Discover De La Rosa at KosherFest 2015

Published November 4, 2015

De La Rosa Real Foods & Vineyards, maker of Mediterranean-inspired Kosher, natural, organic and non-GMO foods, will introduce exciting new additions to its product line at KosherFest in Secaucus, New Jersey.

In addition to a full line of natural and organic extra virgin olive oils, sesame oil, grapeseed oil, organic vinegars from Italy, organic tahini sesame butters, premium quality varietal wines made with 100 percent organic grapes, and other “Always Kosher, Always Non-GMO” products, De La Rosa will debut:

Organic Date Jam
Organic Date Syrup
Organic Date Honey
Organic Date Hazelnut Jam
Organic Gluten-Free Sesame Flour
Organic Stevia – Liquid and Granules
Grappa made with 100 percent organic grapes.

Visit in booth #351 November 10-11, 2015. For wholesale inquiries, contact Simcha Lewis, Business Development, by calling 718.333.0333 or emailing info@delarosa613.com.

Herbicide Proliferation and Cancer Link Enough Reason to Require GMO Labeling, Says Advocate

Published November 4, 2015

By Lorrie Baumann

The real reason to be concerned about genetically engineered crops is not food safety. Rather it’s the increased use of the herbicide glyphosate that’s made possible, and perhaps even inevitable, by these crops, according to Gary Hirshberg, Chairman of the advocacy organization Just Label It! as well as Chairman and former President and CEO of Stonyfield Farm.

Read expert opinion about the food safety implications of GMOs here.

Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, was called “probably carcinogenic to humans” in May by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, an agency of the World Health Organization. In the same report, IARC classified the insecticides malathion and diazinon as probably carcinogenic to humans and the insecticides tetrachlorvinphos and parathion as possibly carcinogenic to humans. The report notes limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and lung cancer with evidence from studies of exposures in the U.S., Canada and Sweden published since 2001. “In addition, there is convincing evidence that glyphosate also can cause cancer in laboratory animals,” the report notes.

That report prompted the French government to ban sales of glyphosate to consumers, and retailers in Germany have begun voluntarily pulling products containing glyphosate from their shelves, according to Chemical & Engineering News. Monsanto has asked Intertek Scientific & Regulatory Consultancy to convene a panel of experts to review the IARC report and points to a statement by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, which says it’s too soon to say what the IARC report means because there are a number of long-term studies of the effects of glyphosate on mice and rats that were not considered by IARC. “IARC received and purposefully disregarded dozens of scientific studies – specifically genetic toxicity studies – that support the conclusion glyphosate is not a human health risk,” says a statement issued by Monsanto. “IARC’s classification is inconsistent with the numerous multi-year, comprehensive assessments conducted by hundreds of scientists from countries worldwide who are responsible for ensuring public safety.”

The suspicion that there might be a link between glyphosate and cancer as well as increased use of herbicides on American crops due to the development of glyphosate-resistant weeds should be enough reason to require food manufacturers to label products that contain genetically-modified ingredients, Hirshberg said. “The reality is, how can you say that GMOs are safe when there’s a direct correlation to herbicide use,” he said. “I have not said a word about whether GMOs are safe to eat or not. We don’t bother going there.” Hirshberg made the remarks during Natural Products Expo East, held September 16-19 in Baltimore.

“Though poll after poll has shown that more than 90 percent of consumers want labeling, there is no consistent answer about why people are concerned about GMOs,” he said. “In a civil society, we would let people know, and then let them find out.”

Hirshberg noted that in the 19 years since the first genetically engineered corn was introduced into the marketplace with the promise of crops with higher yields and greater drought-resistance, farmers have seen much different results. “There’s no evidence that there’s been higher yields in corn and soybeans versus non-genetically engineered crops. There’s no evidence that non-genetically engineered varieties have evolved any faster or any slower than genetically engineered crops,” he said.

He pointed out that use of glyphosate by American farmers has grown greatly because genetically engineered crops are designed to withstand the effects of the herbicide, which means that the herbicide can now be applied throughout the growing season. “Glyphosate is now the most-used agrichemical in our country,” he said.

