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GOURMET NEWS NOVEMBER 2016 www.gourmetnews.com NEWS & NOTES 8 Okanagan Specialty Fruits has completed the first commercial harvest of its geneti- cally modified non-browning Arctic ® Golden apple variety. The fruit from this in- augural harvest will be sold as fresh sliced apples in test markets across North Amer- ica in early 2017. "We are pleased to see over 20 years of hard work and effort coming to fruition with this first commercial harvest of our Arctic Golden variety," said Neal Carter, Founder and President of Okanagan Spe- cialty Fruits. "With growing industry and consumer interest in the advantages our so- lution brings, we eagerly anticipate seeing our freshly sliced apples in grocery stores, supermarkets, and kitchens across the United States and Canada." With an estimated 40 percent of apples wasted each year, many due to superficial bruising and browning, OSF looks forward to the 2017 commercial launch of its non- browning fruit, which does not use any fla- vor-altering chemical or antioxidant additives, to drive benefits across the entire apple supply chain, importantly to growers and consumers alike. The company also announced the com- pletion of its 70,000 tree planting goal for 2016, including both Arctic Golden and Arctic Granny varieties, and currently has 300,000 and 500,000 trees under contract in North America for planting in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Cumulatively, at matu- rity, these trees will produce over 30 million pounds of Arctic apples on an annual basis. Furthermore OSF has begun plans for planting in North America in 2019 and be- yond, as well as additional international mar- kets pending further regulatory approvals. In Arctic varieties, the expression of polyphenol oxidase (PPO), the enzyme in- volved in oxidative browning, is virtually eliminated. As a result, the apples do not brown when bruised, bitten or cut, yet will still show discoloration from bacterial or fungal infections and rot just like any other apple. "Providing consumers access to de- licious, sliced apples that do not brown means more apples will be eaten and less thrown away, helping reduce overall waste and lowering cost for families," Carter said. OSF's Arctic Golden and Arctic Granny va- rieties have been reviewed and approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Health Canada (HC). OSF also recently received deregulation of the Arctic Fuji vari- ety in the U.S. from USDA. GN Genetically Modified Apples Headed to Market Animal Welfare Continued from PAGE 1 advocates are anticipating that once the final rule is issued, its opponents may sponsor a Congressional lobbying effort to attach riders onto next year's national budget and appropriations bills that could prohibit the USDA from spending money to enforce the rule. Lewis anticipates that under the final rule, farmers will have one year to comply with most of its provisions, three years to comply with the rules for outdoor space re- quirements and five years to comply with the rules about indoor stocking densities. The three-year delay for the outdoor space requirement will give farmers who need to add land to their operations enough time to meet the three-year requirement for or- ganic certification, and the five-year delay for indoor stocking densities will give poul- try farmers enough time to get their money's worth out of the barns they've al- ready built, which are, on average, seven years old. They have a depreciation life of 12 years, so a five-year delay in the require- ment that they provide more space will mean that they get the full 12 years of life that are allowed by depreciation rules. The regulations for organic livestock al- ready require that the animals must be raised in an environment that allows ani- mals to express natural behaviors such as spreading their wings and having the space to lie down naturally. They must be pro- vided with adequate health care and pro- tection from conditions that can jeopardize the animals' wellbeing, such as predators and blizzards. The proposed rule is de- signed to clarify those existing require- ments so they're enforceable and transparent, "bolstering consumer confi- dence and strengthening the market for or- ganic products," according to the USDA, which published the proposed rule in April of this year. The USDA received more than 6,000 public comments on the proposed rule, which would apply only to animals for which farmers receive organic certification, a voluntary program – it wouldn't set up a mandatory standard for other livestock op- erations. According to the USDA, "the pro- posal aims to clarify how organic producers and handlers must treat livestock and poul- try to ensure their health and wellbeing throughout life, including transport and slaughter." It addresses the areas of the an- imals' living conditions, health care, trans- port and slaughter. Among other things, it would clarify the existing regulation that organic livestock must have year-round ac- cess to the outdoors. This proposed rule specifies that "outdoors" means that the animals have to be allowed to go out into areas where they can see and feel the sun overhead and the soil beneath their feet – access to an open-air shelter or a porch with a concrete floor and a roof overhead wouldn't qualify. Other provisions would set minimum standards for how much space is required for each chicken or turkey in a poultry barn, would require that or- ganic pigs have dirt to root around in and would prohibit the transportation of sick, injured or lame animals for sale or slaugh- ter and the use of cattle prods on sensitive parts of the animal. The proposed rule follows recommenda- tions from the National Organic Standards Board, a federal advisory committee of 15 citizens appointed by the Secretary of Agri- culture that includes representation from the various stakeholders involved in the or- ganic industry, including farmers, handlers, a