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General News BRIEFS GOURMET NEWS DECEMBER 2014 www.gourmetnews.com GENERAL NEWS 4 Hi Europe Returns to The Netherlands Europe's leading nutritional ingredients event, Health ingredients Europe & Natural ingredients, will take place December 2-4 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. This is the premier event in Europe offering food and beverage manufacturers and producers the opportunity to find new suppliers and source health and natural ingredients. Over 500 health and natural ingredients providers will exhibit at Hi Europe this year, including leading companies such as Naturex, Kerry Group, Nexira, Roquette and Tate & Lyle. The show brings four newly focused elements to the portfolio: nutritional solutions, contract services, packaging and processing innovations and formulation/reformulation. The show offers a complete 360-degree perspective of the trillion dollar health, natural and nutritional food and beverage industry. For more information about Hi Europe and the entire Food ingredients global portfolio, visit www.foodingredientsglobal.com/europe. USA Rice Outlook Set for December 7-9 in Little Rock The 2014 USA Rice Outlook Conference will take place December 7-9 in Little Rock, Arkansas at the Statehouse Convention Center. The event brings together leaders in the American rice industry to discuss domestic and international policy, economic outlook, legislation, trade issues, farming practices, emerging research and new technology. Registration is open now for those interested in attending USA Rice Outlook. The general registration fee ($210) provides admittance to the entire conference program, trade show, continental breakfasts, receptions in the Exhibit Hall and the Rice Awards Luncheon. A special guest registration fee ($100) provides admittance to receptions in the Exhibit Hall and the Rice Awards Luncheon only. Those interested in attending all or any portion of the conference program must pay the general registration fee. Visit www.usarice.com to register or for more information about the conference. The Almond Conference Comes to Sacramento, December 9-11 Sponsored by the California Almond Board, The Almond Conference is set to convene interested representatives from all facets of the almond industry on December 9-11 at the Sacramento Convention Center in Sacramento, California. A highlight of the event, the organizers are planning an evening of humor and magic for the Gala Dinner on Thursday, December 11. The annual Almond Conference is an important event covering a variety of issues that are relevant to the almond industry today, including the environment, marketing and more. There is also an almond industry trade show that takes place on the third day of the conference. Registration for The Almond Conference is available at www.almondconference.com. Registration is free and includes all-access to workshops, symposiums and the trade show floor. All attendees must register and wear their attendee badge onsite. World Tea Academy, the leading online tea education and certification program, is proud to name its first-ever class of cer- tified professionals. A total of 24 students from the United States, Canada, Aus- tralia, Chile and Bahrain completed the core program to become WTA Certified Tea Specialists. "We are thrilled to congratulate our first-ever World Tea Academy class of graduates," said Donna Fellman, a well-re- spected tea expert and program director for the World Tea Academy. "WTA certifi- cation opens career opportunities, im- proves trust with clients and increases industry recognition. And the online pro- gram – the future of tea education – can benefit tea professionals of all kinds, as well as those in allied fields." Developed by the organizers of World Tea Expo and the North American Tea Championship, World Tea Academy is a digital-based learning platform that in- corporates robust features and creates classroom-like environments for stu- dent-to-student interaction. In addition to the core WTA Certified Tea Specialist program, WTA offers higher-level ac- creditations, including WTA Certified Tea Professional, WTA Certified Tea Sommelier and WTA Certified Tea Health Expert. "The structure of World Tea Academy was excellently laid out, featured great educational content and informative teaching material," said Ravi Jerome Pil- lai, tea quality manager at DAVIDsTEA in Montreal, Canada. Pillai has been work- ing in the tea industry since 1984, and he has managed tea plantations in Sri Lanka and held roles in operations, marketing, consulting, manufacturing and process- ing. He also served on the management committee of The Spice Council of Sri Lanka for eight years and has a degree in plantation management. "I believe World Tea Academy