Increased use of glyphosate and other herbicides has led to the evolution of herbicide-resistant weeds that have become a nuisance to American farmers, according to Hirshberg. “Today, more than 61.2 million acres of U.S. farmland are infested with weeds resistant to Roundup,” he said.

In response, farmers are being encouraged to use a solution of a stronger herbicide, 2,4-D, which is a component of the Agent Orange defoliant used during the Vietnam War, according to Hirshberg. “You have the foxes guarding the henhouse telling us what is and isn’t harmful,” he said. “That was effective for one season, but now we have 2,4-D-resistant weeds being developed. We’re using more and more of this stuff and getting less and less results…. Farmers are becoming more and more dependent on this herbicide treadmill without seeing any effect.”

Glyphosate is commonly found in the air and in rain and streams in Iowa and Mississippi, said environmental scientist Paul Capel, Research Team Leader for the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Quality Assessment Program, who spoke by telephone a few days after Hirshberg’s presentation at NPEE. His team measured the incidence of glyphosate in air and rainwater samples in both Iowa, where glyphosate is primarily used on corn and soybean crops, and in Mississippi, where glyphosate is used on a wider range of crops and in non-agricultural areas throughout the growing season. The analyses found glyphosate in the air in weekly samples taken in Mississippi during the growing season from April through October 86 percent of the time in 2007 and 100 percent of the time in 2008. Glyphosate was found in Mississippi rainwater samples 73 percent of the time in 2007 and 68 percent of the time in 2008.

For rainwater, the USGS team found glyphosate in the water in 73 percent of the samples in 2007 and 68 percent in 2008 in Mississippi. In Iowa, the team found glyphosate in 71 percent of the samples in 2007 and 63 percent of the samples in 2008. Capel was also involved in a 2004 study in Indiana that found glyphosate present in rain water 92 percent of the time.

Despite the chemical’s presence in air and rainwater, there’s little evidence at this point that glyphosate is a danger to groundwater supplies. Studies have shown that glyphosate is rarely detected in shallow groundwater, Capel said. He noted that glyphosate is typically applied by spraying from an airplane or from mechanized equipment near the ground, and as it’s sprayed, some fraction of the chemical enters the air directly, it never makes it to the ground. Of the chemical that does make it to the ground, some will be tied up in the soil, and thus unavailable to percolate into the groundwater.

While Capel’s USGS research documents that glyphosate is frequently found in rivers, streams and the air in areas where it’s heavily used on farm fields, the jury is still out on what that means about the health risk to humans, which depends both on level of exposure and how bioreactive the chemical is, according to Capel. “We’re trying to document environmental concentration off of the farm fields,” he said. “This is the exposure part of the health risk.”

He noted that scientists have associated glyphosate exposure with a number of different health issues, including autism, cancer and kidney disease. “Most of these studies are still under debate,” he said. “There’s not a clear linkage between exposure and some sort of detrimental end point…. These are questions that still need to be asked.”

Banning the chemical is not an immediate solution to this problem, according to Hirshberg. “The simple reality is, with fire retardants for an example, it’s been a 30-year fight. You need epidemiological research. You need deep pockets for lobbyists,” he said.

His organization is advocating in favor of mandatory labeling of foods containing GMOs, which he believes would create consumer pressure on manufacturers to exclude GMOs from their products. If farmers couldn’t sell their genetically engineered Roundup Ready crops, they’d revert to conventional crops that can’t withstand glyphosate’s effects, so they wouldn’t spray so much glyphosate, he reasons.

His immediate objective on the way to that larger goal is to stop passage of the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015, which was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in July with the expectation that it would face a tougher fight in the Senate. The bill allows for voluntary labeling of GMO ingredients but prohibits states from requiring mandatory labeling. Opponents of the bill typically refer to it as the DARK Act, which stands for “Denying Americans the Right to Know.”

“Our mission is not just to stop this bill,” Hirshberg said. “Our mission is to get mandatory labeling…. The real critical societal question is if we’re going to be a society that’s satisfied with labeling the absence, or are we going to say what’s in it…. The reality is we vote every time we shop, and unless we have information, we can’t vote…. The other side has spent over $100 million denying your right to know. What are they hiding?”

