An R&D expert from the sugar company shares insights on how the sustainable farming practice can benefit food producers, and the planet.

I am 100% sure that you have received a load of “must-have” nutritional advice. The overload of life lessons like this can be quite overwhelming, not to mention scary. I used to go to bed at night questioning my nutrition skills, thinking about how in the world I missed the research proving all of those theories. Well, a quick search or even a phone call to mom (or grams), proved false.

During the last few years, sustainability has received significant attention from many different groups.

On Sept. 26, the two owners of Jensen Farms, were arrested for shipping adulterated food in 2011. The charge was shipping contaminated cantaloupe, which resulted in the death of 33 people and sickened 147 people. The two brothers were arrested on misdemeanor charges of introducing adulterated food into commerce. 

What can bakers do to improve the health of Hispanics? Plenty, and they should do it quickly. Why the urgency? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Latinos—males and females of all ages—have among the highest obesity rates in the United States. 

August marked the completion of the gluten-free labeling rule development process. Published in August 2013 by FDA, the final rule put parameters around the voluntary use of the terms “gluten-free,” “free of gluten,” “no gluten” and “without gluten” on food labels.

According to the January 2015 “Gluten-Free Foods in the U.S., 5th Edition” report from Packaged Facts, Rockville, MD, from 2009–2014, sales of gluten-free products in grain-based categories posted a 34 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

“Sustainability” means different things to different people.

Product recalls in bakery and snack categories have remained consistent over the years, with undeclared allergens the primary cause. These costly recalls are preventable!

Partake, the allergy-friendly snack brand, has teamed up with Marvel for another cookie collaboration that will be sure to "save the day."

The debut of Chips Ahoy! Gluten Free cookies comes on the heels of the brand’s MMMproved Chips Ahoy! Original recipe debut, which brought an improved taste to the chocolate chip cookie.

The brand is introducing a trio of burrito varieties, making restaurant-quality frozen food more accessible.

The launch capitalizes on rising trends in brownie consumption and gluten-free treats.

The redesigned emphasizes the company's commitment to organic, gluten-free ingredients and introduces new convenient sizes for single and family snacking.

Pop culture-infused humor, vibrant design, and a catchy Mariachi riff bridge brand awareness from protein bars into savory snacks.

The company’s goal was to create a treat with the same appearance, taste, and texture profile as its original brownie recipe.

Sweet Diplomacy now has a brick-and-mortar location in Los Altos, CA, a commercial kitchen in Boulder, CO, and an online menu shipping across the U.S.

The new addition to the Myna Snacks lineup is made with real cheese and Italian herbs and seasonings that deliver the taste of pizza in a convenient, crispy, nutritious format.

Schär’s gluten-free Speculoos cookies and Panettone offer options for gluten-free holiday celebrations.

The new gluten-free offerings can meal options for consumers with food sensitivities at Publix stores nationwide.

The sisters who cofounded Janey Lou’s Inc. have come a long way from selling their handmade treats to local convenience stores in the Salt Lake City area. Under the helm of nephew and son Ryan Fillmore, the Orem, Utah-based company has garnered convenience store and foodservice customers throughout the West and Southwest.

Celebrating 20 years in business, with its latest cookbook hot out of the oven, Metropolitan Bakery, Philadelphia, delights in baking delicious breads and creating incredible pastries, popcorn and granola, among other foods. 

Thanks to their new 22,000-sq.-ft. production facility in Cudahy, Wis., the folks at Angelic Bakehouse now have the room, additional equipment and the structure they need to efficiently produce sprouted whole-grain breads, buns, rolls and flatbread/pizza crusts using an unusual process.

Family-owned Ballreich Bros., Tiffin, Ohio, has a large fan base that pines for its various potato chips as well as crispy new shoestring potato sticks, popcorn, pretzels and other snacks. 

Ballreich Bros.’ 75,000-sq.-ft. potato chip and snack plant churns out 2,000-5,000 lb. of product an hour. Manufacturing product on a just-in-time basis, the family owned and operated company in Tiffin, Ohio, also produces new Sweet Potato Chips and shoestring Potato Sticks in three flavors.

It’s Celiac Awareness month, so we explore Enjoy Life Foods, the first bakery to gain gluten-free certification from the Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO). In business 12 years, Enjoy Life’s mission is to make great-tasting, allergy-free, gluten-free cookies, bars and grab-and-go foods that nearly everyone can ‘eat freely’ without worry.

Enjoy Life Foods’ cookies, snack bars, chips, cereals, granolas and trail mixes are made in an allergen-free, gluten-free facility, and the company’s 40,050-sq.-ft. production plant is bulging at the seams to accommodate growing demand for its products. Enjoy Life is expanding at such a rapid pace, it may need to add a facility or relocate to a larger one. 

