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News & Notes GOURMET NEWS OCTOBER 2015 www.gourmetnews.com NEWS & NOTES 6 Americans are doing a great job at the gym but a mediocre job at the dinner table. Even though science suggests diet is more im- portant than exercise in fighting obesity, diet is losing, and losing badly, to exercise. That's according to a new Brodeur Part- ners Health and Wellness survey finding that while 57 percent of Americans say they are daily or frequent exercisers, only 46 percent eat healthy foods daily or fre- quently. And while 24 percent of respon- dents said they exercise every day, only 9 percent eat healthy foods that often. Exercise and eating right are important health practices given that one in three Americans are obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preven- tion. "The good news is a lot of Americans are getting active," said Brodeur Partners CEO Andrea Coville, author of "Relevance: The Power to Change Minds and Behavior and Stay Ahead of the Competition." "The bad news is that our appetite for healthy foods – one of the best ways to sustain a healthy weight – appears weaker. The dis- parity could be an issue of willpower, mar- keting, education, food availability or a combination. Whatever the case, this in- sight is a potentially valuable one for organ- izations devoted to health care, wellness, nutrition and fitness." The Brodeur Health and Wellness survey is based on online interviews with 542 adult Americans in June. It covered not only diet and exercise, but workplace well- ness and wearable fitness trackers. "We're clearly better exercisers than eaters, which raises the question of whether our society is marketing healthy eating effectively," said Jerry Johnson, Brodeur Partners Executive Vice President of Planning, who led the research. "We're constantly told to eat our fruits and vegeta- bles as a way to live longer and avoid dis- ease. But longevity isn't what motivates people who eat well to eat well. Rather, it is a desire to physically feel and look better today." GN Study Finds Americans More Willing to Exercise BRIEFS $148 Million Recovery for Shareholders of Dole Food Co. In a decisive shareholder victory, the Delaware Court of Chancery has found that the two most senior officers of Dole Food Co. Inc. breached their fiduciary duties in structuring a 2013 buyout of the iconic producer of fresh fruits and vegetables that drastically undervalued the company to the detriment of stockholders. Vice Chancellor Travis Laster held that Dole CEO David Murdock, along with the company's Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel Michael Carter undermined shareholders and misled the board of directors in their handling of Dole's privatized buyout, which closed in November 2013 in an all-cash deal valued at $1.2 billion. He ordered Murdock and Carter to pay shareholders more than $148 million in damages. Norbest Revises Corporate Structure Utah's largest turkey producing, processing and marketing cooperative has changed its corporate structure to a limited liability company, added two significant equity partners, and changed its name to Norbest ® , LLC. In the deal, J.D. Heiskell & Co. and AMERRA Capital Management, LLC, will each acquire minority interests in the newly formed Norbest, LLC, which will own substantially all of the assets of Moroni Feed Company and Norbest, Inc. The remaining equity in the new company will continue to be owned by the 37 turkey growers who previously owned Moroni Feed Company. Vintage Confections Raises $150,000 to Expand Production Vintage Confections, a company specializing in custom made lollipops located in Clarendon Hills, Illinois, recently signed a $1.2 million guaranteed purchase order with a large distributor to grow the business. As a result, Vintage Confections outgrew its current production space and needed $150,000 in growth funding to continue to expand. Vintage Confections raised funding on Bolstr, a marketplace where emerging consumer, retail and manufacturing businesses can access growth capital from accredited investors. This marks Vintage Confections' second round of funding through Bolstr. Egg Innovations Introduces Blue Sky Family Farms Specialty egg producer Egg Innovations has introduced a new brand, Blue Sky Family Farms, which is available in major supermarkets across the Midwest. Blue Sky Family Farms hold to the highest Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC) "Certified Humane" standards for Free Range and Pasture Raised eggs. "We're ecstatic to launch Blue Sky Family Farms to meet the demand for a better egg and more ethical treatment of chickens," said John Brunnquell, Founder and President of Egg Innovations and the new Blue Sky Family Farms brand. "A majority of organic egg producing hens still do not get access to the outdoors." All Blue Sky Family Farms hens get a