Authentic Italian Food at a Fair Price from Cibo California

Published November 4, 2015

By Lorrie Baumann

Just as California’s Silicon Valley has a justly deserved worldwide reputation as a center of excellence in computing and information technology, Italy has a “Food Valley” with an equally deserved worldwide reputation, according to Massimo Cannas.

Cannas is an Italian-American food importer and broker who’s a familiar figure in the exhibit halls of the Fancy Food Shows, particularly in the Italian food areas, as well as throughout the entire specialty food industry. He founded specialty food brokerage MAXCO International in 1995 and has clients across the country. Now, he’s expanding his enterprises with the founding of Cibo California, a new specialty food import business based in southern California. Federico Pavoncelli is the company’s Co-Founder and Executive Vice President. “I am so proud that he has joined the company and shares its vision,” Cannas says. “He is a great person that I respect very much.”

As President and CEO of Cibo California, Cannas plans to source a wide selection of authentic Italian food specialties and import them into the U.S. He and his partners, all first-generation Italian-Americans who speak Italian as their native language, will use their knowledge of Italian culinaria as well as their Italian language skills and their ability to navigate the culture to bring authentic Italian specialty food products to an American public that’s eager to taste them, Cannas says. “Thanks to my relationships with the food producers, I have had the opportunity to find products from suppliers who have opened every door to me,” he says. “My face is known there, and I have had the chance to explain what the company is about..

The Italian foods that most Americans are already familiar with are but a small sampling of the range of authentic and delicious products that are being produced for commercial sale in Italy today, according to Cannas. Over the past 30 years or so, the Italian specialty foods industry has developed from a few large companies that made products characteristic of the owners’ culinary traditions. For years, those companies dominated the export market to the U.S., leaving many Americans with the impression that once they’d tasted, and come to love, those products, they knew all there was to know about Italian food.

But Italy is a country, not with a few basic recipes for foods that the entire country has in common, but with a multitude of intensely local culinary traditions, Cannas says. As he speaks, the Italian-accented words begin to tumble over themselves as they rush to explain why this is important to American consumers. “When you drive for 10 miles in Italy, you find yourself every 10 miles in a new Italy. Nothing is similar to what you tasted 10 miles ago. In Italy, we have dialects. Every 10 miles, there is a different dialect. Everyone speaks Italian, but between neighbors, they speak local dialects. With that, the varieties of wine are different. The kind of bread is different. The pasta, the soup, the meat, the fish, the cured meats, the cheese, the extra virgin olive oil, the wine, the mineral water, the cookies, they’re all different. This is why Italy is so very interesting to the food lover. It’s always a discovery, day after day.”

“For an example, recently I found a producer who makes what I consider the very best hand-made breadsticks,” he continues. “We drove for six hours in the rain and wind to arrive for a visit with this artisan that produces these breadsticks, which are very unique. It’s a family-owned company, and after a couple of hours, they have granted us the exclusive right for distribution in the U.S. Now it’s up to us to translate this to the American consumers and to restaurants, but we are positive that we are going to be successful…. Americans today are excited to discover these new things coming from Italy. It’s no longer spaghetti and meatballs and pizza. There are specialty foods from every region to be discovered here. This is what we are trying to do. This is exactly why Cibo California is excited to discover for all of our customers and for everyone who loves food and who loves Italy.”

For more information, visit www.cibocalifornia.com or call Cibo California at 949.427.5555. To place orders, call 800.991.5199.

Meat Alternative Appeals to Mainstream Consumers

Published November 4, 2015

By Dan Wilkins

Meat alternative Quorn, the market leader in the U.S. natural foods channel, is quickly gaining mainstream acceptance for a product line whose protein comes from fungi. “The specific type of fungi allows the mimicking of the taste of real meat with much better health benefits,” says Sanjay Panchal, General Manager of Quorn Foods USA. The Mycoprotein in Quorn products is a complete protein that’s naturally low in saturated fat and high in fiber, according to Panchal. “It has as much protein as an egg, as much fiber as broccoli,” he said.