New influences, trends and preferences are redirecting many bakers to develop and produce new products. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is still a critical issue, as are commodities, private-label products and many business consolidations. 

Using advanced technology, a cross-functional operational strategy and effective collaboration tools, Blue Diamond’s ‘dream plant,’ a multimillion-dollar almond-processing facility in Turlock, CA, is a reality. The nearly 200,000-sq.-ft. site sets new standards of excellence for food safety, processing and building innovation. 

‘Going from good to great’ is a pervasive theme at Phoenix-based Capistrano’s Bakery. So is the phrase, ‘It Can Be Done.’ This rather quiet, wholesale artisan baker works hard to ensure that its products are tasty, innovative and what its customers want. 

Packaging enhancements, a twist on shapes and ingredients and many new flavor combinations continue to win over consumers. 

Chicago Specialty Bakers brings traditional, Old World baked goods to life for today’s discerning consumers.

Golden Boy Pies still retains the homespun ideals of its roots, despite notable expansion over the years—and the future is poised to bring more of the same.

Independent—and rapidly growing—Canyon Bakehouse has set high standards for gluten-free as it strives toward baking only ‘best-to-market’ products.

RW Garcia's high level of innovation has catalyzed an ever-expanding customer base for its gluten-free, non-GMO tortilla chips and crackers.

Today’s market for better-for-you extruded snacks is skyrocketing, with products like veggie straws and other puffed/expanded products finding appeal among shoppers seeking alternatives to traditional offerings.

Tasty, wholesome baked appetizers, meals and desserts that go from freezer to table in minutes are all-stars with today’s busy consumers.

Company: Krispy Kreme, Winston-Salem, N.C.
Website: www.krispykreme.com
Introduced: November 2011
Distribution: National
Suggested Retail: $1.09 for a 4-oz. package of Glazed Chocolate Pie; $4.29 for a 14.9-oz. box of Dipped Cake

In a move toward boldly-flavored, healthful products, manufacturers are finding innovative ways to meet the needs of consumers who favor sweet and savory bakery foods and snacks. Starting with the dessert first, familiar flavors and healthful benefits can be found in many of Wholly Wholesome’s pie products.

On its own, chocolate is a wonderful treat. Marry chocolate with the perfect flavor pairing, and the snack becomes even more memorable. Classic pairings, such as chocolate with peanut butter, raspberry or mint, are here to stay, but adventurous flavors are growing in popularity.

It can be rather tough for sweet goods products these days. The huge movement to better-for-you items hasn’t exactly been good news and a smooth fairway for this category. But bakers and manufacturers of sweet goods, snack cakes and other delectable treats are watching the demands just as closely as producers in other bakery market segments, and heeding the calls.

Cookies are a robust segment within the bakery industry. There are brands that have been around for decades and have become household names, but there are also many up-and-coming brands that offer unique flavors for niche markets and are set to become the next class of pros.

Busy lifestyles and affordability aren’t the only reasons why consumers add frozen baked goods to their shopping cart each week.

Harris Interactive recently released the results of its 2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend study, which analyzed the responses of more than 38,500 consumers on key measures of brand health for more than 1,500 lifestyle, product and service brands. When questioned about the brands they are likely to reach for when craving a salty snack, respondents chose Lay’s Potato Chips—the top-ranked salty snack for the past eight years—followed by two other Frito-Lay North America brands, Doritos and Tostitos.

Pretzels have been around for more than a thousand years, originating in southern Europe around 610 A.D., according to historians. Today, crispy, hard pretzels are consumed by people in many of the countries represented at the 2012 Olympics.

When it comes to the Olympics, most people prefer some sports over others. The same holds true for consumers when it comes to snack foods.

Low in calories, high in fiber—popcorn may just be the perfect natural snack. Of course, that doesn’t stop manufacturers from trying to up the ante by enhancing all the whole grain has to offer. Now, popcorn can be found competing with chips, pretzels and even candy in the snacking Olympics.

Marketers of beef jerky, a favorite of truckers and a staple at gas-station checkouts, want it to be a healthier snack. Makers of the spicy, salty dried treat find that consumers can accept turkey versions and are now stepping up sales with moister, tastier and fancier dried-meat products, some in flavors such as Basil Citrus and Lemon Garlic.

Pork rinds are probably the most misunderstood item in the snack category. This is surprising, because people have been eating pork rinds—also called pork skins—as long as they have been eating pigs. One of the world’s first snack foods created thousands of years ago, and favored in the southern states, pork rinds are a simple combination of fried pork skins and salt.

Rudolph Foods’ Second Annual Pork Rind Appreciation Day campaign will culminate on the biggest football day of the year