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GOURMET NEWS FEBRUARY 2017 www.gourmetnews.com NEWS & NOTES 8 Zingerman's Creamery Cheese Now Available on East Coast Zingerman's Creamery has entered into a new partnership with World's Best Cheeses. The specialty food distributor directly de- livers some of the best cheeses, crackers, oils, chocolates and meats from around the world to gourmet retail markets, and now those offerings include Zingerman's small- batch artisan cheeses made in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This will be the first time the Creamery has had major distribution on the East Coast. "We're honored to be represented on the East Coast by World's Best Cheeses," says Zingerman's co-Founder Ari Weinzweig. "Their distribution network will allow us to get our cheeses to specialty shops, restaurants, caterers and cafes without hav- ing to have them incur shipping costs from the Midwest." Since 2001, Zingerman's Creamery has specialized in soft-ripened cheeses, em- ploying a combination of Old World tech- niques and creative innovation to draw out full, complex flavor. The cow and goat milk used is sourced from a select group of small, regional farmers to secure the high- est quality product. The collaboration with World's Best Cheeses, a leader in the spe- cialty food industry that has been family owned and operated for over 30 years and currently has offices in New York, Massa- chusetts and California, is a natural and welcomed fit for both companies. "We have always admired and respected Zingerman's business and philosophy, and these delicious cheeses have been on our radar for some time," says Stephen Gellert, ACS-CCP, Vice President of Business Devel- opment for World's Best Cheeses. "We are very excited to finally be working to- gether!" World's Best Cheeses is currently distrib- uting Zingerman's Creamery Detroit Street Brick, Chestnut Little Napoleon, Manches- ter, Liptauer and Aged Chelsea. Full de- scriptions of each cheese can be found in the Cheese section at www.zingermans creamery.com. GN FDA Issues Guidance on Controlling Listeria The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released an updated draft guidance, "Control of Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-To-Eat Foods," which supports on- going efforts by industry and government agencies to reduce the risk of Listeria mono- cytogenes in ready-to-eat foods. Listeria, a pathogen that can grow even in cold, refrig- erated environments, is particularly harm- ful to the elderly, pregnant women and/or their pregnancy, and those with compro- mised immune systems. The new rules are based on the Food Safety Modernization Act and reflect the FDA's current good manufacturing practice requirements, as well as new requirements for hazard analysis and risk-based preven- tive controls, including verification of pre- ventive controls. The new rules apply to all food facilities that manufacture, process, pack, or hold ready-to-eat foods, regardless of whether the facility is subject to the FDA's require- ments for good manufacturing practices or preventive controls. Industry best practices and the "seek and destroy" approach used by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have been incorporated into the draft guid- ance.The agency is hoping that integrating these approaches along with the food safety requirements under FSMA will lead to more effective efforts to control listeria in ready-to-eat products. The guidance includes recommenda- tions for controls involving personnel, cleaning and maintenance of equipment, and sanitation, as well as for treatments that kill listeria and formulations to pre- vent it from growing during storage of the food between production and consump- tion. The updated draft guidance does not change or alter what constitutes a ready- to-eat food. The FDA is accepting public comments. To electronically submit comments to the docket, visit www.regulations.gov and type "FDA-2008-D-0096" in the search box. You can also submit comments to the docket by mail, but if you do, be sure and include "FDA-2008-D-0096" on each page and send them to Division of Dockets Manage- ment, HFA-305 Food and Drug Adminis- tration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061, Rockville, MD 20852. GN Former Nourish Snacks CEO Zubin Mehta Launches Born Wild Brands Zubin Mehta, the former CEO of Nourish Snacks, has announced the launch of Born Wild Brands. Under his leadership and alongside several CPG veterans and part- ners, the new firm will focus exclusively on incubating and partnering with emerging food and beverage brands. The firm will be focused on developing inspirational, dis- ruptive brands and partnering with pas- sionate, visionary early-stage entrepreneurs to help them execute on their visions. "There has never been a better time to launch or build a food and beverage brand, and at the same time, the barriers to entry to start a business have never been lower – resulting in a highly competitive space," said Founder of Born Wild Brands, Zubin Mehta. "Our goal is to partner with vision- ary founders and entrepreneurs and pro- vide them with the tools, guidance and a nuanced, in-depth understanding of how the market really works to help them en- sure success." Through a hands-on, focused approach, Born Wild Brands will work with founders and entrepreneurs on all aspects of their businesses. As former founders, operators, investors and