Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/606687
GOURMET NEWS DECEMBER 2015 www.gourmetnews.com News & Notes NEWS & NOTES 5 BRIEFS Kroger's VP of Pharmacy Honored by National Diversity Council The Kroger Co.'s Vice President of Pharmacy, Philecia Avery was honored by the National Diversity Council with a 2015 Most Powerful & Influential Women Award during the 8th Annual Ohio Diversity & Leadership Conference in Columbus, Ohio. Avery was one of 13 women recognized for their professional accomplishments during the Ohio Diversity Council's annual gathering. Mark Bittman Joins Purple Carrot As Chief Innovation Officer Purple Carrot, the first whole food, plant-based meal kit delivery service, has named Mark Bittman as partner and Chief Innovation Officer. Bittman is the former New York Times op-ed columnist and best-selling author. Purple Carrot CEO Andy Levitt founded and launched Purple Carrot a year ago as the first plant-based meal kit company, with a goal of promoting a "New American Diet," one that is healthy, honest and humane. Seasonal ingredients are sourced from responsible U.S. producers, pre-measured, packed using state-of- the-art materials and supplies, and incorporated into easy to cook recipes now being developed and tested by Bittman and his team. Feeding the Good Food Future The future of food was on display and the subject of passionate discussion at Esca Bona, a new conference created by New Hope Natural Media. Held October 26-28, 2015, in Austin, Texas, Esca Bona brought together disruptive entrepreneurs and the leading minds from across the food world to tackle the toughest challenges facing the good food movement. The interactive event enabled the nearly 300 conference participants in attendance to work together to magnify the positive innovations happening in food. Honduran Cocoa Awarded Prestigious Recognition as Region's Best Chocolate On October 29 a panel of judges at the 2015 Salon Du Chocolat in Paris recognized Honduran cocoa as the best cocoa in Central America and the Caribbean. The global cocoa experts, including master chocolatiers from around the world and tasters from the leading chocolate and cocoa producers, came together for the International Cocoa Awards to select and honor Cocoa of Excellence. Maven Cocktails Stirs Things Up Through Strategic Alliance Maven Cocktails has entered into a strategic partnership with nightlife impresario Unik Ernest to accelerate growth as the brand expands into several key new markets. The partnership is an instrumental step in Maven's strategy to connect with the right mix of influencers, increase recognition and grow the business worldwide. The partnership is intended to fast-track the kind of growth that could otherwise take years to accomplish – helping make Maven the category leader in the ready to drink market. BY RICHARD THOMPSON Meat industry professionals are seeing red as media coverage of a recent World Health Organization report tying red meat con- sumption with colorectal cancer continues to confuse consumers. Media responses to the report have made mountains out of meatballs, creating confusion on what makes up a balanced diet for consumers, says Eric Mittenthal, Vice President of Pub- lic Affairs at North American Meat Insti- tute, but will not, in the end, much affect the meat industry. The report, headed by a panel from the International Agency Research on Cancer (IARC) and released by WHO, concluded that for large numbers of people who con- sume processed meat, the global impact on cancer incidence is of public health impor- tance. Mittenthal, whose agency represents processors and meat packers throughout the country, sees that despite all of the sen- sational headlines used by the media, con- sumers and meat industry professionals are still finding the report's results hard to swallow: "This confirms our position that the report was over-reaching and alarmist and the fact that the [IARC] panelists were not even unanimous about the findings supports [our position]." According to Jeff Stier, Risk Analysis Di- rector at the National Center for Public Pol- icy Research (NCPPR), the report confuses readers by not accurately explaining the difference between actual and theoretical risks. "Correlation is different than causa- tion." warns Stier, "Even if they are right, all they are alleging is that if you eat a lot of [processed meat] your whole life, you have a very slight increased risk for cancer. But if you're eating that much meat anyway, you might be more concerned with cardio- vascular disease, weight problems and dia- betic issues. Not colorectal cancer." In the report, the experts concluded that each 50 gram portion of processed meat eaten increased the risk of colorectal cancer by 18 percent, but Mittenthal and Stier dis- pute that finding as inaccurate and poorly worded. Stier, whose job is to direct the risk analysis division of NCPPR and help trans- late information into good public policy, says that using the 18 percent without un- derstanding the context is like saying that living near a NASA facility triples the chances someone will be hit by an errant