2024-05-05 12:31:00
The blue created by Climax Foods was honored before being disqualified. Illustration image.
Graphvision / stock.adobe.com
In January, the judges at a prestigious competition decided to award a prize to blue cheese made from pumpkin seeds, hemp, lima beans and cocoa butter. Before he was disqualified. The cheese wars are in full swing.
It was certain: the event was sure to make a big splash. For the first time, a cheese made from plants was to win a prestigious competition once morest its competitors produced from cow’s milk. In January, the judges at the Good Food Awards in San Francisco decided to give an award to blue cheese made by Climax Foods from pumpkin seeds, hemp, lima beans, cocoa butter, etc. A great honor that promised significant publicity for this California startup. Oliver Zahn, the boss, had to keep the announcement of the victory a secret until the April 29 ceremony. Yeah, but here it is… A week before the awards ceremony, this former astrophysicist-turned-biotech was informed by competition organizers that his blue was disqualified. The ingredients for a good controversy were there.
As word of the Climax victory began to spread this winter, traditional cheesemakers saw … blue! In accordance Washington Post, the Good Food Foundation in charge of the competition tried to ease the tension by offering to crown two winners. She also declared that she would think regarding creating a special category next year, before discreetly disqualifying the Blues from Climax.
Mysterious complaint
The organizers received a mysterious complaint accusing the startup of not respecting the specifications. She first used kokum butter, derived from the seeds of an Indian tree in the mangosteen family. However, this ingredient (opinions differ) does not appear to be designated GRAS, an acronym from the United States Food Agency (FDA) that means “generally recognized as safe for the consumer”. According to the complaint, the products were also not ready for retail sale.
Oliver Zahn replied that these two criteria were not mentioned when he sent his samples last year. It’s unclear exactly when the foundation added them to its site, but it appears to have been following the judging tasting in January. The Climax manager defended himself by saying that the organizers had not contacted him to ask for details. He would have told them that his cheeses were ready for marketing. They are already distributed in more than a dozen restaurants included Eleven Madison Park in New York, a three Michelin star. He might also have given them another sample. He has since ditched the kokum butter and replaced it with FDA-certified cocoa butter.
The lobby
Sarah Weiner, the director of the Good Food Foundation, acknowledged that there was a “very disappointing“. The rule change was intended “a clarification of our principles and standards“. She also claimed that she had contacted two Climax employees, with no response. One of them no longer worked at the company.
According to the American newspaper, Oliver Zahn suspects the person behind the complaint to be connected to the dairy industry. And accuses the organizers of the competition of having succumbed to pressure from the industry lobby. He doesn’t want to make a big deal out of it, but…”It would have been very easy for them to contact us and tell us the new criteria“, he said in another interview.
Hard fight
This is just the beginning of the battle similar to that waged by farmers once morest “meatless meat”. Traditional producers believe that plant-based products should not be labeled as “cheese” when they are not made from animal milk.
Not all manufacturers share this opinion. Last year Bel Group took a stake in Climax Foods to create “plant-based alternatives that are indistinguishable from cheese», explains the French giant in a press release. Before adding, just to whet your appetite: “Drawing on the power of data and artificial intelligence (AI), as well as their complementary capabilities and expertise, the two companies will co-create future parts of Laughing Cow, Kiri, Boursin, etc.»
” data-script=”https://static.lefigaro.fr/widget-video/short-ttl/video/index.js” >
1714926006
#vegetable #blue #cheese #cheese #debate #tearing #United #States
