2011 Summer Fancy Food Show - Oser Communications Group

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general NEWS www.gourmetnews.com SEPTEMBER 2011 GOURMET NEWS
2012 Good Food Awards launches
with new category, star judges
Five producers picked up by Williams-
Sonoma after dedicated tasting in
December.
U.S. wine consumption up, expected to
keep rising for 5 more years
As the U.S. economy slowly recovers,
the wine industry is regaining
its momentum, with overall wine
consumption rising 2.1 percent in
2010, according to the 2011 Wine
Handbook released in August by
the Beverage Information Group.
The country consumed some
San Francisco-based Seedling
Projects has launched the second
year of the Good Food Awards,
recognizing outstanding quality
and responsible production
among artisan foods from each
of five regions of the U.S.
Key changes are a new category,
Spirits, and an all-star panel
for the blind tasting that is part
of the judging. This year’s panel
is headed by pioneering chef and
303.1 million 9-liter cases in
2010, marking the 17th consecutive
year of case gains.
This positive direction is
directly attributed to the improving
economy and the resulting
increase in consumer confidence.
Consumers are beginning to
local food advocate Alice Waters, contest committee.
and includes as other members The awards now have eight
Ruth Reichl, Amanda Hesser, categories: Beer, Charcuterie,
Merrill Stubbs and Nell Newman. Cheese, Chocolate, Coffee,
The panel judges for quality, Pickles, Preserves and Spirits.
while vetting for sustainability One winner will be selected from
is based on data in entry forms each of five food regions in the
that are verified by an internal Continued on Page 9
spend again, and competition in
the marketplace is fierce.
The dollar’s weaker value has
resulted in a good market for
exports, while imports continued
to be outpaced by their domestic
counterparts. Domestics rose 3
percent to 229.4 million cases,
Two longtime
organic leaders
to be honored by
Organic Trade Assn.
at Natural Products
Expo East
The Organic Trade Association (OTA) has
selected Michael Funk of United Natural
Foods Inc. (UNFI) and Mark Lipson of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) to receive
its prestigious Organic Leadership Awards for
2011. The awards will be given at the Sept.
21 OTA Awards Gala at the Natural Products
Expo East in Baltimore, MD.
“Both Michael Funk and Mark Lipson have
had a long commitment to the organic movement.
Michael has been instrumental in the
growth and advancement of the natural and
organic industry for over 30 years, while Mark
has demonstrated personal commitment,
leadership and vision with regard to advancing
organic farming since the early 1980s,”
said Christine Bushway, OTA’s Executive
Director and CEO.
Funk, UNFI’s Chairman of the Board, will
receive the OTA Organic Leadership Award
in the “Growing Organic Industry” category,
while Lipson, Organic and Sustainable
Agriculture Policy Advisor in USDA’s Office
of the Secretary and Undersecretary for
Marketing and Regulatory Programs, will
receive the award in the “Growing Organic
Agriculture” category.
An organic industry pioneer, Michael Funk
became involved in the mid-1970s when
consumer interest in natural foods began to
blossom. His career began in the Sacramento
Valley with a grassroots organic food business.
Funk formed Mountain People’s Warehouse
(MPW) in 1976. Business soon expanded
beyond produce to include perishables, bulk
and groceries, and grew to become the largest
natural foods distributor in the Western
U.S. During the 1980s, co-ops and natural
health stores began to carry more food items;
a need was created for a distributor with the
buying power to compete on a national level.
In 1996, MPW joined forces with another
regional distributor to form United Natural
Foods Inc. Today, UNFI and its subsidiaries
have grown into an estimated $4.5 billion
organization that distributes approximately
60,000 products to over 23,000 customer
locations, while paying close attention to
the “triple bottom line” of people, planet and
profit. Funk remains passionate about educating
consumers and actively supporting the
organic farming industry with grants, lobbying
and outreach.
Meanwhile, Mark Lipson has been a member
of the Molino Creek Farming Collective in
California since 1983. In the mid-1980s, he
established the statewide office of California
Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), becoming
CCOF’s first paid employee. While there, he
led the development of many of the foundaand
imported wines lost 0.9 percent
to end the year at 73.6 million
cases. Notably, Italy overtook
Australia as the top exporter of
wine to the U.S., with Australian
wine exports to the country down
by 12.5 percent.
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briefs
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