bankers, the team at Born Wild Brands understands companies from all ends of the spectrum and are uniquely qualified to position our companies for long-term growth, sustainability and suc- cess. "Zubin is a visionary leader, brand builder and investor, who's sat at every seat of the table and knows what it takes to build a business from the ground up," said Britt West, Founder of Plus Consulting Corp, Eppa Superfruit Sangria and a Senior Advisor to Born Wild Brands. "His exten- sive experience and deep passion for the food and beverage space will provide the perfect counsel for entrepreneurs and founders starting out on their journeys." While its core mission will be to develop and incubate disruptive and innovative brands, Born Wild Brands will be working with a select number of emerging brands to help them with strategic execution. Born Wild Brands is currently incubating new concepts that it expects to start launching in the second half of 2017. GN Agriculture Department Seeks Comments on National Organic Check-off The U.S. Department of Agriculture is tak- ing public comments on a proposal for a na- tionwide research and promotion check-off program for the organic industry. The Or- ganic Trade Association (OTA) hailed the action as a significant step that will advance the growing organic sector and have impor- tant and long-lasting benefits for organic farmers, businesses and consumers alike. "We applaud USDA moving forward on this proposal that was authorized in the 2014 Farm Bill with strong bipartisan sup- port," said Laura Batcha, CEO and Execu- tive Director of OTA. "OTA led the drive for this check-off because the organic industry is at a critical point. This organic check-off will provide research and key tools to en- courage more farmers to go organic and help all organic farmers be more successful. It will educate consumers in a positive way about what that organic seal really means. For the benefit of all of us, this proactive program will further the success of organic agriculture for the long term." Going on public display in the "Federal Register"on January 17, the organic indus- try proposal estimates the organic check-off, referred to as GRO Organic (Generic Re- search and Promotion Order for Organic), could raise over $30 million a year to spend on research to make farmers successful, technical services to accelerate the adoption of organic practices, and consumer educa- tion and promotion of the organic brand. OTA officially submitted an application to USDA in May 2015 on behalf of the or- ganic industry to consider implementing the program after gathering information over three years throughout the country in town hall meetings, panel discussions, sur- veys and phone calls. OTA submitted a re- vised application a year later to reflect alternatives presented to USDA from or- ganic certificate holders. Early in its process, OTA conducted mul- tiple surveys of all organic certificate holders across the nation — some 17,500 stakehold- ers at that time — to gauge the interest in an organic check-off. In the various surveys, OTA got a response of around 5,000 certifi- cate holders, which showed that twice as many certified operators supported the es- tablishment of an organic check-off program as opposed. To date, nearly 1,400 organic stakeholders publicly support the GRO Or- ganic check-off, with 75 percent of those or- ganic certificate holders being farmers and ranchers, according to the OTA. "The time is right for a research and pro- motion check-off program designed for the organic sector. It's time for organic stake- holders to invest back in our movement— to fund research to help organic farmers, to create and initiate projects to nurture new organic farmers. An organic check-off will allow us to speak to the American con- sumer in a strong and unified voice." said Melissa Hughes, President of OTA's Board of Directors and Director of Government Affairs for Organic Valley, the nation's old- est organic dairy cooperative. Sales of organic food and non-food prod- ucts in the U.S. are soaring, and the popular- ity of organic products has never been higher. Total organic product sales in this country hit a new benchmark of $43.3 billion in 2015, up a robust 11 percent from the previous year's record level and far outstripping the overall food market's growth rate of 3 percent, according OTA's 2016 Organic Industry Sur- vey. But tight domestic organic supplies, in- adequate funding for organic research, and consumer confusion about organic are major challenges for the sector. Organic stakehold- ers say the organic community needs to come together to invest back into its future. "An organic check-off will provide a sta- ble, reliable source of funding to support research into organic production methods and dissemination of new and existing re- search information to farmers. Check-off funds can support development of support systems necessary to enable expansion and success of organic farmers," said Doug Crabtree, organic farmer from Montana. USDA established a 60-day public com- ment period for interested parties to now weigh in on the proposal. Comments on the proposal are due March 20. The final step will be a referendum on the proposed check-off, with all certified organic stakeholders paying into the program eligible to vote. Approval by a majority of the organic stakeholders voting is required for implementation. GN

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