Women in the food industry
There is a risk that if you asked someone to name the preeminent women of the food industry, the response might be “Betty Crocker” or “Sara Lee.”
The problem isn’t that women in the food business don’t deserve notoriety. It’s that the food industry lags in promoting women to the ton where they are visible.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 12 times as many women executives are in banking and finance as in food processing. Female chemical executives outnumber female food executives by 160%. The most similar industry–retail eating and drinking establishments–have almost nine times as many women at the top.
“Given that women have always constituted the bulk of the food market,” observes Glenda Murphy, general manager, frozen and novelties, Weight Watcher’s Food Co., it’s surprising “that the industry is so male dominated.”
But Murphy and the other women profiled in this article don’t ponder why this is so. They’re too busy contributing.
Jenny Carpenter, director of marketing and sales, Dean Foods Specialty Foods Div., is a case in point. This 26-year old food industry veteran says Dean Foods “created an atmosphere that encourages me to grow.” She grew by leading her division to a 45% sales increase over five years.
These women are also emphatic about developing other rising executives–”male and female,” asserts Pepsi Cola Co. COO Brenda Barnes, “both discriminatingly.”
And in their own way, each also echoed Sharon Fordham, Nabisco Biscuit new business vice president, “It is impossible to over-acknowledge tl contribution of teamwork here.”
Brenda Barnes, chief operating officer southern and western regions, PepsiCola Co.
Barnes has been with PepsiCo for 17 years, “virtually my entire career she states. Previously president of Pepsi-Cola South and formerly senior vice president of corporate operations, Barnes picked up the COO title in December 1992.
Barnes now heads a workforce of about 15,000, and is responsible for roughly half of Pepsi’s $7 billion in sales. She guided her regions, contributions to Pepsi’s 22% increase in 1993’s fiscal year first quarter profits
Barnes was a principle architect in the company’s 1992 reorganization to “put decision-making as close to the customer as possible.” This effort necessitated the reexamination of “every single process we use to make, distribute, sell, and measure our success.” It has, in part, resulted in the launch of Crystal Pepsi with cross-country distribution to all types of customers in just four weeks.
Barnes attributes much of her success with PepsiCo to her leadership and ability to grow a business. “I just had someone tell me they thought I was tough, but that I always treated them with dignity and respect. I set the bar high, but make sure people have what they need to jump over it.”
Ophie Cordero, director of research and development, Orval Kent Food Co.
The arrival of Ophie Cordero at Orval Kent in 1979 and the company’s development of 20 new products during the 1980s is no coincidence. Cordero says she was a big part of developing the value-added prepared salad line that Orval Kent markets as Signature salads and which, she claims, have “redefined the salad category.”
The redefinition continues, too. In January, the company launched Signature Delight salads, a line of nine low-fat and reduced fat slaws and salads. Cordero’s department, which consists of nine food scientists, spent one year developing Signature Delight. The line is exceeding expectations.
“New product development has been a key to our growth as measured in results,” she states. And the effort behind the results is facile management, a combination of restraint and encouragement. “I do a good job teaching (my direct reports) so they can be more independent. I look over their shoulder to keep them on track, but I don’t stifle creativity.”
Cordero previously worked for Fearn International and Jewel Food Stores. She earned an M.S. in food science at the University of Illinois, and a B.S. in food technology from the University of the Philippines.
Sharon Fordham, vice president, new business, Nabisco Biscuit Co.
Fordham’s career with Nabisco dates from 1981. It was preceded by marketing positions with Bristol-Myers and Borden. She now has responsibility for new cookie and cracker products, launching them and managing transition into the appropriate product team’s hands.
In the last several years, Fordham has overseen the launches of several major new product lines that garnered “largely incremental sales, which isn’t easy to do when you have the number one share.” Among the new products are SnackWell’s, which have accumulated $85 million in seven months; Teddy Grahams, with $150 million in sales its first year; Mr. Phipps pretzel chips and tater crisps, which Fordham says is getting Nabisco a better position in the snacking category. She also is responsible for the development and market introduction of mini snacks, such as Ritz Bits.
Fordham has risen steadily at Nabisco. She managed the company’s defense during the “Cookie Wars” and led the turnaround of Nabisco’s $1 billion cracker business. Her new product introductions have meant approximately $500 million at retail for the company.
“Developing new products puts a tremendous demand on all your skills–strategic, intuitive, and analytical,” Fordham says. She feels that her consistent success with new products comes from an “ability to judge, manage, and get a hold of good people, and foster these skills in them.”
Kathleen MacDonnell, president, frozen foods group, Campbell Soup Co.
In June, Kathleen MacDonnell was named president of Campbell’s frozen foods group, an advance after only two months as general manager and vice president. In this role, she manages frozen foods such as Swanson, Great Start, Mrs. Paul’s, and Le Menu brands. She has overall responsibility for plants, marketing research, marketing, direct sales, promotions, product development, cost accounting, and financial analysis.
MacDonnell has been with Campbell for 13 years. Her preparedness for group presidency comes from having held senior marketing positions in the company’s Italian foods and ready-to-serve soup divisions, as well as executive administrative positions in the company’s prepared foods and grocery sectors.
She attributes her success in part to an ability to “manage business in crisis.” For example, she handled Prego spaghetti sauce immediately after national rollout with expectations of a 15% share. She then battled Ragu for four years, finally launching a turnaround campaign that has garnered about 30% for Prego.
MacDonnell also fought Progresso soup’s attack on Campbell’s RTS soups. Campbell’s share was “under seige because we weren’t paying attention to it,” she says.
MacDonnell also says she’s gotten ahead because she’s had “tremendous support in an industry where that can be hard to find.”
Glenda Murphy, general manager, frozen and novelties, Weight Watcher’s Food Co.
Glenda Murphy has overall responsibility for Weight Watcher’s frozen entrees, desserts, breakfasts, and novelties, as well as marketing support for these lines. Her products create $400 million in sales a year for the company.
