July 2012 Edition

Healthy, Fresh & Light

Many of us re- cently returned from the Sum- mer Fancy Food Show (SFFS) in Washington, D.C., thankfully just prior to the first summer heat wave. As I reflect on all that I saw at the show, I was amazed at the number of new food products geared to health, nutrition and special diets, such as non-GMO, organic, vitamin-fortified and gluten-free, to products with healthier ingredients, such as nuts, seeds and coconut, or those that are minimally refined with cleaner labels. I was also impressed with the wide variety of international flavors and spices, especially those from all areas of Africa. We will be covering more about our key takeaways from the SFFS in our August issue.

This month, Gourmet Business features a variety of articles geared to summer salad making. In her feature “A Salute to Salad” on page 23, Jennifer White Karp show- cases all the newest tools retailers will want to include in their summer salad sections, including cruets, serving bowls and spinners, cutting boards, knives, peelers, slicers and mincers.

And what would a salad be without fine oil to dress it? Don’t miss James Mellgren’s oil primer on page 8, where he outlines all the essential information anyone needs to know to effectively merchandise and sell oil, and educate shoppers. James includes everything from olive oil, grape seed oil, and safflower and sunflower oil to the more arcane nut and fruit oils such as avocado and almond oils. In addition to pointing out which oils are the best served raw, James also discusses smoke points, and which are ideal for various cooking techniques.

Following the oil primer, James and Joanne Friedrick gathered the newest and most innovative oil products, beginning on page 14. If you are looking for the newest trends in oils, be sure to read Joanne’s article, “New Oils Looking for a Spot on the Shelf,” on page 11, which goes back to our healthy trend. Many of the new oils featured this year have healthful claims – from rice bran oil rich in vitamin E and gamma oryzanol, and antioxidant-rich tea seed oil (that’s right, some tea seeds have a very healthy oil extract), to trans-fat- and cholesterol- free coconut oils and spreads.

Take it all in, because you are sure to get some great summer salad and oil ideas in these pages.

Maureen Azzato

Managing Editor, Gourmet Business

 mazzato@gourmetbusiness.com