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True Story Making a Stir with Berkshire Fresh Pork

By Lorrie Baumann

True story: Phil Gatto just loves making hams and sausages so much that a 40-year career with a major meat processor just wasn’t enough for him – he had to help start another meat processing company, where he and his four co-Founders are making antibiotic-free deli meats and organic sausages and hot dogs. “I didn’t think I’d done my best work yet, so I wasn’t ready to retire,” he says. “I’m probably more enthusiastic about good food and further processing than I ever was in my career.”

Gatto is one of the co-Founders of True Story Foods, a company they’re building around the idea that cured and processed meats can be produced with responsible husbandry and without antibiotics and that they can make their supply chain transparent from farm to consumer. “We work with farmers and ranchers who care for their animals and land the old-fashioned way – with genuine respect, appreciation, and sense of responsibility,” Gatto says. “We believe it’s our job to support them every way possible. That’s why we pay better than market rate. By doing so, we not only build meaningful relationships with people who share our values, but also a model that is sustainable and attractive to farmers. This is critical to building a new generation of farmers for the future.”

One of the company’s newest products is True Story Berkshire Non-GMO fresh pork, a 2018 Nexty winner, which is from hogs that are from heirloom lines of the Berkshire breed which is prized for its extraordinary marbling and deep cherry color. The meat has a unique flavor, with a sweeter taste than mainstream pork. The hogs are raised with Non-GMO Project-verified feed on family farms with enhanced outdoor access (certified by the Global Animal Partnership). The company released its Chicken – Apple & Wildflower Honey Sausage this year, too.

True Story’s Black Forest Ham is Gatto’s personal favorite among the meats the company is producing because he likes knowing that he can go back to the farm where the pork that goes into it was raised, he says. That farm belongs to Russ Kremer, another of the co-Founders in the venture, a fifth-generation Missouri farmer who has been raising pigs since he was five years old. When he returned from college in the early 1980s, he adopted industry trends and started raising hogs in a conventional manner until his eyes were opened to the dangers of allowing antibiotics to infiltrate the human food chain after he contracted an antibiotic-resistant infection that was passed onto him from one of his pigs. That incident changed his mind about the best way to raise animals for human consumption, and in 2001, he founded a cooperative of farmers who shared his new beliefs about raising livestock without antibiotics, growth enhancers or hormones in an environment in which they’re able to express their natural behaviors. “Russ is growing heritage-breed hogs, Berkshire, Tamworth and Duroc. He has oversight of the pork supply for True Story,” Gatto says. “He knows what he’s raising. If you go back and pick the very best breeds and you raise them in the best environment, and you’re conscious about the feed, you’ll end up with a very good quality pork…. Pork is going to make a resurgence as a very delicious meat that has red color and marbling.”
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While pork is the protein that’s dearest to Gatto’s heart, True Story’s line includes a range of deli meats that are Non-GMO Project Verified, organic deli meats made from chicken and turkey as well as pork, organic chicken and pork sausages and organic and pasture-raised beef hot dogs. The company was founded in 2011 and made its national launch last March at Natural Products Expo West.

The quality of the products is a direct result of the care with which the animals are raised, according to Gatto. “We have a community of people involved all the way from the farmer. People start to get excited about their food and what it should taste like. A ham should taste like a good holiday dinner,” he says. “When you get everybody in the supply chain around the same table, it’s interesting how excited everyone gets. When you see people enjoying the food… There are consumers who ask where their food came from, and we’re proud to tell them.”

Once the meat leaves the farm, it’s harvested humanely and then processed in the San Francisco Bay Area with traditional methods that protect the flavors of the meat, according to Gatto. “A lot of the meats we eat today have been more industrialized, and we felt that if we went back to traditional practices, we could get meat that was more like we ate a couple of generations ago,” he says. “We go back to the old recipes, and we find consumers who are not concerned so much about cost as where they can buy it because of how good it tastes. A lot of times, that’s in the texture of the meat and the bite of the meat and how you can appreciate that in a sandwich.”

Gatto hopes that after the True Story products leave the processing facility, they’ll reach consumers who care enough about their food to take the time to enjoy them. “Food should be fun, shouldn’t it? At the end of the day, we’re in the food business. We want to sit around the table with a ham sandwich and a salad and share some good stories. Is that too idealistic?” he says. “Consumers are looking for this kind of food. We’re asking consumers if you believe, and want to have transparency, then go to your local supermarket and tell them, ‘We’d like to have True Story.’… When you put food on the table, differences disappear, and it’s the food that brings you together.”