Although she has been with Weight Watcher’s for just one year–she previously was general manager for novelties and company services-Murphy brings 11 years of packaged goods experience in marketing several Heinz brands, such as HomeStyle gravy, Heinz 57 sauce, and Heinz pickles to the job.
Last year, Murphy created a crossfunctional team to halt the decline in frozen novelties, where Weight Watcher’s has the No.1 share. At the end of the second quarter under the turnaround plan, the novelties portfolio had delivered on budgeted volume and profit, and recorded its first consumption and share growth in more than two years.
“Being the catalyst for the team and presenting the goals in a way that assured them of ownership and personal reward was a highly satisfying venture,” she says.
Murphy has an interesting academic background. She has an MS in industrial administration, which she says makes her “highly quantitative,” and an MFA in museology. “I’m a strong believer in the arts as a base, not a luxury. It helps in the way I view things and in the creativity I bring to solving problems.”
Antonia Piano, plant manager, Hershey Pasta Group.
A good plant manager needs both production acumen and people skills. Thus, it says a lot about Antonia Piano that she is in charge of Hershey’s Pasta Group’s largest plant, which has 235 workers in continuous operation in Lebanon, Pa.
Piano had been managing the plant for General Foods when Hershey took it over three years ago. She spent nine years with General Foods in a variety of production and engineering management roles, and five years with a pharmaceutical company before that.
“If you ask anyone I’ve worked for,” she says, “they’ll say my success comes from an ability to develop and motivate a high-performance workforce.”
Piano strongly believes that training for excellence “will improve cost structure and quality itself.” Her record confirms this belief: The plant exceeded operating objectives for the past three years while maintaining customer service satisfaction at 98.9. It also won the division safety award the past three years. And in 1992, the plant generated $700,000 in savings.
Tripta Sarin, vice president of operations, prepared dough products and desserts, Pillsbury Brands.
Tripta Sarin, who has been with the company for two years, is responsible for the three Pillsbury plants that manufacture desserts and prepared dough. These products garner more than $1 billion in sales.
Sarin recently engineered comprehensive process and systems changes that not only drove conversion cost to an all-time low, but reduced customer complaints in certain categories by 25%, in one annual comparison. She achieved this, she notes, “essentially by raising expectations across the organization, which had historically been a strong segment of Pillsbury’s business.”
Sarin, whose food industry career spans 23 years in management, processing, packaging, warehousing, and quality control, is an accomplished economizer and efficiency booster. As a Hunt-Wesson plant manager, she reduced plant operating budget by $2.4 million in two years and initiated a preventive maintenance program that reduced downtime by 40%.
That Pet Food Ingredient List
The ingredients list on the label is where the pet owner makes up his or her mind about whether they like what they read. Those who do or do not want to feed a certain ingredient can look to make sure it is included or excluded.
Some prefer to say no to animal by-products, which may contain heads, feet, viscera and other animal parts not particularly appetizing, and from various species. But protein quality of by-products can actually be quite good, so that may not necessarily be the main bone of contention.
Meat and animal derivatives - sounds tasty, doesn’t it? This tends to be seen as an ingredient at the cheaper end of the pet food market, and as a source of protein. In the UK Meat and animal derivatives are legally defined in the Feeding Stuffs Regulations 2005. They are sourced from animals which have been inspected and passed as fit for human consumption and are the parts of the animal which are surplus to the requirements of the human food industry in the UK eg. heart, lung, or muscle meat, which may not be traditionally eaten by people in this country.
Cereal by-products - Headlines such as ‘May 4, 2007 — Cereal Byproducts Company is announcing today that the FDA has determined that there are melamine and/or melamine derivatives in the rice protein concentrate produced by a single source Chinese supplier’ do nothing to give confidence to consumers!
Cereal by-products, a cheap source of carbohydrate and vegetable protein by their name and definition are ‘by-products’ of the human food industry, not usable for human food and could come via bakery/breakfast cereal or similar production. They will possibly be mixed sources of cereal, and may be lower grade than the straight cereals used in premium brands.
Meat Meal is another ingredient that some pet owners don’t like the sound of. By-products of the human food chain (carcases with some meat protein remaining) are rendered (heat processed), which removes the fat and water from the product. Meat or poultry meal can contain parts of animals not normally eaten by people. You probably don’t want a detailed description.
Suffice to say, this is a huge business converting waste animal tissue into stable, value-added materials for several industries as well as for pet food.
The article from Wikipedia interestingly points out that rendering is one of the oldest stablished recycling processes - taking what would otherwise be waste materials and makes useful products such as fuels, soaps, rubber, plastics, etc. At the same time, rendering solves what would otherwise be a major disposal problem. As an example, the US recycles more than 21 million metric tons annually of highly perishable and noxious organic matter. In 2004, the U.S. industry produced over 8 million metric tons of products, of which 1.6 million metric tons were exported…. food for thought, perhaps!
The UK Pet Food Manufacturers Association (PFMA) states that it uses those parts of the carcass which are either surplus to human requirements or which are not normally consumed by people in the UK. Companies which are members of the PFMA operate their own quality assurance policies including strict specifications for material supplies, routine testing of all incoming materials and the use of vendor assurance schemes (and audits) to monitor their suppliers. The British pet food industry also uses sources of meat and meal from the UK, USA Canada, Australasia and various European countries. All materials imported must comply with the strict British legislation.
UK manufacturers only use materials from animals which are generally accepted in the human food chain. They do not use horsemeat, whales or other sea mammals, kangaroos or a number of other species not eaten by humans. It does use beef, lamb, poultry, pork, fish, shellfish, rabbit and game. The PFMA practice of only using materials derived from animals passed as fit for human consumption is now incorporated into the Animal By-Products Order and PFMA member companies using animal material derived from the UK are recommended to only buy from and sell to companies registered under the Animal By-Products Order.
