Market Street

Artisans of the Land

Slow Food Nation’s spectacular three-day celebration of fine food demanded a brilliant after-dinner coffee and the Coffee Presidium of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity delivered.

Slow Food Nation, the American affiliate of the Italian-inspired Slow Food movement that has swept Europe, hosted its first national event to wide acclaim. The Labor Day gathering in San Francisco introduced 50,000 foodies to food activists, authors and 1,000 products and producers with the help of 1,400 volunteers.

“This was not about who roasted or sold it. It was not about egos or one-upmanship. This was about the producer, about honoring their work,” said Scott Guglielmino, director of wholesale at Verve coffee roasters in Santa Cruz, Calif. “It’s the best event of the year for coffee,” he exclaimed at the closing night dinner and cupping at the Coffee Bar, San Francisco.

Guglielmino was referring to producers like Iliana Martinez of La Libertad, Guatemala, who represents 160 families in the western Huehuetenango highlands. Her trip and cuppings were financed by the foundation, part of an 18-month program to build facilities, train the region’s producers in production protocols and market their brand.

Three hundred samples from the region were analyzed before establishing Comercializadora Baluarte Huehuetenango, a producer-owned exporter. Arabica beans (typica, burbon and caturra) have grown in those non-volcanic mountains since 1773 when Jesuits began their mission to the Mayan population. Currents of hot air sweep up from the isthmus of Tehuatepec to blend with cold air descending from the Cuchumatanes Mountains, 30 miles from the Mexican border. The beans grow at altitudes up to 1900 meters, are hand-picked, fermented, washed, raked and dried on patios.

Iliana, speaking through an interpreter, described the 23 ethnicities of her homeland’s 13 million people. Guatemala exports 5 million bags annually with 600,000 originating in Huehuetenango. She said 85 percent of the exporter firm’s profits are returned to producers.

Slow Food’s Andrea Amato administers the Latin American program that is tasked with “shortening the supply chain by introducing producers to the marketplace.” While the region is known for its excellent coffee (one of five superior cru) quality has been inconsistent, he explained. Financial support for Huehuetenango and for Sierra Cafetalera in the Dominican Republic “guarantees taste, environmental and social quality, thus preserving the unique natural resource,” he said.

James Freeman, founder and owner of Blue Bottle Coffee in Oakland, Calif., bought 10 sacks of coffee to roast, sharing his bounty with the help of Andi C. Trindle, co-chair of the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s Cupping Subcommittee. They led a workshop whose members described the coffee as medium bodied, with fine acidity and a sweet cup with notes of citrus, spice and herbs with smoke and cherry fruit.

On the exhibit floor several thousand attendees experienced the nuanced joy of Central American, Caribbean and Ethiopian coffee produced by artisans of the land. Slow Food Nation demonstrated it is more than a champion of gourmet dining. It is about social justice, sustainability and nourishment at a table large enough to seat us all.

To purchase Slow Food Presidium green coffee contact: Comercializadora Baluarte Huehuetenango, S.A., 12 calle 3-20 zona 5, Colonia El Bosque, Huehuetenango, Guatemala, Office: +502 77646590 Cell: +502 53092909 Web: www.huehuecoffee.org Production capacity: 8 containers in March 2009.

Dan Bolton, a journalist, publisher and founder of Natural Food Network, in August was named editor-in-chief of Specialty Coffee Retailer.

Recall Remedy: Q&A with Food LogiQ

Rotten tomatoes are the latest of 900 food product recalls in the past 18 months – a list that includes the largest meat recall in U.S. history; a $24 million court settlement from Menu Foods paid to owners whose pets died from melamine poisoning and a spinach disaster in 2006 that continues to depress sales of leafy vegetables.

Natural Food Network asked Tom Furr, chief strategy officer of Smart Online a private label software-as-a-service provider for the small business market.  It co-developed the National Food Safety system with its partner Food LogiQ.

NFN: When the FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture discover tainted rice, spinach, meat and tomatoes they wield a bull horn. In some instances these recalls, amplified by the media, seem overblown. In other instances, like the recent tomato scare, the government appears to be doing too little, too late. Why can’t these agencies quickly trace the source, ascertain the scope of the problem, notify retailers and focus on enforcing inspections and practices to prevent recalls from occurring in the first place?

Tom Furr: The federal agencies, and even those at the states’ level, cannot trace the source of a food safety problem with speed and accuracy because the mechanisms in place today do not go to the source of the food. There is an information gap between the point of origin, the farm, and the processor. As such, there is no way to be able to quickly identify the true source of the contamination. That said, the ability to close the information gap exists and it is working well in Canada where our partner FoodLogiQ developed and runs the Canadian Livestock Traceability System for the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (www.canadaid.ca). The CLTS is used by Canada’s 90,000 cattle ranchers to identify 14 million head of cattle when they leave the farm of origin, with 99 percent compliance. In conjunction with traceability, we feel strongly that on-farm audit and early pathogen detection systems are required to protect the food supply.  

NFN: While the government has some online tools in place they appear inadequate to the task of quickly providing retailers the information they need to squelch public fears. In April the Food Marketing Institute, the Grocery Manufacturers Assoc. and GS1 US announced an online portal to provide rapid and secure communication of standard recall information. Your own company, working with FoodLogiQ is creating a National Food Safety system. Are these systems competitive or complementary?

Tom Furr: The NFSS is an open system that can handle any audit checklist or standard and can be used to schedule and complete audits with any audit company and is completely integrated with product traceability.Open systems lead to competition between service providers and ultimately lower costs for all members of the food supply chain. The system Smart Online co-developed with FoodLogiQ is, by design, intended to enable the process of producing safer food – not simply reporting on recalls after the fact.

NFN: How will Smart Online finance its venture? Is this a subscription service? When will it be available to retailers?