HFAC- certified free range minimum of two square feet of outside space and more than 108 square feet of pasture raised space. Real Food and Real People in New Campaign for California Dairy The simple beauty of a pat of butter melting on a baked potato brings to life a new inte- grated advertising campaign from the Cal- ifornia Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) that celebrates the real food and real people be- hind California dairy. The "Return to Real" campaign, which launched at the end of August, embraces the consumer movement back to minimally processed, uncompli- cated foods while celebrating hardworking California dairy farmers. Produced by Deutsch LA, the campaign includes four national 30-second television spots featuring favorite foods made extra special by Real California dairy products, including a baked potato, grilled cheese sandwiches, smoothies and pizza. Each dra- matic, appetizing food scene is interrupted by a real California dairy farmer humbly taking credit for the milk that made that food possible. From third-generation Fresno producer Johnny Verwey to second- generation Galt farmer Peter Van Warmer- dam, these real farmers are part of the more than 1,400 dairy families that make Califor- nia the number one dairy state. "The shift from sassy California cows to the food and the farmers marks a change in direction for Real California Milk that re- ally reflects the focus consumers are put- ting on real wholesome foods and the peo- ple who bring them to the table," said John Talbot, CEO of the CMAB. In addition to the 30-second spots, a special two-minute long-form online video tells the story behind the seal, digital banner ads on sites like FoodNetwork.com and Hulu will reach consumers where they spend time on- line and a robust social media and public re- lations strategy will engage consumers in the conversation about California milk and dairy products. The "Return to Real" commercials can be viewed online at www .realcaliforniamilk.com or www.youtube .com/realcaliforniamilk. GN Most schools in the U.S. are implement- ing healthy practices to help meet federal school meal standards by offering whole grains, more fruits and vegetables, and reducing sodium content, according to data published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) "Mor- bidity and Mortality Weekly Report." School meal programs are an important source of nutrition as students consume almost half of their daily calories at school. CDC researchers analyzed school-level data from the School Health Policies and Practices Study (SHPPS) for 2000, 2006, and 2014 to see how well schools are im- plementing practices related to the nutri- tion standards for school meals published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2012. The standards re- quire serving more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and gradually reducing sodium over 10 years. Previous studies have shown that students who eat school meals consume more milk, fruits, and vegetables during school meal times and have better intake of some key nutrients (such as calcium and fiber) than those who do not participate in the meal pro- grams. "School meals are healthier now than ever before. We've made real progress, but there is much more to do to help American children make food choices that will keep them healthy throughout their lives," said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. Almost all schools offered whole grains each day for breakfast (97.2 per- cent) and lunch (94.4 percent). Most schools offered two or more vegetables (79.4 percent, up from 61.7 percent in 2000) and two or more fruits (78.0 per- cent, up from 68.1 percent in 2000) each day for lunch. Nearly one third (30.5 percent) of schools offered self-serve salad bars. More than half of schools that prepared their meals at the school used fresh or frozen vegetables instead of canned (54.1 percent), used low-sodium canned vegetables instead of regular canned vegetables (51.8 percent, up from 10.3 percent in 2000), used other sea- sonings instead of salt (65.1 percent up from 32.8 percent in 2000), and reduced the amount of sodium called for in recipes or used low-sodium recipes (68.0 percent up from 34.1 percent in 2000). "We are encouraged that more schools are offering a variety of fruits and vegeta- bles and finding ways to reduce the sodium content of school meals," said Caitlin Merlo, M.P.H., lead author of the study and health scientist in CDC's School Health Branch. "Schools play a critical role in demonstrating and rein- forcing healthy eating behaviors by mak- ing sure that nutritious and appealing foods and beverages are available and promoted to students. This is particu- larly important because children's eating patterns carry into adulthood." GN America's Schools Improve Meal Nutrition

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