Some consumers try to avoid pet foods with synthetic preservatives, such asbutylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), and ethoxyquin. Ethoxyquin, in particular, has been hotly debated. Current scientific data suggest that ethoxyquin is safe, but some pet owners avoid this additive because of a suspected link to liver damage and other health problems in dogs.
The Natural Alternative
Many products today are preserved with naturally occurring compounds, such as tocopherols (vitamin E) or vitamin C. However, these products generally have a shorter shelf life than those with synthetic preservatives, especially once a bag of food is opened.
Comparing foods with different ingredients is difficult. Take protein content for example. Let’s say we have two foods which have the same percentages of protein, fat, carbohydrates, fiber and moisture. But one protein or carbohydrate type may be more digestible than another, so that complicates our comparison. For example:-
Food A contains 25% protein that is 60% digestible and food B contains 25% protein that is 85% digestible. That means of food A the body is able to utilize 15% of the protein content, but of food B 21.25%. Logically, to meet the body’s requirement of protein, you’d have to feed more of food A than of food B, and the body of the dog eating food B will have to work less to utilize it.
Meats such as poultry, fish and pork all have a high digestibility, as do cereals such as rice and corn. Wheat, soya and oats are less digestible and logically therefore you would have to feed more to get the same nutritional benefits.
Although manufacturers are happy to tell you that the meat they use is human grade and comes from the human food chain, let’s be clear that this is not the best fillet steak or free range chicken breast. Meat producers make as much as possible producing for the human market, because it is more profitable- what is left is what you would probably not want to buy if it was put for sale in the butchers or supermarket!
Top 3 Shocking Fast Food Industry Secrets
You already know the fast food industry is to your waist what cigarettes are to your lungs.
Even so, just like smokers who knowingly shave years off their lives, many Americans find themselves at one of these fat-laden grease pits several times a week, if not every single day.
Sure, it’s fast, easy, and cheap, but so are those “ladies of the night” on the street corners you pass every night on your way to McDonald’s, and they aren’t exactly great for your health either (side order of STD’s, anyone?).
If the slop these restaurants serve you wasn’t enough, it turns out many of the suits behind these chains are just as greasy as their deep fryers, and are serving you even more slop through their carefully worded claims and marketing techniques.
Top 3 Shocking Fast Food Industry Secrets
1. What you don’t know, CAN hurt you. Several chains and restaurants don’t even know or give you access to nutritional information for the food they serve. Some claim since they make everything by hand, it would be impossible to do so. Tell that to the nearly 50 chains that already do!
2. Fat is NOT just a number. The term “low-fat” is thrown around just about anything to give an illusion of healthier options. For example, Applebee’s “low-fat” chicken quesadillas pack a whopping 742 calories, along with nearly 100 carbs, in a single order.
3. The French’s secret. Ever had Burger King’s French toast sticks? Mmmm, they are so sweet and yummy, right? Did you know those seemingly innocent breakfast treats share the same trans fat-filled deep fryer with pork sausage, pork fritters, Chicken Tenders, chicken fries, Big Fish patties, hash browns, onion rings, and Cheesy Tots? The more, the merrier, right?!
Shocking, no? In fact, maybe it’s not. Perhaps we have just come to expect these kinds of misleading and downright harmful practices and chosen to accept them, simply because, “It tastes mmm, mmm good.”
An Alternative to Venture Capital in the Food and Beverage Industry
If you are an entrepreneur with a small food or beverage company looking to take it to the next level, this article should be of particular interest to you. Your natural inclination may be to seek venture capital or private equity to fund your growth, but that might not be the best path for you to take. We have created a hybrid M&A model designed to bring the appropriate capital resources to you entrepreneurs. It allows the entrepreneur to bring in smart money and to maintain control.
We have taken the experiences of a beverage industry veteran, a food industry veteran and an investment banker and crafted a model that both large industry players and the small business owners are embracing.
I recently connected with two old college mates from the Wharton Business School. We are in what we like to call, the early autumn of our careers after pursuing quite different paths initially. John Blackington is a partner in Growth Partners, a consulting firm that advises food and beverage companies in all aspects of product introduction and market growth. You might say that it has been his life’s work with his initial introduction to the industry as a Coke Route driver during his college summer breaks.
After graduation, Coke hired John as a management trainee in the sales and marketing discipline. John grew his career at Coke and over the next 25 years held various positions in sales, marketing, and business development. John’s entrepreneurial spirit prevailed and he left Coke to consult with early stage food and beverage companies on new product introductions and strategic partnerships.
Steve Hasselbeck is now a food industry consultant after spending 27 years with the various companies that were rolled up into ConAgra. His experience was in managing products and channels. Steve is familiar with almost every functional area within a large food company. He has seen the introduction and the failed introduction of many food industry products.
John’s experience at Coke and Steve’s experience at ConAgra led them to the conclusion that new product introductions were most efficiently and cost effectively the purview of the smaller, nimble, low overhead company and not the food and beverage giants.
Dave Kauppi is now the president of MidMarket Capital, a M&A firm specializing in smaller technology based companies. Dave got the high tech bug early in his business life and pursued a career in high tech sales and marketing. Dave sold or managed in computer services, hardware, software, datacom, computer leasing and of course, a Dot Com. After several experiences of rapid accent followed by an even more rapid decent as technologies and markets changed, Dave decided to pursue an investment banking practice to help technology companies.
Dave, John, and Steve stayed in touch over the years and would share business ideas. In a recent discussion, John was describing the dynamics he saw with new product introductions in the food and beverage industry. He observed that most of the blockbuster products were the result of an entrepreneurial effort from an early stage company bootstrapping its growth in a very cost conscious lean environment.
The big companies, with all their seeming advantages experienced a high failure rate in new product introductions and the losses resulting from this art of capturing the fickle consumer were substantial. When we contacted Steve, he confirmed that this was also his experience. Don’t get us wrong. There were hundreds of failures from the start-ups as well. However, the failure for the edgy little start-up resulted in losses in the $1 - $5 million range. The same result from an industry giant was often in the $100 million to $250 million range.
