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GOURMET NEWS DECEMBER 2015 www.gourmetnews.com NEWS & NOTES 1 3 Olive Oil Continued from PAGE 1 The product in that bottle is very likely all olive oil, since the presence of other oils, such as canola or soybean oil, is easily de- tected. Although other oils can be mixed into olive oil and then sold as pure extra- virgin olive oil, the relative ease of detec- tion and clear illegality has discouraged that particular fraud in U.S. retail, she says. The fraud that's more often perpetrated on American retailers and consumers involves the adulteration of extra-virgin olive oil with lower grades of olive oil to produce a mixture of inferior oils that's then labeled and sold as extra virgin. "That's possible, and it's undercutting the market for true extra virgin," Devarenne said. Widescale fraud is made possible be- cause olive oil as a category is worth more than $1 billion a year in U.S. sales, and of that, more than 98 percent is imported, Neuman said. "With olive oils, there are a lot of foreign entities labeling things extra virgin that don't meet the standards. The rest of the world is sending whatever they want to America. Grocers are selling what they need to to meet the demand," he said. That leaves the producers of genuine high-quality extra virgin olive oils – the kind that have been shown actually to have the health benefits and flavor that Ameri- cans are often seeking when they choose to buy olive oils, struggling to compete in a marketplace in which their oils, which have to sell at prices that reflect what it ac- tually costs to produce them, sit on the shelf next to commodity-grade oils with much lower prices. Retailers are in a similar bind, according to Maria Reyes, Director, Vendor Management at KeHE Distributors. "It's a business and we all have to make money including the retailers. There are a lot of oils out there and consumers are con- fused or simply don't know the right olive oil to buy. The challenge is how we get the consumers to be educated about olive oil so that they are able to make the right de- cision as to what they're buying off the shelf," she said. KeHE is getting more and more requests every year from over-stressed retailers who are asking for help with category reviews and product tastings, partly because they're finding it more difficult to find the time to educate themselves about a product that's often regarded as a commodity instead of as a specialty category like wine or cheese, Reyes says. "The challenge is that they're requesting the information, they give us the time, and they listen," she said, "But then, 'How do we do this? How do all of us find the time to do this?'" "They think of olive oil as an everyday food, but it's as technical as wine – it has a standard of identity; it's regulated," Neu- man added. "But grocers generally just don't have the time to investigate. One buyer may be buying half the center store. They sometimes do two reviews a year for each category. Plus, they go to trade shows, etc." They'd like retailers to regard olive oil as a category more similar to wine, for which many specialty markets have a sommelier who has invested a significant amount of time to learn about the products their store is selling. But short of that, they'd like to see grocery retailers supporting their buy- ers in gaining some training about olive oils. "Anyone who cares enough to learn can learn. It's not necessary for a buyer to go to multiple trainings to make a big dif- ference. It's enough to want to learn and to taste and to seek out people who are expe- rienced," Devarenne said. "You may not be- come an expert taster – that takes years – but you can become a competent taster pretty quickly." "It's not super-easy, but it's also not rocket science," she added. "And it really is important. Otherwise, you're just at the mercy of the person who comes in and says it was done the way his grandfather did it, and then you taste the product, and if you know nothing, then you still know noth- ing. Do the same research you'd put into other purchases. We need to convince peo- ple that there's information out there, and there's good unbiased information out there. They just have to care enough to look for it." The investment is worthwhile for retail- ers because specialty food consumers are looking for premium products. Americans are not using a lot of olive oil now, espe- cially in comparison to consumers in Eu- ropean olive-oil producing countries, but as they learn more about the value of high- quality oils and their range of flavors and varieties, there's a lot of room for American consumption to increase, according to Neuman. "There's nothing else in the gro- cery story that costs $17 per unit and drives a 40 percent to 50 percent gross margin," he said. "Retailers win when they're selling a better product at a higher price. The