takes tea education to the next level," Pillai added. "It's an opportu- nity and experience the tea industry should not miss." Chef Kevin Lahue of Whole Foods Markets in Burbank, California, who also graduated from WTA, has been in the culinary world for nearly 30 years. In ad- dition to being a chef, Lahue is also a Chinese dietary therapist and culinary educator with Healing Cuisine. "I wanted to expand my knowledge and interest in tea to benefit my career and enhance my love of the leaf. Overall, I think World Tea Academy really opened my eyes and taught me a lot about all aspects of tea," said Lahue. "Being WTA certified will certainly enrich my career in the culinary field, as I incorporate tea into my menus and impart my tea knowledge upon oth- ers. On the whole, I really enjoyed the World Tea Academy program, especially the videos and the cuppings, and I hope to become a WTA Certified Tea Health Expert in the future to complement my gastronomic endeavors." Colleen Opitz, owner of Gaithersburg, Maryland-based Cuppa Love Tea, which of- fers tea tastings, catered tea parties and re- tail teas and accessories, said, "There were aspects of every World Tea Academy edu- cational course that I really enjoyed and benefitted from … I look forward to pursu- ing an advanced-level certification through World Tea Academy, specifically the WTA Certified Tea Sommelier and WTA Certified Tea Health Expert programs." World Tea Academy classes are filled with rich content, videos, key learning points, group discussions and download- able course materials. The curriculum covers a variety of educational topics. To register or learn more about the pro- grams and upcoming class schedules, visit www.worldteaacademy.com, call 800.759.0963, or email info@worldtea academy.com. GN World Tea Academy Congratulates First-Ever Graduating Class, Certifies 24 Professionals from around the Globe The state of the organic industry is thriving, filled with opportunities on a host of fronts but faced with challenges on many, said Organic Trade Association Executive Director and CEO Laura Batcha at the Natural Products Expo East trade show. "The increased amount of organic in our stores is a testament that organic is here to stay," said Batcha. However, she noted that organic acreage and produc- tion in the United States have not kept up with the growth in organic demand. "How to close the gap between organic produc- tion growth and the growth in the indus- try is the challenge of the next decade if we want our industry to remain success- ful," she said. Doug Crabtree, farmer and co-owner of organic Vilicus Farms in Montana and re- cipient of OTA's 2014 Farmer of the Year Award echoed Batcha's concerns, saying that there are not enough organic farmers in the United States. Crabtree observed that it is difficult to attract and keep new or- ganic farmers without a good federal sup- port system for organic that is more in line with what is available to conventional farmers. Both Batcha and Crabtree welcome the increasing availability of organic products in major retail outlets. Crabtree said, "The more organic, the better. Organic is good for soil health. Organic is good for rural communities. Organic is good for farmers and consumers. I can't see anything nega- tive about expanding organic." The U.S. organic industry has grown by leaps and bounds in the past two decades. Once barely a niche in the big food sector, organic sales in the United States broke a new record of over $35 billion in 2013. More than 80 percent of families in the United States now buy organic products sometimes. The USDA Organic Seal now ranks up with the Good Housekeeping seal of approval and the Better Business Bureau seal as one of the most trusted assurances of quality and integrity. As consumer appreciation of organic grows, however, confusion over compet- ing food labels and skepticism about the strength of the standards for certified or- ganic products are also playing a role in today's marketplace. Still, the industry is proud of what the organic sector has done to keep the national organic stan- dards, implemented by the U.S. Depart- ment of Agriculture in 2002, strong over the years. "Organic standards are stronger than ever," said Batcha. "Every major regulatory action since the imple- mentation of the standards has been to strengthen the standards." Just since 2008, Batcha pointed out, six synthetic substances have been added to the National Organic Standard Board's Na- tional List of allowable synthetics for or- ganic crop growers, livestock producers and processors, while 44 have either been removed from the list or denied from being placed on the list. GN Organic Leaders Assess Strategic Challenges Facing Them in the Future

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