For every Hansen Natural or Red Bull, there are literally hundreds of companies that either flame out or never reach a critical mass beyond a loyal local market. It seems like the mentality of these smaller business owners is, using the example of the popular TV show, Deal or No Deal, to hold out for the $1 million briefcase. What about that logical contestant that objectively weighs the facts and the odds and cashes out for $280,000?
As we discussed the dynamics of this market, we were drawn to a merger and acquisition model commonly used in the technology industry that we felt could also be applied to the food and beverage industry. Cisco Systems, the giant networking company, is a serial acquirer of companies. They do a tremendous amount of R&D and organic product development. They recognize, however, that they cannot possibly capture all the new developments in this rapidly changing field through internal development alone.
Cisco seeks out investments in promising, small, technology companies and this approach has been a key element in their market dominance. They bring what we refer to as smart money to the high tech entrepreneur. They purchase a minority stake in the early stage company with a call option on acquiring the remainder at a later date with an agreed-upon valuation multiple. This structure is a brilliantly elegant method to dramatically enhance the risk reward profile of new product introduction. Here is why:
For the Entrepreneur: (Just substitute in your food or beverage industry giant’s name that is in your category for Cisco below)
1. The involvement of Cisco - resources, market presence, brand, distribution capability is a self fulfilling prophecy to your product’s success.
2. For the same level of dilution that an entrepreneur would get from a VC, angel investor or private equity group, the entrepreneur gets the performance leverage of “smart money.” See #1.
3. The entrepreneur gets to grow his business with Cisco’s support at a far more rapid pace than he could alone. He is more likely to establish the critical mass needed for market leadership within his industry’s brief window of opportunity.
4. He gets an exit strategy with an established valuation metric while the buyer helps him make his exit much more lucrative.
5. As an old Wharton professor used to ask, “What would you rather have, all of a grape or part of a watermelon?” That sums it up pretty well. The involvement of Cisco gives the product a much better probability of growing significantly. The entrepreneur will own a meaningful portion of a far bigger asset.
For the Large Company Investor:
1. Create access to a large funnel of developing technology and products.
2. Creates a very nimble, market sensitive, product development or R&D arm.
3. Minor resource allocation to the autonomous operator during his “skunk works” market proving development stage.
4. Diversify their product development portfolio - because this approach provides for a relatively small investment in a greater number of opportunities fueled by the entrepreneurial spirit, they greatly improve the probability of creating a winner.
5. By investing early and getting an equity position in a small company and favorable valuation metrics on the call option, they pay a fraction of the market price to what they would have to pay if they acquired the company once the product had proven successful.
Dean Foods utilized this model successfully with their investment in White Wave, the producer of the market leading Silk Brand of organic Soy milk products. Dean Foods acquired a 25% equity stake in White Wave in 1999 for $4 million. While allowing this entrepreneurial firm to operate autonomously, they backed them with leverage and a modest level of capital resources. Sales exploded and Dean exercised their call option on the remaining 75% equity in White Way in 2004 for $224 million. Sales for White Way were projected to hit $420 million in 2005.
Given today’s valuation metrics for a company with White Way’s growth rate and profitability, their market cap is about $1.26 Billion, or 3 times trailing 12 months revenue. Dean invested $5million initially, gave them access to their leverage, and exercised their call option for $224 million. Their effective acquisition price totaling $229 million represents an 82% discount to White Wave’s 2005 market cap.
Dean Foods is reaping additional benefits. This acquisition was the catalyst for several additional investments in the specialty/gourmet end of the milk industry. These acquisitions have transformed Dean Foods from a low margin milk producer into a Wall Street standout with a growing stable of high margin, high growth brands.
Dean’s profits have tripled in four years and the stock price has doubled since 2000, far outpacing the food industry average. This success has triggered the aggressive introduction of new products and new channels of distribution. Not bad for a $5 million bet on a new product in 1999. Wait, let’s not forget about our entrepreneur. His total proceeds of $229 million are a fantastic 5- year result for a little company with 1999 sales of under $20 million.
MidMarket Capital has created this model combining the food and beverage industry experience with the investment banking experience to structure these successful transactions. MMC can either represent the small entrepreneurial firm looking for the “smart money” investment with the appropriate growth partner or the large industry player looking to enhance their new product strategy with this creative approach.
This model has successfully served the technology industry through periods of outstanding growth and market value creation. Many of the same dynamics are present in the food and beverage industry and these same transaction stru7ctures can be similarly employed to create value.
Preserving Food With Tin Containers
The tin container has been a mainstay of the food industry when it comes to storing and preserving food for sale. The advent of plastics and other new materials for keeping food safe have not been successful in dislodging tin as one of the top choices when it comes to storing food.
Tin is a metal that is mined mostly in the South East Asian region and parts of South America. Tin mines normally look like a gigantic hole in the ground with a huge tin miner digging are the center. The raw tin has to be smelted and purified before it can be used. Smelting involves indirectly heating the tin to extreme temperatures to remove the impurities.
Ever since it was discovered that sealing food in an airtight container will preserve its freshness, the food industry has been looking at many options of implementing the discovery economically. The first attempts were with sealed glass bottles. Although the glass bottles worked very well, they do come with limitations. Glass was getting expensive to manufacture and they break quite easily. These limitations were holding the food business.
When the tin can was invented, the food industry made huge steps in mass-producing preserved food for the masses. Tin cans were fairly easy to manufacture and were cheap too. This would increase the profit margin and suddenly, selling huge amounts of preserved food was good for business. The tin cans were capable of withstanding much more abuse than glass bottles so this made them very easy to ship to anywhere in the world. Furthermore, the size and shape of the tin containers are only limited to the production capability of individual factories.
Due to the high degree of flexibility in manufacturing tin containers, businesses are not just limited to producing tin cans. The tin containers started to emerge in various shapes and sizes to cater to business needs and branding opportunities. Nowadays, we still see the tin can on store shelves. Not only that, we also have tin cookie containers, heart shaped tin chocolate containers and occasionally an exotic shaped tin container for special events.
