Oser Communications Group

RING BY LUCAS WITMAN After receiving thousands of comments (including 15,000 unique responses to the Proposed Produce Safety Rule alone), the Food and Drug Administration recently released its Supplemen- tal Proposed Rules for the pend- ing Food Safety Modernization Act, and many stakeholders are still dissatisfied with how the Act is developing. FSMA, first signed into law in 2011, was created as a mecha- nism for preventing foodborne illness in the United States by modernizing the regulatory framework under which both do- mestic and foreign food compa- BY LUCAS WITMAN When a retail store that has be- come a local institution goes up for sale, the thought of it chang- ing hands can be a frightening one for a clientele that has grown to rely on it as a staple of their daily lives. And the pressure of maintaining continuity is likely to scare off many potential buy- ers, unsure if they are up to the task of becoming the caretakers of such an important symbol of the community. Luckily for the residents of and visitors to Coastal Virginia, however, the Pruden Family embraced this challenge when the local spe- Virginia Vacationers and Loyal Locals Alike Flock to TASTE Continued on PAGE 9 GIFTWARE: Gift Sets SEE PAGE 22 MARKETWATCH: Specialty Eggs SEE PAGE 20 SPECIAL: Year in Review SEE PAGE 15 Continued on PAGE 7 Continued on PAGE 12 cialty food hub TASTE went up for sale in 2006. The family has not only been successful in pro- tecting the retailer's unique her- itage, but also in growing the company into something bigger and better. "Like most people that grew up around here, I had been a loyal TASTE fan my entire life," said Jon Pruden, President and Co- owner. "I would grab TASTE sandwiches every weekend and enjoy them at the oceanfront with friends. That's a ritual for people around here. When I heard through the grapevine that TASTE may be for sale, I jumped at the opportunity." TASTE was originally founded by Peter Coe as a wine and cheese shop in Virginia Beach. Through- out the three decades Coe spent as the company's owner, he was able to build the TASTE brand into a true specialty food experi- ence. In 2006, Coe sold the busi- ness to the Pruden family. Jon Pruden's father, also named Peter, had previously retired in 2000 after selling the family's third gen- eration ham curing business, and he welcomed the opportunity to come out of retirement and join the new company. Today, the company is truly a family affair, combining the talents of Peter, Jon, Jon's brother Taylor and Jon's wife Tracie. Today, TASTE operates six lo- cations in Coastal Virginia, in- cluding shops in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Newport News and Norfolk. There are also plans in the works for a seventh location in Suffolk, which will open in 2015. The stores have become go-to shopping destinations in their communities for those looking for specialty foods, pre- pared foods, beer and wine, desserts and more. Gourmet Retail Gift Baskets on a Budget Public Criticism Steers FDA in Proposing Changes to Food Safety Modernization Act nies operating in this country are required to conform. The Act cov- ers the establishment of manda- tory preventive control standards and produce safety standards for food facilities, the mitigation of the risk of intentional contamina- tion of the food supply and the maintenance of food importer ac- countability. Although lawmakers originally intended FSMA to be fully implemented just a couple of years after it was established, deadlines have been pushed back several times, and public com- menting on the Act is ongoing. After further consideration, and in response to comments it re- ceived from the public, the FDA has announced Supplemental Proposed Rules for FSMA in four key areas, including changes to the Foreign Supplier Verification Program, Preventive Controls for Human Foods, Produce Safety and Preventive Controls for Ani- mal Food rules. According to Clay Detlefsen, Vice President of Regulatory Af- fairs and Council for the Interna- tional Dairy Foods Association, the most substantial of all FSMA rules for his industry is the Pro- posed Rule for Preventive Con- trols for Human Food. Detlefsen calls the rule "HACCP on BY AMBER GALLEGOS Gift baskets make for a great pres- entation and can be a visual sum- mation of the possibilities within your retail store. A gift basket does not have to be expensive to be special or rewarding for the re- tailer who sold the basket or for its giver and ultimate recipient. "[Retailers] have access in their current store to so many wonder- ful and delicious products and a great supply, so there's no reason for them to not combine them and make a multiple sale instead of making a lot of individual sales," says Shirley George Frazier of GiftBasketBusiness.com. Fra- zier has written two books and created a series of instructional DVDs on gift basket business and design. With her speaking en- gagements and business consult- ing, she has spent the last 24 years fully engrossed in the gift basket industry. Frazier points to the inventory of gourmet and kitchenware re- tailers as cost saving in itself, since there is no need to purchase additional products to fill the baskets. Gourmet meal elements and snacks that are complemen- tary to kitchenware are typically already at hand. Putting the gift VOLUME 79, NUMBER 12 DECEMBER 2014 n $7.00 SUPPLIER BUSINESS n Darégal Gourmet Offers Herbs with Fresh Flavor and Freezer Convenience PAGE 11 RETAILER NEWS n Whole Foods Market Takes Stand on Key Agricultural Issues with Responsibly Grown Produce Rating System PAGE 12 SPECIALTY DISTRIBUTORS & BROKERS n Sysco Announces 2014 Top Suppliers; Devi Seafood Earns Highest Honor PAGE 13 HOT PRODUCTS n Zing Anything Citrus Zinger Sport PAGE 14 SMALL ELECTRICS n Exotic Popcorn Flavors, New Machines Open Up a New World for Home Cooks PAGE 21 News ..............................................4 Ad Index .......................................23 Smorgasbord ................................23 www.gourmetnews.com G OURMET N EWS T H E B U S I N E S S 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 ® Let us guide you into 2015, with products and contacts in 28 specialty food categories, including gluten-free and vegetarian. SEE INSERT new year with new products in the

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