Specialty Food Magazine

Summer 2016

Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.

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trends & happenings Is Food Plagiarism a Problem? When a new food product becomes popular, it is not uncommon for it to be imitated by other chefs and companies. When Dominique Ansel launched his Cronut, it was only a matter of time before other bakeries, small and large, began to make their own versions of the dessert. After David Chang opened his Momofuku Noodle Bar, a slew of other ramen shops began to open across the country. Chefs have always taken inspira- tion from their peers and replicated dishes, but the difference is the speed at which it now occurs due to modern media. Some chefs are bothered by it, but others note it is hard to prove you were the first to ever make a specific dish, when most foods and techniques have been around for ages. It is also difficult to stop food plagiarism from happening because recipes can't be copyrighted. James Beard Award- winning chef Mike Solomonov notes that recipes are not the real intellectual property, it is the service, consistency, mood, and ambiance a restaurant provides. Chang also asserts that he didn't create ramen, just as "Dominque Ansel did not invent doughnuts or croissants."—Róisín Cameron NO ANIMALS REQUIRED Food cultivated in labs—from chicken breasts and hamburger meat to vegan cheese and allergen-free "shrimp"—aim to lower greenhouse gas emissions, land degrada- tion, water pollution, and biodiversity losses, but safety and high price tags could turn off consumers. That's not stopping the biotech startups jumping in: Clara Foods uses modifed yeast to create an egg-white liquid that's genetically identical to natural egg whites; Memphis Meat is making meatballs created from cultivated stem cells of various animals; Modern Meadow has created bio-engineered "steak-chips" and is working on leather; New Wave Foods has created "shrimp" that's environmentally friendly, kosher, and safe for seafood allergy sufferers using plant proteins and algae; while Amit Gefen, a bioengineer and professor at Tel Aviv University, is creating the frst lab-grown chicken breast, and professor Mark Post of Maastricht University in the Netherlands has already introduced the frst "in-vitro burger."—D.S. Sustainable Jerky Snact takes two hot trends—jerky and repur- posing food waste—and combines them to create fruit jerky out of produce destined for the dumpster. It is currently sold in the U.K., and online internationally. Co-founder Illana Taub, says, "Sourcing surplus is more complicated than sourcing fruit in a conven- tional way as we have to deal with lots of different suppliers, which will vary over time. That said, there is so much food waste that it's not as difficult as you'd expect." Flavors include Apple & Raspberry, Apple & Mango, and Apple, Blueberry, and Banana.—D.S. 65 Number of the California Proposition that is intended to protect residents from harmful chemicals, but that specialty food producers say unfairly penalizes companies using tumeric, black licorice, or ginger. (continued from p. 26) PHOTO:SNACT PHOTO:BIGSTOCK PHOTO:BIGSTOCK SUMMER 2016 143

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