The products contain no soy or GMOs, and the protein source is also environmentally friendly, with a carbon and water footprint that’s about 90 percent less than beef and 75 percent less than chicken, Panchal said. “In addition to the great health benefits and environmental benefits, our food just tastes amazing,” he said. “I’ve got three sons, age 9, 7 and 3, and we, probably once or twice a week, we replace their chicken nuggets with Quorn nuggets, and they Hoover them.”

Five products in the Quorn line are gluten free: Grounds, a product that substitutes for crumbled ground meat; Chik’n Tenders; Chik’n Cutlet, Turk’y Roast and Bacon Style Slices. “It gives folks looking for a gluten-free option another opportunity to use a food like ours in their recipes to satisfy their specific dietary restrictions,” Panchal said.

Quorn appeals to consumers who want to eat less meat but also want both convenience and the flexibility to adapt recipes that already work for them. “Our food doesn’t just attract vegetarians,” he added. “What you’ll find is people like our family who are complete carnivores, but if they’re looking for a way to reduce the meat in their diet, for whatever reason, this appeals. The appeal of a meat alternative, and Quorn specifically, is very broad and broadening…. Our growth rate year to date is 29 percent in sales versus a year ago and growing across all channels. We’re really pleased with our performance.”

The product line includes options like Grounds that will work for the consumer who has the time and the desire to cook meals like spaghetti Bolognese from scratch but also includes heat and eat options like Jalapeno and Three Cheese Stuffed Chik’n Cutlets for the consumer who values speed and convenience. “It’s really easy to prepare on weeknights. It’s basically straight out of the freezer and into the pan or the oven,” Panchal said. “With the nuggets, it’s 10 minutes to eating it…. With the Grounds, you mix it with a little water, taco seasoning and cheese and make it into a quesadilla. It’s a really simple food to make, and that’s why we like it as a family.”

Quorn products retail for $3.69 to $4.99 every day, depending on the retailer, for a package that serves four people. Quorn is distributed nationally.

Cheesemongers with Passion and Panache

Published November 3, 2015

By Lorrie Baumann

Conner Pelcher

I met Connor Pelcher, a Wholesale Account Manager for Murray’s Cheese, one morning over breakfast during the American Cheese Society’s Cheese Camp, after my attention was drawn to him by one of his co-workers who asked him if he was wearing his flamingo socks. He reared back in his chair and raised his leg above the table to demonstrate that, yes, the flamingo socks were sur les pieds.

I missed seeing the matching flamingo shirt that he’d also bought after he’d run out of shirts during his stay at Cheese Camp. “I went to the mall, saw a flamingo shirt, and then I saw the flamingo socks,” he says. “As a salesperson, I like to dress in a way that people will remember. The better dressed you are, the more visually impactful you are. That might help people think about me when they have a question about cheese.”

Pelcher started his career in the food industry as an escape from the reality that a college graduate with a degree in English has when realizing the limited options for turning that degree into a well-paid career. “Anyone who has a degree in English can tell you the feeling of fear you get when you get handed that diploma,” he says. “That fear led me back to Vermont, where I grew up.”

Back in Vermont, he began exploring a passion for cooking and applied to the New England Culinary Institute. “I got a call the same week to say they loved my essay and were looking for people who were passionate and who were looking for a second career,” he says. After graduation from culinary school, he moved to New York and began moving up the ladder in white-tablecloth restaurants until he found himself the general manager of a restaurant and two bars in the East Village, and it dawned on him that he was having more to do with spreadsheets and personnel rosters than with actual food. “I took a step away from that and thought about where I could focus myself,” he says. “I had always been obsessed about beer and wine and cheese, so I sent a resume to Murray’s. I went in and got myself hired as a junior sales person.”

He still remembers what he said in that interview, he says. He mentioned “that cheese with the ash.” Humboldt Fog? the interviewer asked, and he agreed that, yes, that’s the one he had in mind. “It was laughable. Now I could talk to you for an hour about my favorite cheeses.”

He’s now been at Murray’s for two years, has become an American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional and he’s now teaching some of the classes he attended to learn about cheese. Pelcher says he’s more excited now than he was when he started the job. “At Cheese Camp, I got to meet some cheese celebrities. I got to taste a million things that I never even would have known about,” he says. “The panels were incredible – some of the brightest minds, a confluence of some of the best thinkers that the cheese world has to offer. To be allowed to ask questions of them, to have four people that you deeply respect and that you read about answering a question for you…. Someday I’d like to be on one of those panels and to have people look up at me and applaud.”