Tom Furr: Smart Online develops private label software for the small business market.  In this particular instance, FoodLogiQ is the brand users see at www.FoodLogiQ.com. Smart Online provides the underlying technology for the Audit, Lab Test and Business centers.The service is offered to FoodLogiQ’s new and existing traceability customers at a nominal monthly fee, a subscription based on the number of users per account. Generally, the fee is $50/month for the first five users for food processors. We see some of that fee via a revenue-sharing arrangement. As we’re focusing on the farm-to-processor portion of the information chain, this system will ultimately be integrated with retailers interesting in implementing food safety systems for their suppliers.

Slow Food Victory

San Francisco's manicured City Hall lawn becomes a prominent example of "think global, act local" in action July 1 when it will be replaced by a large scale victory garden.

The Victory Garden project takes its name from 20th Century wartime efforts to address food shortages by encouraging citizens to plant gardens on public and private land. In the early 1940s, Victory Gardens were a way for San Francisco residents to help insurea a secure source of domestic food during a time of war. During World War II Victory Gardens sprouted in front yards and vacant lots, and produced 40 percent of the nation’s vegetables. San Francisco’s program became one of the best in the country; Golden Gate Park alone had 250 garden plots.

 “The Slow Food Nation Victory Garden is one more way to showcase the City’s tangible commitment to sustainability and, as in the past, confront some of the most challenging issues of our times,” said Mayor Gavin Newsom. “For many urban residents, access to healthy and nutritious food is as important now as it was during the Second World War.”

 Slow Food Nation, the largest celebration of American food in history, takes place in San Francisco over Labor Day weekend (August 29 to September 1, 2008). The Slow Food Nation Victory Garden in the Civic Center will serve as a demonstration and education centerpiece leading up to and following the Labor Day weekend event, providing visitors the opportunity to learn about urban food production. Bounty from the garden will be donated to those with limited access to healthy, organic produce through a partnership with local food banks and meal programs.

“The Slow Food Nation Victory Garden demonstrates the potential of building community around local food production, and demonstrates the City’s growing commitment to food system sustainability,” said John Bela, Victory Gardens 08+ Program Manager.

The Slow Food Nation Victory Garden is designed and built by the Garden for the Environment’s Victory Garden 08+ Program, CMG Landscape Architecture and City Slicker Farms, using seeds donated from Seeds of Change and numerous individuals from around the country. Other participating organizations include: The Presidio Native Plant Nursery, Alemany Farms, Friends of the Urban Forest, Ploughshares Nursery, Urban Permaculture Guild, Coevolution Institute and many others.

Time To Play the Health Card

Months into this “technically it’s not a recession” market it’s clear that the rising cost of food and fuel has changed consumer behavior. The weekly spend at supermarkets is up at $97.8 per family but trips are fewer and higher-income shoppers are trading down.

Food inflation could reach 5.5 percent according to USDA’s revised 2008 forecast, the steepest rate since 1990 when 5.8 percent inflation wiped out all grocery industry growth.

Yet a recession can be good for grocers.

A sharp downturn in dining-out has been uplifting. In May Mintel International reported 54 percent of those who dine out regularly are cutting back. There has been a corresponding spike in sales of ready-to-eat grocery items which are now the No. 7 priority in Progressive Grocer’s annual Merchandising Strategies Index, up from No. 9 last year.Respondents to the magazine’s 75^th Annual Report are of a mixed mind. The report, titled “Glass Half Full” aptly describes the situation.

Half of the survey’s respondents (45.9 percent) say that compared to a year ago, they are more optimistic about the retailing climate for supermarkets. Chain retailers (operating 11 or more stores) are slightly more optimistic at 46.2 percent with 26.9 percent indicating they are less optimistic. A quarter of all respondents saw no change.Grocers forecast 2008 at 70.3 on a scale of 0-100 (sensational).

As the economy continues to deteriorate the consensus among grocers is that those with strong positions in their markets will prevail, and lesser players will suffer.Choosing the right strategy is critical.

Food may be recession resistant but nothing is recession proof. Industry seers including Willard Bishop Managing Partner Paul Weitzel and the Food Marketing Institute’s Bill Greer believe that marketing health is an excellent hedge.Weitzel calls grocery stores the “health portals of the future” a place where mainstream America connects food and health. In 10 years, he predicts nutritionists “will be as important to supermarket shoppers as Pharmacists.”Recent surveys show that consumers are still willing to pay a premium for foods and products deemed healthier, despite tighter economic conditions.

The new information about shopping habits means that finding a way to offer extra value or incentives may provide an edge over the competition. Consumers will still spend on what they feel is most necessary, but need to feel that they are getting good value for their money as well.

In “Shopping for Health” FMI advises grocer to make healthy shopping as easy as possible. Shoppers say they are most likely to respond to price incentives (36 percent) and to in-store coupons (30 percent) when weighing organic purchases, according to the report.

“Buying organic is learned behavior,” notes FMI. Produce remains tops for organic shoppers followed by grain products and dairy with 11-16 percent of organic shoppers buying organic eggs, meat, packaged goods and snacks.Additional leverage can be found in healthy private label products which are growing at a dramatic rate. Surveys show nearly 80 percent of grocers will expand their private label offerings in 2008.

Safeway Inc. stands as a shining example. Over a two year period the firm rebranded 3,000 private label items reducing 70 brands to 10 high-performing brands that include “O” Organics and Eating Right and its newest line of a 100 products called Eating Right Kids.

Both lines are driven by deep consumer insights and deliver multi-category lifestyle solutions, according to Safeway which projects $400 million in sales this year from 300 SKUs. Sales are up 50 percent in the first quarter compared to last year and the brand is now available to stores outside the chain.

The move was perfectly executed to take full advantage of the downturn.