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GOURMET NEWS JANUARY 2017 www.gourmetnews.com Supplier News SUPPLIER NEWS 1 3 BRIEFS Vegan Seafood Alternatives to Help Save the Ocean BY LORRIE BAUMANN Plant-based seafood alternatives appeal to more than just the diehard vegetarians among us. Maybe 35 or 40 percent of the U.S. population as well as many Europeans are looking for ways to include more plant proteins in their diet, and they deserve to be able to enjoy a seafood-like experience without eating actual fish. That's according to Eugene Wang, the Owner of Sophie's Kitchen, which makes seafood alternatives from plant proteins. Sophie's Kitchen is named after Wang's daughter, who's allergic to seafood. After she had a serious allergic reaction to some shrimp she accidentally ate, he began to think about using the knowledge he'd gained through his family background in manufacturing vegetarian products to come up with a seafood alternative that she could eat. "My family was mak- ing food with soy. She did not like it very much – I guess because of the taste of soy," Wang says. He started mak- ing experiments with plant pro- teins other than soy, which is commonly used to make the textured vegetable protein that's a standard ingredient in vegetarian meat alternatives. He continued his experiments until he found something that Sophie liked better. "That got me thinking," he says. "I solve problems in two spaces in our business. One is the seafood industry – overfishing, slave labor. On the other side in the meat alternative space, there's just too much overuse of soy." The Sophie's Kitchen products use tex- Rogue Creamery Wins Silver Twice at World Cheese Awards Rogue Creamery's Echo Mountain Blue and Mount Mazama were both awarded silver medals at the 29th Annual World Cheese Awards in San Sebastian, Spain. The World Cheese Awards is the largest and most re- spected competition of its type in the world. There were 260 judges who gath- ered to taste and score more than 3,000 cheeses from 31 different countries. "It's wonderful to be in a place to share the message of giving thanks at the holiday tables of the families and friends of cheese lovers from this international audience. It's a great recognition to have our passion and sustainable practices reinforced at the World Cheese Awards, as Echo Mountain is ranked once again among the world's finest blue cheeses," said David Gremmels, Rogue Creamery Cheesemaker and Presi- dent. This was the seventh time in the last 10 years that Rogue Creamery's Echo Mountain Blue has been honored with a medal in the mixed milk category at the World Cheese Awards for placing among the top three cheeses in the world, including a gold medal in Dublin in 2008. The remark- able taste of this award-winning blue re- flects a montage of rich flavors made from the combination of this unique regional blend of grass-based, hormone free cow and goat's milk. The flavor is clear, crisp, bril- liant and complex with its subtle hint of goat's milk. Brightly hued veins traverse the body of this cheese, infusing it with a bold, earthy flavor. It has a semi-soft texture with a silky-smooth mouth feel and tangy finish. GN tured vegetable protein made from yellow pea and from konjac, which is also known as elephant yam root. Konjac has been used across Asia for centuries, and it's particu- larly valued in Japan as a healthful food source that's high in fiber and low in calo- ries. "It's nothing unusual for me," Wang says. "I've been eating konjac foods since I was a kid. These foods have the texture of shellfish. With the right com- bination of starch and water and cook- ing time, you can mimic shrimp, salmon or other shellfish." Matching seafood's texture rather than concentrating on flavor creates a product that fills the role of seafood in the meal, and it can be done without adding a lot of stabilizers and preservatives that aren't the kind of clean ingre- dients that customers are looking for, Wang says. "That's what we think can be done better," he says. "They understand that the flavor might not be exactly the same, but they want something they can feed their kid, just like my Sophie. If I do not want to feed this product to my kid, I don't want it." Sophie's Kitchen products don't actually taste like fish, although they do include natural ingredients like sea salt and sea- weed that contribute a kind of "oceany" fla- vor. "We're not trying to replicate the old animal-based product; we're trying to give you the freedom of having that sensation and that