Chad Farmer-Davis

Chad Farmer Davis, a Kroger Enterprise Set-up Specialist who opens Murray’s Cheese Shops inside partner stores across the country, also remembers the job interview that led to his career in cheese. He’s from Illinois, and he’d never even seen a cheese shop when he applied six years ago for what was supposed to be just a summer job. “I said I was an expert. I ate Kraft every day,” he says. “That was my entire cheese knowledge six years ago – Kraft and Velveeta.”

Much as he loves eating good cheeses now, his favorite part of his job is working with the people he meets as he travels the country, “training new cheese people and spreading the word on curd.” “There are literally so many crazy people in cheese culture. These are people that you tend to be attracted to,” he says. “When I was a kid, I was so focused on Star Wars. When I grew up, it transferred to cheese.”

When he trains new cheesemongers who aren’t yet as obsessed as he is with cheese, he likes to point out that talking about cheese is an easy way to start a conversation with a stranger. “There are so many kinds of people, but most people love cheese, and you can definitely bond with people over cheese. You can start a conversation about cheese, and it leads to, oh, I made a new friend,” he says. “You can meet a lot of new and interesting people, and it makes you a better person because you’re learning so much about other people.”

Like Pelcher, Farmer-Davis’ was once one of those liberal arts graduates willing to think for food. Now, he’s become one willing to spend the rest of his career thinking about food. “This is now a permanent career – one I thought I’d never have,” he says. “It was something that took me by surprise. I fell in love with it the very first day. I’m definitely not going to walk away from it, ever. It’s something that I love to do, and it makes my life extremely interesting.”

Jill Davis

Like Pelcher, Cheesemaster and ACS Certified-Cheese Professional Jill Davis started out as a chef. She now works for Kroger at a new Murray’s Cheese Shop inside a Decatur, Georgia store, but before she joined Kroger, she was working for KitchenAid, teaching cooking classes and offering demonstrations to show kitchenware retailers how to use KitchenAid appliances. Before that, she’d worked at Sur Le Table teaching classes in cooking and knife skills, and she’s spent five years as a chocolatier. She intends for Kroger to be her last employer before she retires.

She came to work for Kroger after KitchenAid closed its Atlanta facility. “I’d been a long-time customer of Murray’s and got an email that said, ‘Coming Soon to Atlanta,” she says. “I called directly to New York.”

A Murray’s staffer in New York put her in touch with the Kroger hiring manager in Atlanta, who interviewed her for five minutes and then handed her an airline ticket to leave the next day for training in New York. “I got the whole Murray’s tour and then came back here and directly became a cheesemonger and in charge of the shop,” she says.

“Murray’s is extremely thorough in training, not only about cheese, but about merchandising and the product itself. There are product sheets on every single thing you sell: name of the farmer, name of the cheesemaker, nutritional information, some factoids to help you remember it. You need to have all of this information before you even begin a demo, plus all of this information is on every single sign, which also contains pairings and information on pronunciation,” she continues. “They also bring in their people to teach you the proper way, the Murray’s way, of cutting each cheese within each family of cheeses and how they’re merchandised and displayed.”

Her new shop has about 100 different cheeses, an olive and antipasti bar, a case of charcuterie, pickles, jams and chocolates. Crackers sit on top of he cheese cases. While most of the cheese is cut to order, there are also some grab-and-go precuts because many of the Kroger stores are open 24 hours a day and some customers choose not to interact with the cheesemonger.

“For me, it’s all about the cheese. I like talking to my customers every day. I want to have customers, people who come in and ask for me and say they’re having people over and want to know what to serve,” she says. “Everything – the bottom line – is customer service. It’s not all about the cheese; it’s all about the customer.”