Seven Secrets to a Healthy Pet Food
The on-going pet food recall has pet owners shaking in their boots! What food is safe for my pet? What food is REALLY healthy? Keep reading to learn seven valuable secrets to finding the absolute best food for your dog or cat.
Secret #1… All pet foods use descriptive words like choice and premium, though few of them actually use premium or choice ingredients. The ‘secret’ is per the rules of the pet food industry, no pet food can make any references on their label or advertising as to quality or grade of ingredients. When related to pet food, the word ‘premium’ or ‘choice’ DOES NOT imply that the ingredients in the food are premium or choice. With pet foods, premium does not (can not) describe the food nor does it (can it) describe the quality of the food. It is a marketing term and that is all. Per the industries own rules regulations, “There are no references to ingredient quality or grade” (regulation PF5 d 3). So, words like premium, or choice, or quality are just marketing or sales terms, don’t use them to influence your buying decisions.
Secret #2… If I can compare ‘people’ food to pet food for just a second, we all know there are different qualities of people food. There is White Castle (I love ‘em!) and there is Outback Steak House (another favorite). Both restaurants serve meat and potatoes. At White Castle for under $3.00 you get a couple of hamburgers and fries. While at Outback you can get a steak and baked potato for around $16.00. Both serve beef and potato - yet you already realize that there are huge nutritional differences between a fast food hamburger and a steak…right?
The problem in the pet food industry – is that most pet owners don’t think in the same terms when it comes to pet food. They don’t think in terms that there are fast food types of pet foods and there are sit down restaurant more nutritious types of pet foods. Now, imagine your pet eating this fast food type of food its’ entire lifetime.
OK, so back to our two meals…if a chemical analysis of your meal at White Castle was compared to a chemical analysis of your meal at Outback – both would analyze with a percentage of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. The choice cut of steak at Outback and the hamburger from White Castle both analyze as protein. The analysis doesn’t measure quality of protein.
So here is the secret…All pet foods come with a Guaranteed Analysis stating the percentage of protein, fat, fiber and moisture in the food. The REAL secret lies in the quality of the percentages of protein, fat, and so on.
In a chemical analysis of a pet food – chicken feet would analyze as protein, although granted it provides very little nutrition. And as well, a cow that was euthanized (put to sleep) because of a disease that made it unfit for human consumption – would analyze as protein although that could be considered dangerous for consumption. Both of those things – chicken feet and a euthanized cow – are allowable ingredients and commonly used in pet food. You see the secret within the pet food industry is manufacturers have a WIDE OPEN door to where they obtain their ingredients. The only strict rule they must follow is an adult dog food must analyze with 18% protein and an adult cat food must analyze with 26% protein. Sources to acquire those particular percentages range from a ‘human grade’ meat, to chicken feet, to euthanized animals, to grain proteins, to even man made chemical proteins and many variations in between.
So how can you know if your pet’s food uses chicken feet or euthanized cows or if it contains human grade ingredients?
Secret #3… This big secret is found in ingredient definitions. All ‘people’ food must meet particular USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) and FDA (Food and Drug Administration) guidelines. The same is not true for pet food. Chicken feet and euthanized cows are NOT allowed in people food for obvious reasons – they have no nutritional value or they could be dangerous to consume. The same is NOT true for pet food. The only way to know if those chicken feet or euthanized cows are in your pet’s food is to know what ingredients they can be used in.
The common pet food ingredient ‘Meat and Bone Meal’ is basically a combination of many different discarded left-overs from the human food industry. Components of ‘meat and bone meal’ can be anything from cow heads, stomachs, and intestines, to (horrifying but true) euthanized animals including cows, horses and dogs and cats. ‘Meat and bone meal’ can also contain left-over restaurant grease, and diseased (including cancerous) meat tissues cut away from slaughtered animals. In other words, this commonly used ingredient is a mix of highly inferior and potentially dangerous left-overs from the human food industry.
The pet food ingredient ‘Meat By-Product’ or ‘Meat By-Product Meal’ is pretty much the same thing as ‘meat and bone meal’. Another similar ingredient to the above is ‘Animal Digest’.
As to the chicken feet I mentioned earlier – this item can be found in the ingredients ‘Chicken By-Product’ or ‘Poultry By-Product’ or ‘Chicken By-Product Meal’ or ‘Poultry By-Product Meal’. Any left-overs in the chicken or poultry division – including but not limited to chicken feet, skin including some feathers, chicken or poultry heads, and intestines are found in these ingredients. BEFORE you purchase any pet food, flip the bag over and closely examine the list of ingredients. The above mentioned ingredients would be listed within the first five or ten ingredients. If you see ANY of those ingredients – it is my suggestion to NOT purchase that food. Remember – chicken feet and euthanized animals do analyze as protein. That is all that is required in pet food – just the correct analysis.
Secret #4… A very well kept secret of the pet food industry is the common use of chemical preservatives. BHA/BHT are very popular chemical preservatives used in pet food and science has linked them to tumors and cancer. Another common preservative is ethoxyquin which has known risks to cancer. You want a pet food that is preserved naturally – common natural preservatives are ‘natural mixed tocopherols’ or ‘vitamin E’.
Secret #5… The very best food to provide to your pet is a well made food using human grade ingredients. That should be simple enough…How do you find that? Pet food manufacturers that are APHIS European certified assures you that ALL ingredients in their pet food are human grade. APHIS – Animal Plant Health Inspection Services – is a division of the USDA. APHIS European certification provides this pet food manufacturer with the opportunity to ship their foods/treats to Europe. When importing pet foods from the US, European countries demand that all ingredients are human grade and thus require this certification. Most pet food manufacturers that have APHIS European certification do not ship their products to Europe – they simply use this as a means to assure their customers to the higher quality of their ingredients.
Again, you WON’T see this listed on the label – it’s not allowed. You must call the manufacturer and ask.
