The explosion of gluten-free products in the marketplace is good news for people with celiac disease and gluten sensitivity.

There are 52 million Hispanics in the U.S., representing 16.7% of the total U.S. population. That many people are certainly having an impact on the food industry, and there’s no question that Latinos are quickly changing America’s palate.

There are a growing number of gluten-free products in the marketplace

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

When Columbus first sailed to America, its inhabitants had already developed more than 200 types of maize.

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. 

Gluten has become Public Enemy Number One. Countless people follow a gluten-free diet, and just about everyone knows someone avoiding foods made with the gluten-containing grains wheat, rye and barley

As a dietitian and mom, I know first-hand that whole-grain breads and snack products have lots of health benefits, including reducing the risk of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, obesity and some forms of cancer. 

As demand for gluten-free products continues to increase, more manufacturers are entering this niche market, developing a wide range of products in various categories. 

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!

Fresh, delicious food is the dominant consumer route to health and wellness today.

Gluten-free. Dairy-free. Nut-free. Peanut-free. Allergen-free. The food marketplace increasingly features such claims on product labels, but what do they mean? Do regulatory agencies police use of such terms?

The number of gluten-free products that have entered the market in recent years is quite large—almost mind-boggling. To some degree, this trend was fostered by FDA’s relatively new rule, Gluten-Free Labeling of Foods (August 2013), which allows manufacturers of foods inherently gluten-free to make such label claims. Thus, we now have gluten-free tomato sauce, a product that was probably always gluten-free.

An engineer’s perspective on cleaning efficiencies is scary on its own merit—and I’m certainly going to date myself here—but remember the old boil tanks sanitation was so proud and protective of?

Creating a pleasant stir in New York’s restaurants since 1987, Tom Cat combines the craftsmanship of artisan baking with a cupful of automation plus a pinch of top-quality ingredients

From humble beginnings 40+ years ago in a small bakery near Boston to a 30,000-sq.-ft. plant today in Chelsea, Mass., outfitted with four production lines, Golden Cannoli Shells Inc. now generates more than 100,000 cannoli shells each day. The more spacious plant is also allowing the bakery to significantly increase its capacity.

You will, if you try one from Golden Cannoli Shells Inc. The family-owned, 40-year-old bakery is rolling in the dough at its more spacious, 30,000-sq.-ft. production facility in Chelsea, Mass., to which it relocated in September. The largest national cannoli maker in the U.S. strives for top product quality and strict food-safety standards as well as to ‘just doing things right.’ It’s these and many other reasons that make Golden Cannoli our 2013 Bakery of the Year.

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.

Located in Orem, Utah, Janey Lou’s exemplifies the state’s moniker—the Beehive State. Growing demand for the company’s scrumptious cinnamon rolls, generously-sized cookies, handmade Crispy Treats and numerous frozen dough products is keeping its management team and employees busy as bees.

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. 

Crafting artisan breads, café loaves, pastries and more since 1993, Metropolitan Bakery’s Philadelphia production facility mixes clever flavor combinations with a pinch of automation, European equipment and top-quality ingredients to churn out incredibly fresh baguettes, rolls and country breads, seven days a week.

Demonstrating how much the company has grown over the years, John B. Sanfilippo’s impressive 1-million-sq.-ft. production facility/corporate headquarters/distribution center in Elgin, Ill., is outfitted with speedy, state-of-the-art equipment and technology to produce thousands of nut products, snacks and nut mixes.

John B. Sanfilippo’s (JBSS) 1-million-sq.-ft. headquarters and production complex in Elgin, Ill., is a real powerhouse, with a whopping 85 production lines for nut and snack processing. The company has witnessed steady growth and the challenges that go with it. And with more than 90 years of experience and a keen focus on customer and consumer solutions, JBSS tackles the tough nuts to crack head on. 

Angelic Bakehouse’s new facility in Cudahy, Wis., bakes sprouted whole-grain breads, rolls and combo flatbread/pizza crusts using ingredients ‘as close to pure as possible,’ to offer clean-label, better-for-you products that it’s happy to feed family members and proud to offer customers. 

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. 

The bread market is changing, with fluctuating commodity prices, a still-sluggish economy, consolidations, mergers and buyouts. 

Snacking is really evolving this year, serving as a meal substitute in daily eating, rather than just as ‘a quick bite.’ Snacks are also becoming healthier, or at least attempting to do so. 

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. 

Going for LEED Silver certification, Blue Diamond Growers’ new, state-of-the-art almond production plant in Turlock, CA, features nearly 200,000 sq. ft. of sophisticated almond technology, setting new standards of excellence for food safety, processing and building innovation. 

Savings-savvy Capistrano’s Bakery combined two small baking operations and renovated a larger, 38,000-sq.-ft. production facility in Phoenix that features a used, multizone, traveling-tray oven it had rebuilt with state-of-the-art features. 

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

Although the James Skinner Baking Co., Omaha, NE, maintains a highly diversified bakery business, its core ethos stems from the elegant, deceptively simple notion of 100 layers.

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.

The upscale POP Gourmet concept has gained significant momentum since its inception—and the company continues to build energy through co-branding, diversification beyond popcorn and international expansion.

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.

As more consumers scrutinize ingredients in the foods they buy, bakers and snack producers are turning to inclusions to create better-for-you products that deliver irresistible taste.