cooking experience," Wang says. He analogizes this to consumers' experi- ence with non-dairy milk alternatives. People who can't drink cow milk found soy milks in their dairy case about 20 years ago, and by a decade ago, soy milk was tak- ing a significant portion of the dairy case. The past few years have seen the development of many other non-dairy alterna- tives to cow milk that have found ready acceptance on the mar- ket. "People have no problem with that at all," Wang says. "You don't have to make almond milk feel or taste like cow milk – people understand the difference." Sophie's Kitchen products include Vegan Toona, which comes in a can that helps mimic the tuna experience that consumers already know; Vegan Crab Cakes; Breaded Vegan Fish Fillets and Breaded Vegan Shrimp and Breaded Vegan Salmon. They're all 100 percent vegan, gluten free, Non- GMO Project Verified, kosher certified and have no artificial colorings or flavorings and no preservatives. They also don't con- tribute to the overfishing of the world's oceans. "This is a very serious and impor- tant issue," Wang says. "This not only pro- vides people a plant-based choice to replace their animal protein, but also reminds peo- ple that we have a very serious problem with our ocean. We have serious issues with our fishing methodology from the old days. "A lot of fishes are pretty much wiped out. In our opinion, our foods serve that function," Wang continues. "Our foods right now are not only providing people a choice to have more plant protein in our diets but are also a reminder to people that we need to do something to help save our ocean. It's important." GN Schweid & Sons to Open New Beef Processing Plant Schweid & Sons, a family-owned, fourth- generation ground beef purveyor supplying premier food service and retail operations across the nation, will be opening a new, cutting-edge ground beef processing facility in College Park, Georgia in early 2017, in response to the increased consumer demand for Schweid & Sons' products. The new, 66,000 square foot facility will utilize state of the art equipment to produce high- quality fresh and frozen products; cut down transportation time for customers located in the South, South Central and lower Midwest regions of the United States; and ensure fresher product on a quicker timeline. Schweid & Sons expects to start shipping from this facility in early 2017. Organic Valley Expands Grassmilk Production in Mid-Atlantic Organic Valley, America's largest cooperative of organic farmers, has created a new route with 12 100-percent grass-fed dairies in the Mid-Atlantic to increase production of its Organic Valley Grassmilk branded milk products. The production expansion makes Organic Valley the largest producer of organic, 100 percent grass-fed dairy in the country. The 12 new Organic Valley Grassmilk dairy farmers hail from Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania and are connected with an existing milk route winding between the states from Myerstown, Pennsylvania, to Dayton, Virginia. With Organic Valley's regional model, milk is produced, bottled and distributed right in the region where it is farmed to ensure fewer miles from farm to table and to support local economies. Research Debunks Myths About Cheese Cello Whisps, the gluten-free, high-protein snack brand from Schuman Cheese, is highlighting the full-ranging benefits of cheese as a powerful protein source with the launch of its newest product Cheddar Cello Whisps. Cello Whisps, recently receiving Gold at the 2016 World Cheese Awards and named 'Best Natural Cheese Snack' in the 2015 World Championship Cheese Contest, are an all-natural, gluten- and wheat-free, sugar-free snack that contains only a single ingredient – cheese. The first flavor is made of 100 percent award- winning parmesan cheese that is aged for more than 14 months. Cheddar is a new flavor. Maple Hill Creamery Receives Minority Investment from Sunrise Strategic Partners Sunrise Strategic Partners ("Sunrise"), a Boulder, Colorado-based accelerator of emerging brands co-founded by Steve Hughes and Trilantic North America, has made a minority investment in Maple Hill Creamery, producer of third-party certified 100 percent grass-fed organic dairy items including whole milk yogurts, kefir, cheeses, and milk. This is the fifth investment by Sunrise since it launched earlier this year. Maple Hill traces its roots to 2003 and is today the top-selling grass-fed yogurt brand in the natural channel.

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