Secret #6… Minerals are a required ingredient in human diets as well as diets for our pets. Copper, Iron and Zinc are common minerals found in pet foods. Just as they are – copper, iron, and zinc are basically rocks, very difficult for anyone or any pet to utilize. Science has developed several ways to introduce minerals into the body (human and pet) for better absorption thus benefiting the individual far more. This scientific development is called chelating or proteinating and it’s been around for years. Through the chelating or proteinating process minerals are absorbed about 60% better than just the minerals alone.
This secret is spotting the minerals in your pet food to see if they are chelated or proteinated. Notice the minerals on your pet food label, way down on the list of ingredients. You are looking for minerals that read ‘copper proteinate’ or ‘chelated copper’.
Secret #7… This secret is called ‘friendly bacteria’. Although ‘friendly bacteria’ sounds a little scary, the reason for it lies in your pets’ intestinal system. A large portion of your pets’ immune system is found within the intestinal system, thus keeping the intestines working properly keeps the immune system working properly. Looking at the fine print on your pet food label, this time you are looking for lengthy, scientific words like Lactobacillus Acidophilus or Bifidobacterium Thermophilum. If you do NOT see these words or some very similar, that pet food is not addressing the care of your pets’ immune system.
Wine and Food Pairing - Be an Expert!
If you like to follow the rules then here are two basic ones that should get you through the night:
Rule One: Drink red wine with meat, white wine with fish and poultry.
Rule Two: Disregard rule one and eat and drink what you like. You will hear this over and over again and it’s so true. Always go with your personal preference first!
Of course, there are some classic matches that satisfy again and again and bring out the best in both wine and food. Wine can often enhance the flavors of your food tantalizing your taste buds in ways you never knew possible and vice versa. A prime example…my husband HATES white wine. When he tries it he makes a face like someone just gave him a spoonful of cough syrup. One day we went to a wine and cheese paring and he was given Blue Castello and Sauvignon Blanc. It was then that I heard words I never though would come out of his mouth, “This wine is not bad. I actually like it.” It was a breakthrough among breakthroughs! It was his first true experience of food enhancing wine and bringing out flavors in the wine he had never experienced before. Food can have that sort of magical effect on wine and when you find that magic you just can’t help but searching for more of it.
Here are some of our favorite and classic food and wine pairings. I also like to say if you don’t know what to serve, then serve champagne or sparkling wine. It’s fun and extremely food friendly.
APPETIZERS & STARTERS
ANTIPASTO - Pinot Grigio, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Malbec
ARTICHOKES - Usually a no no with wine, but I love them with Chardonnay
ASPARAGUS - Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc
CARPACCIO (beef) - Pinotage, Shiraz, Shiraz/Pinotage blend, Malbec
CARPACCIO (tuna) - Sauvignon Blanc
CAVIAR - Chenin Blanc, Champagne!
COLD MEATS - Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay
NUTS AND/OR OLIVES - Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc
OYSTERS (raw) - Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc
PASTA SALAD - Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc
PASTA WITH CREAM SAUCE - Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc
PASTA WITH SHELLFISH - Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay
PASTA WITH TOMATO SAUCE - Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz
PASTA WITH VEGETABLES - Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Pinotage, Malbec
PATÉS - Chenin Blanc, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon
QUICHE - Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinotage Rosé, Merlot
SCALLOPS - Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio
SMOKED FISH (Trout, Herring) - Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc
SEAFOOD
CRAB - Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio
LOBSTER - Chardonnay, Chardonnay/Sauvignon blend, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc
MUSSELS - Chenin Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc
RED SNAPPER - Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio
SALMON - Pinotage Rosé, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio
SASHIMI, SUSHI - Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio
SHRIMP - Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio
STRIPED BASS - Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc
SWORDFISH - Sauvignon Blanc, Pinotage, Pinot Grigio
TUNA - Sauvignon Blanc, Pinotage, Merlot, Shiraz, Chardonnay
OTHER WHITE FISH - Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc
MEAT & POULTRY
CHICKEN - Chardonnay, Merlot, Chenin Blanc, Pinotage
CHICKEN SALAD - Chenin Blanc, Pinotage Rosé, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio
CHICKEN (smoked) - Pinotage, Merlot, Malbec
DUCK - Pinotage, Merlot, Pinotage Rosé, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Malbec
HAM - Shiraz, Merlot, Pinotage, Malbec, Pinotage Rosé
HAMBURGER - Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinotage, Shiraz, Malbec
LAMB (grilled, broiled) - Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinotage
PHEASANT - Pinotage, Shiraz, Malbec
QUAIL - Pinotage, Malbec
RABBIT - Pinotage, Merlot, Shiraz, Malbec
SAUSAGE - Chenin Blanc, Pinotage Rosé, Shiraz, Merlot, Malbec
STEAK (grilled, broiled) - Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinotage, Shiraz, Malbec
TURKEY - Merlot, Chardonnay, Pinotage Rosé
VEAL - Chardonnay, Merlot
VENISON - Shiraz, Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec
COUSCOUS - Merlot, Shiraz, Pinotage Rosé
CURRY, FISH or CHICKEN - Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinotage Rosé
PIZZA - Merlot, Pinotage Rosé, Pinotage, Chenin Blanc, Malbec
SPICY CHINESE - Savignon Blanc, Pino Grigio, Merlot, Pinotage Rosé
SPICY MEXICAN - Chenin Blanc, Shiraz, Malbec
THAI - Chenin Blanc, Pinotage, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio
CHEESES
GOAT
SOFT: Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinotage
HARD: Pinotage, Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon
COW & SHEEP
MEDIUM: Pinotage, Shiraz
HARD: Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Chenin Blanc, Pinotage, Sauvignon Blanc
If you are a true rule follower here are some more:
Generally, wines and foods belonging to the same culture are compatible; for example, think Italian wines with Italian food.
