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GOURMET NEWS DECEMBER 2017 www.gourmetnews.com Naturally Healthy NATURALLY HEALTHY 1 5 One Degree of Organics: Fostering Relationships Between Farmers and Consumers BY LORRIE BAUMANN One Degree Organic Foods is a Canadian company built around the idea that con- sumers deserve to know the farmers who are producing their food. The company's packaging for its granola, breakfast cereal, bread and ingredients products includes a QR Code that leads shoppers back to videos hosted on the company's website that introduce the farmers who supply in- gredients for the product. "It matters because people have gotten out of touch with where their food comes from," says Rickard Werner, General Man- ager of One Degree Organic Foods, which is based in Abbotsford, British Columbia. "In this day and age, it truly is a mystery.... That's one of the reasons why farmers mar- kets are so popular. They like to meet the farmer, and we offer them the opportunity to do that in the cereal aisle." The company launched its first-to-market traceable, organic and glyphosate-tested tor- tillas and Sprouted Gluten-Free Oats at this year's Natural Products Expo East. The Sprouted Corn Tortillas include just four in- gredients – organic, non-GMO whole-grain corn, organic lime, water and organic guar gum. The Sprouted Whole Grain Tortillas are hand-crafted from sprouted hard red spring wheat and extra virgin olive oil. "With the tortillas, it takes a little sugar to activate the yeast. Even with that little bit of sugar – we went to Paraguay to meet the sugar farmer," adds Lauren Pis- copo, the company's Marketing Commu- nications Manager. "It's [One Degree Organics is] a fam- ily-owned and fam- ily-run company, and the family went to all the farms to vet the ingredients." The company was founded late in 2010 and introduced its first products to the market in 2012. From the beginning, Son- dra Houghton and her husband Danny Houghton, the daughter and son-in-law of the company's founder, Stan Smith, were touring farms and making videos there as they built the company's supply chain for its organic products, Piscopo said. "We start with the sort of high-level quality in- dicators, organic certification – all products are certified, Non GMO Project verified. Many of them are vegan certified, many of them are gluten-free certified. "We like to think we take those standard indicators of quality and take it to a higher level with the transparency that's taken back to the farm.... We believe there should be one de- gree of separation between you and your farmer, and we provide that link." Smith, who has been involved in sustain- able production of grain products since 1989, most notably as the President and Founder of Silver Hills Bakery. As he was sourcing the in- gredients for his Silver Hills products, Smith became aware that some of the products of- fered to him by vendors outside the U.S. and Canada didn't have the kind of reliable organic quality he was used to. "He wanted to create a supply chain that was 100 percent transpar- ent and reliable, so he decided that he had to meet each supplier and ensure that they met his standards," Piscopo said. The company is in the process of re- branding, and new packaging will be rolling out in 2018 that further clarifies the company's philos- ophy, with a design that puts the product name in a ring that symbolizes a closed loop between con- sumer and farmer to- gether with the company's tag line, "All ingredients from farmers we know."One Degree Products are distributed nationwide in U.S., mostly by grocers specializing in natural foods. "There should never be more than one degree of separation between the farm and the con- sumer," Smith said. "We believe that every- one deserves traceability in everything they eat, so our team visits every supplier and does its homework to ensure honest sourc- ing, a clean food supply and a commitment to sustainability." GN Bare Snacks Launches bare Organic Chia Coconut Bites Bare Snacks ® is launching bare ® Organic Chia Coconut Bites, a USDA-certified or- ganic spin on the company's line of bare Chia Coconut Bites. Available in the same flavors, including Chia + Vanilla, Chia + Pineapple and Chia + Flax, bare Organic Chia Coconut Bites give consumers an or- ganic superfood snack that combines the power of chia and coconut into one tasty bite. "When we launched bare Chia Co- conut Bites earlier this year, we wanted to introduce a new kind of superfood snack – one that follows our 'less is more' ingredient philosophy, while still deliver- ing on nutrition, incredible flavor and maximum crunch appeal," said Santosh Padki, Chief Executive Officer at Bare Snacks. "The launch was met with wide- open arms from both consumers and re- tailers, so developing an organic version that appeals to ingredient-conscious shoppers was only natural. We're excited to upgrade the snack aisle with our new organic line and offer everyone a super- food option for snacking wherever their day takes them." Bare Organic Chia Coconut Bites are made from delicately sliced coconuts that are sustainably harvested, lightly seasoned with whole-food ingredients and baked with a generous sprinkling of chia seeds. The crunchy new snacks are Non-GMO Project Verified as well as certified organic, gluten free, and contain no trans fats, added oils or preservatives. The Chia + Vanilla variety is made from thin slices of organic co- conut slow-baked with authentic Madagascar vanilla and coated with organic chia seeds for an exot- ically satisfying and crunchy bite. Chia + Pineapple Coconut Bites offer tropical or- ganic pineapple that complements the nat- urally sweet flavor of organic coconut, all finished with a dusting of organic chia seeds. Chia + Flax Coconut Bites have a nu- trient-dense combination of two powerful organic seeds, chia and flax, resulting in a super healthy and crunchy duo. Bare Organic Chia Coconut Bites are available now at natural and specialty re- tailers with a retail price of $5.69 for a 2.8- ounce bag. Like all bare snacks, the organic bites are baked, never fried, using bare's proprietary slow-baking process. GN Rogue Ales & Spirits Roasts a Revolution Rogue's Fresh Roast Ale is a break from the norm, roasting Rogue Farms-grown barley in-house with a vintage coffee roaster. After roasting, the brewers rush the barley 273 steps to the brew kettle, creating the signa- ture taste unlike any other beer on the mar- ket. "We wanted to challenge ourselves to do something unique," said Rogue President Brett Joyce. "Fresh Roast highlights every step of the brewing process. We took our Rogue Farms es- tate-grown barley, hand-roasted it, and walked 53 seconds to the brew kettle to capture the freshest taste of roasted bar- ley." Fresh Roast features robust, roasted cof- fee notes without the addition of any actual coffee. It can be found on draft and in six pack 12-ounce bottles now through Febru- ary 2018. GN

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