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. 

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 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.

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?

The cookie mix is the newest product in the brand's lineup of plant-based, gluten-free baking mixes.

The debut of Chips Ahoy! Gluten Free cookies comes on the heels of the brand’s MMMproved Chips Ahoy! Original recipe debut, which brought an improved taste to the chocolate chip cookie.

Artisanal buckwheat snack producer Better With Buckwheat is expanding into six regional and ecommerce grocery chains through June and July. 

The brand is introducing a trio of burrito varieties, making restaurant-quality frozen food more accessible.

The launch capitalizes on rising trends in brownie consumption and gluten-free treats.

Pop culture-infused humor, vibrant design, and a catchy Mariachi riff bridge brand awareness from protein bars into savory snacks.

Feel Good Foods, a gluten-free frozen comfort food brand, has announced availability of its Jalapeno Bites, now available at Costco stores in the Bay Area.

The waffles are available in three flavors, including the first-to-market savory Cheesy Waffle.

The company’s goal was to create a treat with the same appearance, taste, and texture profile as its original brownie recipe.

Stellar Snacks recently debuted grain-free pretzels crafted with superfood ingredients, now officially available at select grocery stores throughout the U.S.

Sweet Diplomacy now has a brick-and-mortar location in Los Altos, CA, a commercial kitchen in Boulder, CO, and an online menu shipping across the U.S.

Wildgrain partners with local artisanal bakers to bring fresh sourdough breads, pastries, and pastas directly to consumers' doors.

Once Again Nut Butter is bringing new stand-alone cinnamon, honey, and chocolate graham crackers to market.

The new addition to the Myna Snacks lineup is made with real cheese and Italian herbs and seasonings that deliver the taste of pizza in a convenient, crispy, nutritious format.

Schär’s gluten-free Speculoos cookies and Panettone offer options for gluten-free holiday celebrations.

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

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

‘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. 

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.

Independent—and rapidly growing—Canyon Bakehouse has set high standards for gluten-free as it strives toward baking only ‘best-to-market’ products.

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.

On its own, chocolate is a wonderful treat. Marry chocolate with the perfect flavor pairing, and the snack becomes even more memorable. Classic pairings, such as chocolate with peanut butter, raspberry or mint, are here to stay, but adventurous flavors are growing in popularity.

It can be rather tough for sweet goods products these days. The huge movement to better-for-you items hasn’t exactly been good news and a smooth fairway for this category. But bakers and manufacturers of sweet goods, snack cakes and other delectable treats are watching the demands just as closely as producers in other bakery market segments, and heeding the calls.

Cookies are a robust segment within the bakery industry. There are brands that have been around for decades and have become household names, but there are also many up-and-coming brands that offer unique flavors for niche markets and are set to become the next class of pros.

Busy lifestyles and affordability aren’t the only reasons why consumers add frozen baked goods to their shopping cart each week.

Harris Interactive recently released the results of its 2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend study, which analyzed the responses of more than 38,500 consumers on key measures of brand health for more than 1,500 lifestyle, product and service brands. When questioned about the brands they are likely to reach for when craving a salty snack, respondents chose Lay’s Potato Chips—the top-ranked salty snack for the past eight years—followed by two other Frito-Lay North America brands, Doritos and Tostitos.

Pretzels have been around for more than a thousand years, originating in southern Europe around 610 A.D., according to historians. Today, crispy, hard pretzels are consumed by people in many of the countries represented at the 2012 Olympics.

When it comes to the Olympics, most people prefer some sports over others. The same holds true for consumers when it comes to snack foods.