Good red wines tend to be dry and rich, sometimes with a tart or astringent quality. They will go better with hearty or highly seasoned foods such as beef, pork, game, duck, goose and pasta dishes. The ‘red with red’ rule works well because the astringency of the tannins cuts through the viscosity of the fat. Reach for a tannic Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinotage, Petite Syrah or Zinfandel, especially if the meat is served with a heavy sauce. Rare prime rib tastes almost sweet, so it’s perfect with a lighter bodied Merlot or Beaujolais.
White wines are usually lighter in body and flavor and can range from dry and crisp to sweet and fragrant. Serve these wines with foods such as chicken, turkey, fish, shellfish, ham and veal. Pair a honey or brown sugar glazed ham with a white wine that’s not too dry - possibly a Chenin Blanc, Gewurztraminer or Riesling.
Rosé wines are in fact pale red wines; their lighter color is due to the shorter time the skins are left with the juice during fermentation. Rosé, or blush, wines can range from dry to sweet. These wines should compliment ham, fried chicken, shellfish, cold beef and picnic style foods.
Ahhh, holiday stress. In my opinion if you can’t decide what wine to serve, then serve Champagne. You can find a great budget friendly champagne that will really get the festivities kicked off in the right way. Gloria Ferrer has some really nice sparkling wines to try that won’t hurt your wallet. OR…If you serve turkey with sweet side dishes like glazed carrots or sweet potatoes, choose a white wine with a hint of sweetness, like Chenin Blanc, Riesling or Gewurztraminer. If some dishes have a more savory flavor, try Sauvignon Blanc or a lighter bodied Chardonnay. For a bird with spicy sausage stuffing, serve Pinotage or a try a Pinot Noir.
Don’t match strong to delicate. Pairing a big, powerful, high-alcohol or high-tannin wine with a light, delicate dish (and vice versa) is rarely a good idea.
Acidity is your friend. People tend to be wary of wines described as “high acid,” like Sauvignon Blanc or Muscadet. But there’s no better quality in a wine for matching rich, creamy or cheesy sauces, deep-fried foods or fish dishes; also note, tart wines go better with tart foods.
Follow the don’t-upstage-the-star rule. If you have an amazing bottle of wine you want to show off, especially an older vintage (they tend to be more subtle, their flavors less flamboyant), don’t serve a wildly complex dish with it. A simple dish will allow the wine to be the center of attention.
Dessert, or fortified wines, are heavier and sweeter than table wines and frequently have a higher alcohol content. They are usually served alone or with cheese, nuts, fruit or sweets at the end of the meal.
If you don’t like rules, like me, then toss all of these out the door and start experimenting. I’d love to hear about combinations that have worked for you that you can’t get enough of. My rule-breaking favorite is steamed artichokes dipped in butter and a nice oaky California style Chardonnay. Send me your favs and I’ll post them here!
Food Labels and their Importance
What are food labels and why are they so important?
The Food and Drug Administration requires that all processed food be labeled according to a set of guidelines. A label must list values for a 2000-calorie diet as well as limits for both a 2000 and a 2500-calorie diet. Serving sizes have been standardized based on how much of a food people eat. If manufacturers list an ingredient, they must also list the amount of that ingredient and what proportion of the recommended intake it represents.
Food manufacturers cannot:
1. Use the term ‘no cholesterol’ for food that never had any cholesterol - for example, pure peanut butter, a plant food, never contains cholesterol.
2. List nutrients like thiamine and riboflavin that are not missing from our diets.
3. Make a claim based on only one part of a food (like saying a chocolate-covered cherry is low-fat because the cherry is)
4. List information for ingredients that are in a package without including those one must add to make the food (for instance, a cake mix must include its calorie count the eggs the purchaser must add to make the cake).
Manufacturers’ claims must follow certain rules:
1. ‘Low in calories’ means that the food can be eaten frequently without going beyond guidelines for a good diet.
2. ‘Low in sodium’ means less than 140mg. a serving.
3. ‘Reduced’ means the product has at least 25 percent fewer calories of an ingredient than the regular product.
4. ‘Good source’ (example, fiber) means one serving has 10 to 19 percent of Daily Value for that nutrient.
5. ‘Low fat’ means the product contains no more than 3 grams of fat per serving.
6. ‘Lite’ means that the food contains at least 50 percent less fat than the food it’s being compared with.
7. ‘Fresh’ means that the food cannot have been frozen, processed, heated or chemically preserved.
8. ‘Organic’ means foods that have been prepared to a certain production standard. They have been grown without the use of conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers, or sewage sludge. They have also not been processed without ionizing radiation or food additives.
Increase Your Sales with Healthy Fast Food Delivery
Fast food has gained popularity in present times mostly owing to the fast paced life. People have to eat within their hectic schedules. Food is accommodated between the travelling times or busy schedules. As a result, fast food comes in as good filler between the sumptuous meal and a frugal one. With fast life, fast food is here to stay. But did you ever think about healthy fast foods?
Fast food items come in variety of attractive forms but now people are asking them to be healthy as well. Owing to time constraints, a workaholic would prefer eating fast food to the conventional ones but they are also now asking for healthier options. Diners abstain from being fed with the heavy or big meals they welcome healthy fast food eating for a change. Small children are attracted by the taste of the fast food. Such is the effect of healthy fast food that they induce an urge to eat inchildren.
Preparation of healthy fast food items is not painstaking or as elaborate as conventional food. While the basic raw materials are the same as those for the traditional fare, condiments, ingredients, one can vary spices in their relative proportions to suit the person’s taste and comfort. Spicy food may not be suitable for children thus healthy fast foods can be mild in taste as well. On the other hand, a person who relishes only spicy food can have the healthy food items altered suitably to make it free from being bland. Healthy fast foods also improve the primary cooking skills and one can easily let the imagination loose while choosing the condiments and accompaniments.
Healthy fast food has yet another remarkable feature that makes it immensely popular amongst people. These items can be combined or grouped to suit the calorie count, nutritional ingredients, digestive properties. Thus one can easily regulate the after-effects. Toppings and accompaniments are common and can be altered according to tastes. Often, restaurants come out with exciting offers as part of their promotional ventures to make attractive combinations and packages for children as well as adults.