Discover the Magic of Miso

Published November 3, 2015

If there’s one “secret” ingredient that can enhance your favorite recipes, miso just might be it. It’s a soybean paste fermented with rice, barley or other grains. Miso adds umami or savory notes to food, and is a staple ingredient in Japan. In Japanese cooking, miso has long been prized for its salty, complex flavor as well as its nutrition benefits. Miso includes probiotics (naturally occurring live bacteria in cultured and fermented foods) that are good for the digestive system, and is a high-protein food (approximately 2 grams of protein per 1 tablespoon). It’s also versatile, not only because of the way it enhances other ingredients, but also because it comes in a variety of colors, flavors and textures, each with its own uses in cooking.

White (shiro) miso has the sweetest flavor of the miso types and is made with soybeans and rice. Of the three types, it is fermented for the shortest length of time. Despite its name, the color is actually pale yellow. The mild flavor makes it a natural choice for salad dressings, and it adds salty and savory notes to soup.

Yellow (shinshu) miso is darker than white miso, and is fermented longer. It is made by fermenting soybeans with barley and adds a nutty flavor to foods. It’s often used in soups, and works well for light marinades. Use instead of butter when mashing potatoes to achieve a richer flavor and to reduce the need for added salt. Whisk or blend yellow miso with sesame oil and mirin (rice wine) for an Asian-inspired tofu marinade.

Red (aka) miso, is the saltiest version, and has the most depth and boldness of flavor because it has been fermented the longest time. Its flavor complements meats and other robust foods.

Miso is made by combining cooked soybeans, sea salt, grains and a starter culture. It is fermented for a few months, or up to a few years. Depending on how long the soybeans are fermented and which grains are used, the flavor and color vary. In general, the darker the miso paste, the more intense the flavor. Here are some ways you can discover the magic of miso for yourself:

Mix miso with condiments such as butter or mayonnaise to add depth and dimension to the flavor of sandwiches and snacks. Enhance the flavor of soups (prepared or homemade) by adding a little white or yellow miso. Add a small dab of red miso to meat glazes. Experiment with desserts by stirring a teaspoon or two of miso into chocolate cake batter.

The Soyfoods Council offers recipes for salads, soups, and entrees that demonstrate the flavor range and versatility of miso. Entrée ideas include Miso-Marinated Salmon with Edamame Soy Stir Fry and Sirloin Steak with Black Soybean Salsa and Miso Orange Sauce. The orange sauce recipe combines raw sugar, rice vinegar, orange juice, white miso, mirin (rice wine), butter and achiote powder. The miso marinade for salmon features white miso, mirin, tamari (similar to soy sauce) and cayenne pepper. Other recipe suggestions include soups such as Creamy Kale Miso Soup, featuring yellow miso, tofu and low sodium vegetable broth, and Miso Chicken Soup with Snow Peas and Tofu with ginger and miso paste flavoring the stock.

Talenti Gelato Celebrates the Season with Traditional Flavors

Published November 3, 2015

Talenti Gelato is bringing back three seasonal favorites:

For the pumpkin flavor fanatic, Pumpkin Pie blends brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin and then adds real pie crust pieces for a delicious take on a holiday treat.
Want a beverage and dessert in one? Meet Old World Eggnog, which is a rich and creamy interpretation of the traditional holiday drink, with fresh egg yolks, pure vanilla extract and fragrant nutmeg.
And last but certainly not least is Peppermint Bark, an indulgent gelato that combines semisweet Belgian Callebaut chocolate with a smooth and refreshing peppermint base.

The flavors are available nationwide for a limited time only starting mid-October at a suggested retail price of $4.99-$5.99, so consumers can enjoy and indulge while supplies last.

Kontos Foods Launches Kontos Rustics Collection Tandoori-Style Naan

Published November 3, 2015

Kontos Foods, Inc., a U.S.-based manufacturer and distributor of traditional Greek and Mediterranean foods, announced the launch of Kontos Rustics Collection™, Tandoori-style naan bread in original and garlic flavors.

“Kontos Rustics Collection Tandoori Naan breads are light and fluffy, providing a great accompaniment to virtually any meal,” said Steve Kontos, Vice President of Kontos Foods. “Restaurants and home cooks can use the Rustics Collection to create new and exciting fusion cuisine offerings. They offer all the goodness and functionality of breads and wraps, with great taste and authentic Tandoori taste and texture.”