spaceship. "It may be true, but doesn't mean much," says Stier. "Our industry supplies consumers, and they are the bottom line, and it's clear by how people are reacting to this that they are rolling their eyes. Most people take this in- formation with a grain of salt – which, I'm sure, somehow can cause cancer too," says Mittenthal. While public affair officials like Mitten- thal are concerned over the public relations impact of the study, industry professionals from the National Cattleman's Beef Associ- ation (NCBA) and American Meat Sciences Association (AMSA) are branding the sci- ence behind the report as inaccurate and incomplete. Dr. Shalene McNeill, PhD., RD, Beef Checkoff Nutrition Scientist and Reg- istered Dietician for the National Cattle- man's Beef Association observed the IARC process, "IARC...doesn't always represent consensus in the scientific community. After seven days of deliberation...IARC was unable to reach a consensus agreement from a group of 22 experts in the field of cancer research, something that IARC... typically achieves." "We know that cancer risk is not about diet alone and the report simply adds to people's confusion about cancer," says Dei- drea Mabry, MS, Director of Scientific Communications and Technical Programs for the American Meat Sciences Association (AMSA). The IARC findings insinuate that for every 50 grams of processed meat (or about two pieces of bacon) comes an 18 percent increase of getting colorectal can- cer, but the reality is more mundane, ac- cording to Stier. During a lifetime of eating 50 grams of processed meat a day, every day, a person has an estimated 18 percent increase of having colorectal can- cer versus someone who didn't follow the same diet (an actual individual risk in- crease of 1 or 2 percent over the course of their life). To put that in perspective, red and processed meat are among 940 agents reviewed by IARC – consisting of air, aloe vera, coffee and wine, among others – that pose some level of theoretical hazard if used over-abundantly. McNeill explains, "The available scientific evidence simply does not support a causal relationship be- tween red or processed meat and any type of cancer." Now that the WHO report is out, pro- meat agencies like NCPPR will continue to provide scientifically accurate information to consumers. "This is what I do for a liv- ing; stuffing toothpaste back in the tube," says Stier. As for national regulatory agencies like the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, no ac- tion is planned in response to the report or its findings. According to a press re- lease by the FDA, the agency hasn't had an opportunity to review the IARC mono- graph report and that IARC does not rec- ommend regulations, legislation or public health interventions. On top of that, the NIH National Toxicology Program (NTP) report on Carcinogens has not looked at red or processed meats nor have those substances been nominated for review for the next edition. Mabry seasons her concerns with pru- dence, "Consumers have seen beyond the sensational, and often inaccurate head- lines....we know that cancer risk is not about diet alone and...it's easy to get caught up in a report or a study." According to Mabry, what's most important is that con- sumers understand eating a healthy and well-balanced diet – including meat (both red and processed) – is supported by the strongest science available. Her words appear to have resonated with WHO and IARC as well, since at time of press, the agencies have started backpedal- ing on how the report was worded and sub- sequently reported on via a Twitter account. Sample tweets include: "The #can- cer review on processed meat does not ask ppl to stop eating meat, but to reduce in- take to lower cancer risk." They even went as far as to say there was a "shortcoming" to the classification system that processed meats were placed in. For McNeill, this report changes nothing to what everyone in and out of the industry has already known for years, "As a regis- tered dietitian and mother, my advice hasn't changed. Eat a balanced diet, which in- cludes lean meats like beef, maintain a healthy weight, be physically active and, please, don't smoke." GN Meat Industry Has Beef with Media Over Cancer Scare Top Chef Meals, a supplier of high quality affordable gourmet meals to consumers' homes, has expanded its shipping area to all of the East Coast and inland to Illinois. To better serve its expanding customer base, Top Chef Meals has greatly increased its delivery region which now includes every state from Illinois and eastern Arkansas eastward to the Atlantic, and northern Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia northward to Maine. Top Chef Meals individually prepares affordable, restaurant quality meals hand plated by its chefs and promptly deliv- ered throughout its service area. The company's healthy and delicious meals are nutritionally balanced and perfect for people on a budget. People can select from available meal packages or build custom meals with their choice of entrees and side dishes. GN Top Chef Meals Expands Service Area Throughout the East Coast