Many food chains and restaurants have the online system of ordering these fast food items. Delivery is prompt and payment arrangements are customer friendly arrangements. You can also find healthy fast food as per Chinese or Italian tastes. All you need to do is to choose your condiments and toppings carefully, this way you can intake less fat and calories but more of proteins and lots of health.
A Guide To French Food - Some Interesting Facts And Information About French Dishes
You can’t stay away from the French food, while in France, the country known worldwide for its numerous gastronomic delights and specialties. Certainly, the French cuisine is extremely diverse including a wide variety of foods and recipes from national and regional cuisines. France really offers one of the richest cuisines in the World.
French cuisine is often categorized as National Cuisine and Regional Cuisine. National Cuisine includes the foods that have been integral part of the French culture for ages. These foods include a variety of breads, savory dishes, desserts & pastries, and some preserved foods. Common breads in the French cuisine include Ficelle, Baguette, Flûte, Pain, and Pain Poilane (large xed vegetables), Bouillabaisse (fish soup), Les endives (Belgian endive), Boudin blanc (Delicatethick crusted circular loaf).
Savory dishes include Biftek frites (steak & fries), Poulet frites (chicken & fries), Blanquette de veau (blanquette of veal), Coq au vin (chicken in red wine), Pot au feu (beef stew with mi flavored sausage similar to bockwurst), Civet de Lapin (rabbit), Foie de veau (calve’s liver), and Andouillette (chitterling sausage).
Desserts & pastries include Chocolate Mousse, Crème Brûlée, Mille-feuilles, Choux à la Crème (cream puffs), Tartes aux fruits (fruit tarts), Religieuse (chocolate éclair shaped to resemble a nun), Madeleine (small cake-like cookie), Tarte Tatin (caramelized apple tart), Gâteaux (cake), Éclairs, and Profiteroles (baked puff pastries (choux) filled with cream or ice cream). And, some typically French preserved foods include Cassoulet, Choucroute garnie, and Duck confit.
Greatly influenced by the French geography, the French cuisine also includes a wide range of regional cuisines, including foods & dishes of Lorraine, Alsace, Nord-Pas-de-Calais (Artois, Flanders, Hainaut)-Picardy, Normandy, Brittany, Loire Valley/Central France, Burgundy, Poitou-Charentes, Limousin, Bordeaux, Perigord, Gascony, Pays Basque, Toulouse, Quercy, Aveyron, Roussillon, Languedoc, Cévennes, Provence, Côte d’Azur, and Corsica.
LORRAINE dishes include Quiche Lorraine, Potée Lorraine, and Pâté Lorrain. ALSACE specialties include Choucroute garnie (sauerkraut with sausages, salt pork and potatoes), Spätzle, Baeckeoffe, Kouglof, Bredela, Beerawecka, Mannala, Tarte flambée, and Baba au rhum.
NORD-PAS-DE-CALAIS (ARTOIS, FLANDERS, HAINAUT) - PICARDY dishes include Andouillette of Cambrai, Carbonnade (meat stewed in beer), Potjevlesch (four-meat terrine), Waterzoï (sweet water fish stew), Escavêche (cold terrine of sweet water fish in wine and vinegar), Hochepot (four meats stewed with vegetables), and Flamiche.
NORMANDY dishes include Tripes à la mode de Caen (tripe cooked in cider and calvados), Matelote (fish stewed in cider), Moules à la crème Normande (mussels cooked with white wine, garlic and cream), and Tarte Normande (apple tart). BRITTANY specialties include Crêpes, Far Breton (flan with prunes), Kik ar Fars (boiled pork dinner with a kind of dumpling), and Kouign amann (galette made flaky with high proportion of butter).
LOIRE VALLEY/CENTRAL FRANCH dishes include Rillettes (spreadable paste made from braised pork and rendered fat, similar to pâté), and andouillettes (sausage made with chitterlings). Burgundy specialties include Boeuf Bourguignon (beef stewed in red wine), Escargots de Bourgogne (snails baked in their shells with parsley butter), Fondue bourguignonne (fondue made with oil in which pieces of meat are cooked), Gougère (cheese in choux pastry), and Pochouse (fish stewed in red wine).
RHÔNE-ALPES dishes include Raclette (the cheese is melted and served with potatoes, ham and often dried beef), Fondue savoyarde (fondue made with cheese and white wine into which cubes of bread are dipped), Gratin dauphinois, and Tartiflette (a Savoyard gratin with potatoes, Reblochon cheese, cream and pork).
AVEYRON dishes include Tripoux (tripe ‘parcels’ in a savoury sauce), Truffade (potatoes sautéed with garlic and young Tomme cheese), Aligot (mashed potatoes blended with young Tomme cheese), Pansette de Gerzat (lamb tripe stewed in wine, shallots and blue cheese), and Salade Aveyronaise (lettuce, tomato, roquefort cheese, walnuts).
LANGUEDOC dishes include Brandade de morue (puréed salt cod), Cargolade (Catalan style of escargot), Trinxat (Catalan cabbage and potatoes), Bourride (Monkfish stewed with vegetables and wine, garnished with aïoli), Rouille de seiche (Similar preparation of squid), and Encornets farcis (Cuttlefish stuffed with sausagemeat, herbs).
PROVENCE/CÔTE D’AZUR specialties include Bouillabaisse (stew of mixed Mediterranean fish, tomatoes, and herbs), Ratatouille (a vegetable stew with olive oil, aubergine, courgette, bell pepper, tomato, onion and garlic), Pieds paquets (Lambs feet and tripe ‘parcels’ in a savoury sauce), Soupe au pistou (bean soup served with a pistou (cognate with Italian pesto) of fine-chopped basil, garlic and Parmesan), Salade Niçoise (varied ingredients, but always black olives, tuna), Socca, and Panisses.