The new oblong-shaped naan bread, targeted at retail outlets, restaurants and food service establishments, contains no added preservatives. The naan come two to a pack in a re-sealable bag with a zipper-style closure, in packaging that allows retailers to stack them on a shelf or hang them from a peg.

Within the coming months, Kontos Foods will be introducing two additional Rustics Collection flavors: Whole Wheat and Onion. The Rustics Collection extends Kontos’ current line of over 50 ethnic-style breads, including Massala Nan, Kulcha Nan, Roghani Nan, Missy Roti, and Pan Planos.

Naan bread, one of the world’s first flatbreads, originated around 2600 BC in Tandoor ovens in India. Naan became a staple of ancient India, evoking delicious flavor, versatility and portability – the world’s first flatbread. The word “naan” is derived from the Persian word “non” which refers to “bread.”

Kontos Rustics Collection Naan breads can be used for sandwiches, personal pizzas, toasted, or eaten right out of the package to accompany dips such as hummus, baba ghanoush, tzatziki sauce, salsas, onion, or vegetable dip. The breads are ideal paired with soups or stews, or as a base for Mexican dishes such as huevos rancheros. Served with a dipping dish of extra virgin olive oil, the Rustics Collection also works well in a breadbasket. The naan can even be used as satisfying breakfast bread, providing fiber in every serving.

“U.S. retail outlets are embracing the Kontos Rustics Collection because of their authentic flavor, texture, shape and versatility. We’re also receiving a very positive response from our retailers in Canada and the Caribbean, showing that this bread has widespread appeal,” said Warren Stoll, Marketing Director of Kontos Foods. “This naan bread is re-invigorating the Indian and South Asian bread category.”

Kontos sells its products to retailers and foodservice establishments across North America and globally. Find Kontos Foods on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Kontosfoods and follow the company on Twitter @KontosFoods.

Fisher Goes Nuts to Feed Hungry Texans

Published November 2, 2015

Fisher® nuts announced a statewide campaign to bring Texas communities together to help feed families in need this holiday season. In its fourth year partnering with Feeding Texas for the Fisher Shares & Cares campaign, Fisher is donating $40,000 that will be used to help feed 400,000 Texas residents throughout the holidays.

Texans from across the state can help Fisher package meals for families in need by participating in one of five Fisher Shares & Cares Volunteer Day events on November 18, 2015. Events will be held at the North Texas Food Bank in Dallas, Houston Food Bank, San Antonio Food Bank, Food Bank of West Central Texas in Abilene and the High Plains Food Bank in Amarillo. Those interested in helping make a positive impact in their communities can sign up to volunteer on November 18 by contacting the nearest participating local Feeding Texas food bank. In San Antonio, Fisher employees from the Selma plant will join their community at the San Antonio Food Bank. Fisher will provide snacks, refreshments and t-shirts at the volunteer events.

“There are so many families in Texas that have to make difficult choices between affording food and other needs,” said Neeraj Sharma, the Selma, Texas Plant Operations Manager for John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc., the manufacturer and distributor of Fisher nuts products. “With the holidays approaching, we’re eager to join together with the community to help make an impact across the state.”

Feeding Texas member food banks distributed enough food for 284 million meals in 2014 nourishing over 3 million Texans through a statewide network of 3,000 soup kitchens, food pantries and local agencies. The organization also helps food banks build the capacity to end hunger by managing statewide food sourcing and purchasing programs, offering expert technical assistance and training, and spreading food bank innovations and best practices statewide.

“There are over 1.7 million Texas families living in food insecure homes, so we are very grateful for the ongoing support from Fisher,” said Celia Cole, Chief Executive Officer at Feeding Texas. “This contribution will help provide meals to thousands of deserving families right in time for Thanksgiving.”

Quinoa with a Conscience

Published November 2, 2015

By Richard Thompson

A southern California quinoa company is bringing about social reform in Bolivia as it works with the indigenous community to provide award-winning products to American tables. Andean Dream is a Fair Trade certified quinoa pasta, soup and cookie company that makes non-GMO, allergen-friendly products that range from Organic Fusilli and Organic Orzo to Coconut and Cocoa-Orange Cookies. The entire line is made from Royal Quinoa – the most nutrient-dense quinoa – and the products are free from hydrogenated oils and gluten along with being allergen-friendly, with no chance of cross contamination since they are made in a dedicated facility free of gluten, eggs, soy, corn and nuts. “Free-from was what everyone was talking about, and we were the first to really do it,” says Andean Dream Founder and President, Ingrid Hirstin-Lazcano.

