NEWS DECEMBER 2014 www.gourmetnews.com YEAR IN REVIEW 1 8 1 2 3 4 Food Producers Face Challenges in Food Safety Food safety has been a major issue for consumers in 2014, with outbreaks of salmonella infection linked to peanut butter, chia powder and poultry. In January, the USDA shut down a Foster Farms poultry plant in Livingston, California, after a reported salmonella outbreak there. That same month, Tyson Foods recalled 34,000 pounds of chicken that may have been contaminated with the bacteria. With U.S. food producers, and in particular, U.S. livestock farms struggling to eliminate food safety risks to consumers, many activists are questioning the continued use of antibiotics on farms, a process some say may lead to the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. Currently, 80 percent of all antibiotics produced in the United States by weight go directly to animals being raised for food. The U.S. agriculture industry relies on feeding antibiotics to poultry and livestock as a means of controlling the proliferation of bacteria among animal stocks and promoting animal growth. The FDA recently released its first "guidance" on the topic, urging the industry to gradually phase out the use of antibiotics as standard food production practice. The guidelines are voluntary, however, and farmers are being given three years to comply. Top Cheesemakers in the Country Show that Farmstead is the Ticket to Success Three of the four winners at this year's American Cheese Society Judging & Competition were united by a common element: farmstead production. First place winner Tarentaise Reserve from Farms for City Kids Foundation, second place winner Point Reyes Bay Blue from Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company and third place winner Eden from Sprout Creek Farm are all farmstead cheeses. Farmstead cheese is made on the same farm as the animals that are milked for its production. "American farmstead is not only delicious, but it is made locally, and it is about supporting local farmers," said Anne Saxelby, owner of New York's Saxelby Cheesemongers. "The goal was then as it is today to be a bridge between the farm and the person eating the cheese." "I think that farmstead is very important in that you're working with milk from one herd or one group of animals, and you have very tight control over that milk production," added Jeremy Stephenson, Cheese Program Director for Farms for City Kids Foundation. For Stephenson, Saxelby and other proponents of farmstead cheesemaking, the movement is ultimately about celebrating the local, tasting the regional landscape and producing a cheese that is intrinsically tied to a particular place. U.S. Government Pushes Consumers to Eat Healthier Although the New York State Court of Appeals ultimately ruled in June that New York City's ban on the sale of jumbo-sized sodas and sugary drinks "exceeded the scope of [the] regulatory authority" of the city's Board of Health, this was not the only instance this year of government officials doing their part to promote healthy lifestyles among American consumers. In February, the Food and Drug Administration proposed major updates to the nutrition facts labels for packaged foods. If passed, the FDA's proposed revisions will be the first changes made to nutrition facts labeling since 1994. In related news, the federal government has also made steps towards improving the nutritional value of meals served in schools, banning the sale of junk food on public school campuses and pushing cafeterias to serve more fruits and vegetables, whole grains and other healthy ingredients. The government's efforts to promote healthy eating in schools already seem to be having an effect on the food retail landscape, with a number of companies like Revolution Foods and Crunchies working to provide "real food solutions" to parents looking to pack healthier lunches for their kids. Anheuser Who? Craft Beer Continues to Surge in Popularity According to the Brewers Association, craft beer now accounts for 7.8 percent of the total volume of beer sold in the United States and 14.3 percent of beer sales as a dollar value. As craft beer sales have continued to rise steadily over at least the last five years, experts argue that there is no end in sight for what has truly become a national phenomenon. The number one most popular craft beer varietal among U.S. consumers is currently India Pale Ale, but a number of other nascent types are coming on strong, including Berliner Weisse, Kölsch and pilsner. Some experts predict that sour beers will be the next big thing to capture the attention of American craft brewers and their clientele, including American sours, German-style sours and Belgian Gueuzes. In addition, brewers are reportedly starting to move away from intensely flavored IPAs and move toward more subtly flavored, lower alcohol varietals like American cream ales. The biggest upcoming craft beer trend may be unrelated to what is in the bottle at all, however, and more tied to where and how that bottle is served, with more and more brewers bottling craft brews in 750-milliliter bottles that can be more easily shared at the dinner table. Top 8 Food Trends in 2014

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