retailer, a certifier, scientists, a natural re- source conservationist and a consumer. The Board has been working on develop- ment of animal welfare standards for 10 years, Lewis said. "It's all very transparent." The rule's supporters include the OTA, which represents organic businesses, in- cluding growers, shippers, processors, cer- tifiers, farmers' associations and others involved in producing and selling organic products across the 50 states, and by The Humane Society of the United States, the country's largest animal protection organi- zation, which said in its comments on the proposed rule that "The HSUS supports higher animal welfare standards for the Na- tional Organic Program (NOP) and sup- ports finalization of the proposed rule. In some areas, however, we advocate for stronger changes or wording clarification." Perdue Farms, which is the largest provider of organic-certified broiler chick- ens in the U.S., also supports the proposed rule, except that the company would prefer that the USDA lengthen the amount of time it would give broiler operations to reduce their indoor stocking rate from the 6 pounds (of poultry) per square foot that Perdue says is the current industry stan- dard recognized by the animal welfare cer- tifier Global Animal Partnership to the proposed rule's level of 5 pounds per square feet to three years instead of the one-year timeframe specified in the rule. To adjust to the 5 pounds per square foot rule, the family farmers who supply Perdue Farms' chickens will need to add at least the equiv- alent of 65 additional barns at a cost of more than $25 million to their operations. They won't be able to do that with only one year's notice, so if the rule goes into effect with the one year timeframe, they'd have to reduce their flocks, which would effectively reduce the country's supply of organic broiler chicken by 20 percent, according to Perdue. Nevertheless, "Perdue supports the NOP's desire to strengthen what it means to carry the Organic seal. These proposed standards will significantly differentiate or- ganic growing practices from conventional operations and meet consumer expecta- tions that Organic production meet a uni- form and verifiable animal welfare standard. We are with you; we need the 3 year timeframe to make it happen," Perdue said in its comments to the USDA. GN Record Attendance Continued from PAGE 1 products will deliver the health benefits that many of their customers attribute to ginger, Lyon said. He says that the buyers' responses indicated that his products con- tain the ingredients that they were looking for, and his Kombucha, which he described as "Eight flavors of wonderful" also re- ceived positive notices. For Patrick Ford, Vice President of Ford's Gourmet Foods, the show offered a good opportunity to reconnect with a lot of his current customers as well as to close some sales with customers who'd been in touch before and were ready to deal once they'd seen his product line at the show. He's par- ticularly appreciative of Natural Products Expo East because its location offers him a market that's close to his North Carolina home base, which makes travel easier, and because he likes Baltimore's affordability as a trade show venue. Ford's Product line in- cludes Bone Suckin' seasonings and sauces for home grilling, and the fall show occurs at the time when his customers are reset- ting their home grilling options for next year's summer grilling season, Ford said. "This is not a seasonal product. People cook year-round," he added. "A lot of peo- ple are eating at home and cooking at home, and that has been great for the bar- becue world. That's what this is – being at home with family and friends." He noted that he's surprised to find that the vegan community, not usually thought of as barbecue aficionados, are enthusias- tic consumers for his Bone Suckin' Steak Seasoning & Rub. "I'd say a third of our customers for the steak seasoning are ve- gans – which is the last thing we were thinking of," Ford said. The product's vegan fans are using it to spice up their tofu and seitan, and they're so enthusiastic that Ford now counts a lot of gyms and health facilities among the customers for his Bone Suckin' Steak Seasoning & Rub. The company's newest product is Bone Suckin' Cajun Seasoning & Rub, which offers a flavor profile that's appealing to growing preferences for spicier foods. "With the Cajun, we came out with that because we like Cajun food. We didn't re- alize how many other people like Cajun food," Ford said. "When you make some- thing because you enjoy it, it's fun to see other people enjoying it too." Joe Pelliccio, the Seed King of Super- seedz, was less impressed about the show's attendance. He comes to the show to raise awareness of his brand among the retailers who attend, but he was hoping to see more enthusiasm among the attendees. "It's an okay show this year, but only okay," he said. "We'll continue to be here. We'll be back again next year." Superseedz was exhibiting the single- serve packaging that the company launched earlier this year. The 1-ounce grab and go packaging offers six flavors of pumpkin seeds that appeal to consumers who are looking for snacks that offer nutri- tion benefits along with satisfaction of hunger. Superseedz flavors include both sweet and savory options from Super Spicy and Curious Curry to Maple Sugar & Sea Salt and Cinnamon & Sugar, and they pro- vide an allergen-friendly source of protein, zinc and iron. Pelliccio noted that his Su- perseedz are doing well in both conven- tional groceries as well as in specialty food stores. "Even convenience stores are put- ting in natural sections," he said. The next Natural Products Expo will be Natural Products Expo West, which will be held March 8-12, 2017 in Anaheim, Cali- fornia. For more information, visit www.expowest.com. Next year's Natural Products Expo East will return to Baltimore on September 13-16, 2017. GN

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