pro- ducers win because we can afford to pay farmers premium prices. And the specialty consumer wants to be taught how to use good product.... There is a lot of room for premium brands." GN Unified Grocers Names New CFO Unified Grocers, Inc. Executive Vice Presi- dent, Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer Richard J. Martin is retiring after 18 years with the company. "When I became CEO, I asked Rich to stay on for a while to provide guidance, continuity and support to the organiza- tion," said Unified President and CEO Bob Ling. "That Rich has stayed on well be- yond expectations is a reflection of his commitment to Unified's success and his respect for the people and members that make this company what it is. Rich re- cently celebrated his 70th birthday. Hav- ing just completed some important projects, including the sale of our insur- ance subsidiaries, the time was right for Rich to take his well-earned retirement. We thank Rich for his many contributions to the company and, most importantly, his friendship and leadership over the years. Rich will continue to serve as an adviser to the company." Prior to joining Unified, Martin was the Executive Vice President and Chief Finan- cial Officer for Rykoff-Sexton, Inc. During his 10 years with Rykoff-Sexton, the com- pany tripled in size through successive mergers. Martin's career experience also in- cludes 21 years with the public accounting firm Arthur Andersen, where he was a part- ner for 10 years. While he was working in public accounting, Rich practiced as a Cer- tified Public Accountant in numerous states. Outside of work, Martin has been active in the United Way of Los Angeles and var- ious professional organizations. He is a graduate of The Ohio State University. Michael F. Henn will succeed Rich as Ex- ecutive Vice President, Chief Financial Of- ficer. Henn is an accomplished senior executive with extensive experience in high-level corporate strategy and organiza- tional governance across a wide variety of industries, including the grocery business. "Unified is extremely fortunate to wel- come Mike to the team," said Ling. "He will serve as a key adviser, interfacing with the board of directors and partnering with the senior management team members on all financial and accounting matters." Most recently, Henn was Managing Di- rector of R.E. Stangeland Enterprises in San Marino, California. Prior to that, he served as Chief Financial Officer of publicly held companies including Exult, Inc., an Irvine, California, outsourcer of human resource services to Global 500 companies; KB- Home, a Los Angeles, Calif., Fortune 500 homebuilder; and The Vons Companies, Arcadia, Calif., a Fortune 500 supermarket retailer. Henn is also an experienced public sec- tor and academic board member. He cur- rently serves as a board member of St. John's Northwestern Military Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin. He was a City of Newport Beach Council Member from 2006-2014 and Mayor in 2011. He ob- tained his B.S. and MBA in Finance from Northern Illinois University. GN Most Food Workers Go to Work When Sick A new survey by the Center for Research and Public Policy (CRPP) reveals that more than half of workers in the food in- dustry go to work sick, citing concerns over lost wages and support for their co- workers. As part of the annual Mind of the Food Worker study, the CRPP polled more than 1,200 food workers at all stages of the food supply chain, including farms, processing plants, cafeterias, restaurants, and grocery stores across the U.S. and Canada. The in- dependent survey was commissioned by Alchemy Systems, which works with com- panies and organizations across the food system to improve safety and operations. According to the survey, 51 percent of employees reported they always or fre- quently go to work when sick. More than 45 percent said they go to work sick be- cause they can't afford to lose pay. More than 46 percent said they didn't want to let their co-workers down by not showing up for a shift. When managers were asked how many employees they thought came to work sick, the majority answered just 18 percent. Over 20 million U.S. and Canadian front- line food workers grow, process, distribute, cook, and serve the food that is eaten by over 355 million consumers every day. They are the vital link of a complex food system from farm to fork. The same survey also showed that 87 percent of frontline workers would serve the food they make to their families and children. "The vast majority of frontline food workers and their em- ployers are committed to providing safe foods for their customers," said Alchemy CEO Jeff East- man. "The sur- vey shows that over 90 per- cent of food workers feel responsible for the safety and well- being of their cus- tomers. So managers and supervisors need to better communicate why it's okay to stay home when sick." GN