Lighthouse Free Kitchen Organized to Provide Services in Wake of Hurricane Florence

The Lighthouse Free Kitchen, a non-profit effort sponsored by top-selling natural soap brand, Dr. Bronner’s, and the leading organic dairy brand Organic Valley, America’s largest cooperative of organic farmers, with support from Carolina Disaster Relief, the Cajun Navy Foundation, and Sanderson Farms, is providing food, water, and other basic services to those in need, in the wake of Hurricane Florence. The kitchen is located at the Lighthouse Worship Center at 98 S. Trade St., Rocky Point, North Carolina, and is open from 10 am to 8 pm daily.

“We have set up the Lighthouse Free Kitchen at the Lighthouse Worship Center in Rocky Point, North Carolina, an area that has been heavily impacted by Hurricane Florence,” says Amanda Krause, co-founder of this effort. “Our mission is to serve high quality meals and provide water, and other basic services to those in need. We welcome volunteers and donations of food and other supplies.”

The kitchen opened on Friday, September 28, and served 730 meals its first day; more than 1,000 meals were served on Saturday, September 29, and 1,700 on Sunday, September 30. The head chef of Lighthouse Free Kitchen is Chef Mike Perez, of Dr. Bronner’s in San Diego, and is leading the preparation of healthy, nutritious fresh meals for this effort, along with a crew of five to 10 volunteers in the kitchen to support meal preparation and cleaning.

“Dr. Bronner’s is proud to support this important effort,” says David Bronner, Chief Executive Officer of top-selling natural soap brand, Dr. Bronner’s. “We have procured equipment, and are financing key staff on the ground to set up and manage the operation while coordinating with local community organizers and volunteers. In times of crisis, it’s awesome to see our partners in this effort step up and put progressive values into action. This effort truly embodies the ‘All-One’ spirit and message of my granddad, our company founder, Emanuel Bronner.”
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The Lighthouse Free Kitchen is open to all those who come for a meal, regardless of religious, racial, gender, class, national or political identity, and seeks to be a safe space for the community to gather and heal, during recovery from Hurricane Florence.

“Organic Valley has been on the front line in responding with in-kind products, equipment, volunteers and financial support through many disasters over the years,” says George Siemon, Chief Executive Officer and a founding farmer of Organic Valley. “It’s been rewarding to me personally, along with staff and many of our farmers, to serve in these times of disaster.”

For more information on the kitchen, to donate, or volunteer, contact Amanda Krause: help@grassrootsaidpartnership.org.

FDA Asks for Input on Use of Dairy Food Names in Labeling Plant-Based Products

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is issuing a request for information as it examines its approach to the use of dairy food names like “milk,” “cheese,” or “yogurt” in the labeling of plant-based foods and beverages.

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Earlier this year, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced FDA’s Nutrition Innovation Strategy (NIS) in a speech to the National Food Policy Conference. The strategy promotes public health through efforts to empower consumers to make better and more informed decisions about their diets and health, fostering the development of healthier food options, and expanding the opportunities to use nutrition to reduce morbidity and mortality due to chronic disease.
As part of its strategy, the FDA is considering approaches to modernize standards of identity, which are regulations that set forward requirements for the content and sometimes the methods used to produce certain foods.
Many dairy products, such as milk, yogurt, and certain cheeses, have standards of identity set by regulation. The regulations were established under the foods’ common or usual names, such as “milk,” “yogurt,” and “cheddar cheese.” These names have continued in common usage and are recognized by the American public as identifying the dairy foods described in the standards.  More recently, these names have appeared in the labeling of plant-based products as part of the name or statement of identity of the product.  Some examples include “soy milk” or “almond milk” and “vegan mozzarella cheese.”  
The FDA supports choice and innovation in the marketplace and recognizes that some consumers may prefer to use plant-based products instead of dairy products for a variety of reasons, including an allergy or lifestyle choice. But the FDA has concerns that the labeling of some plant-based products, which can vary widely in their nutritional content, is leading consumers to believe that those products have the same key nutritional attributes as dairy products. And the agency wants to make sure that labeling plant-based products with names that include the names of dairy foods is not misleading to consumers.
So the FDA is soliciting public input to answer the following questions:
  • How do you use plant-based products?
  • What is your understanding of dairy terms like milk, yogurt and cheese when they are used to label plant-based products?
  • Do you understand the nutritional characteristics of plant-based products? Do you know how they’re different from each other? Do you know how their nutritional qualities compare with dairy products?
Over the next year, the FDA will be looking at next steps, which will include issuing guidance for industry. This would clarify FDA’s thinking regarding the labeling of plant-based products with names that include the names of dairy foods while giving manufacturers adequate notice about any changes.
Comments must be submitted on or before 60 days after date of publication in the Federal Register.
  • To submit electronic comments, go to https://www.regulations.gov.
  • Written comments must be sent to: Docket Management Staff (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
Further instructions can be found in the Request for Information.