The cookies, which launched in 2006, are offered in Chocolate Chip, Coconut, Cocoa-Orange and Cafe Mocha varieties. Each contains only 2.5 grams of sugar, says Hirstin-Lazcano. “My personal favorite goes between the Cafe Mocha and Coconut, but the best seller in the line is Chocolate Chip.”

The pasta line includes Organic Fusilli, Organic Macaroni, Organic Shells, Organic Orzo and Organic Spaghetti. Each is made gluten- and corn-free, is vegan friendly, organic- and kosher-certified, is non-GMO and is produced in an allergen-friendly facility. Each 8-ounce box of pasta contains 24 grams of protein. “Our Organic Vegetarian Quinoa Noodle Soup was originally seasonal, but we’re bringing it back to the marketplace,” says Hirstin-Lazcano.

Andean Dream started out as an ordinary cookie company in 2006 but quickly blossomed into a specialty food/social justice project under the leadership of Hirstin-Lazcano, who was inspired to practice conscientious capitalism to help bring jobs, medical benefits and retirement pensions to single mothers and disabled individuals throughout the poorest regions of Bolivia. “I wanted to create a value-added product that could aid indigenous farmers and workers in Bolivia,” she says. Already involved with the Bolivian community in Los Angeles, she learned of the circumstances regarding the poverty stricken regions in Bolivia from her husband, Fernando Lazcano Dunn, a 25-year diplomat who worked as Consul General of Bolivia in Los Angeles at the time, and sought out a solution that aligned with her personal convictions.“They are close to my heart and I wanted to see everyone have an equal opportunity,” says Hirstin-Lazcano, “I wanted to help raise their standard of living.”

According to 2015 Central Intelligence Agency World Fact Book, 45 percent of Bolivia’s population lives under the poverty line (based on the international standard of two dollars a day) with three out of four people in rural areas living in poverty. The Rural Poverty Portal, a forum that discusses the difficulties of rural life in Bolivian regions, notes that women and young people are particularly vulnerable to poverty and food insecurity.

“I wanted to bring attention to the situation over there and provide single mothers that don’t have jobs – or are working menial labor – and help give them a regular respectable job,” says Hirstin-Lazcano.

Hirstin-Lazcano spent two weeks traveling through Bolivia in 2006 to find the right co-packer that could provide large scale manufacturing at a local level, offer jobs and provide advancement to native farmers. Hirstin-Lazcano says that she was able to find a co-packer that would work with locals as well as provide benefits such as medical care and retirement pensions that they wouldn’t have ever gotten before. Currently, the co-packer that works with Andean Dream is employing between 20 to 25 indigenous people for Andean’ Dream’s manufacturing, many of whom have received promotions to higher management positions. “There are always new opportunities as we grow, and as we grow our facility for production, many others will be hired for satellite locations,” says Hirstin-Lazcano.

One particular story that stands out for Hirstin-Lazcano is that of a deaf and mute woman who had been resigned to harsh janitorial work and would have been stuck there had it not been for Andean Dream’s project. Edith was hired and was eventually promoted into a supervisor position. “She would’ve never been able to do that before,” says Hirstin-Lazcano, “Because of her employment, both of her sons are able to go to university. One is studying to be a dentist, and the other an architect.”

In addition to the company’s social activism in Bolivia, Andean Dream was the Official Cookie Sponsor in the Special Olympic World Games, providing 48,000 cookies to athletes as well as regularly giving away products to local charitable foundations, food-banks and organizations focused on inner-city kids with economic challenges.

When asked about how her work makes her feel, Hirstin-Lazcano isn’t shy about answering: “We’re socially minded … and helping to provide opportunities to individuals who need a better life is our Andean Dream.”

This story was originally published in the November 2015 issue of Gourmet News.

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