The
Food Emporium Goes Organic With Beef
Gourmet Grocer Is The First Major
Chain With USDA Certified Organic Meat Counters
NEW YORK,
Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The Food Emporium, the Manhattan-based
specialty gourmet grocery chain, announces today it will become
the first major grocery store to be certified to handle and cut
organic beef in its full-service meat departments. Sixteen Manhattan-area
Food Emporiums will begin cutting fresh certified organic steaks
in-house as a value-added program for its customers on November
8.
Working in close
partnership with Dakota Beef, the nation's leading certified organic
beef company, Food Emporium stores have undergone a rigorous certification
and verification process by International Certification Services
allowing them handle organic beef in accordance with the USDA's
National Organic Program (NOP). Without organic certification,
the only way grocers can sell certified organic beef is pre-packaged.
"With this organic certification, we have raised the standard
of our full-service meat departments by making organic a centerpiece
in the premium, gourmet experience we offer our customers,"
said Ray Donnelly, Senior Merchant Meat and Seafood for The Food
Emporium. "No other beef supplier has brought so much extra
value to our meat program as Dakota Beef has with this organic
certification and their premium organic beef," he added.
This marks a huge
step forward for the booming organic food industry by adding yet
another layer of credibility and bringing consumers closer to
the farm. With this program, organic beef consumers can be confident
that every step in the supply chain is certified and managed;
from the ranch to the processing plant to now their grocery meat
counter. To further solidify its position as the premium organic
beef company, Dakota Beef has recently signed a deal to purchase
cattle from the McEwen Ranch, now one of the largest certified
organic Angus ranches in the country. "I am extremely proud
of The Food Emporium for taking this final step to ensure the
beef their customers are purchasing is indeed organic and verified
according to the strict USDA organic standards. What this ultimately
does is ensure the USDA organic seal stands for something with
integrity," said Dakota Beef Founder Scott Lively. "This
is just the beginning of a positive new trend for our industry.
We expect to announce several other major retailers who are following
The Food Emporium's lead with certified organic meat counters."
The Food Emporium
is operated by The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company. Founded
in 1859, A&P is one of the nation's first supermarket chains.
The company operates 405 stores in nine states and the District
of Columbia under the following trade names: A&P, Waldbaum's,
The Food Emporium, Super Foodmart, Super Fresh, Farmer Jack, Sav-A-Center
and Food Basics.
Dakota Beef LLC is the leading certified organic beef company
in the United States, operating its own USDA inspected, certified
organic processing plant in Howard, South Dakota. Founded in 2003,
the company only sells certified organic beef products guaranteed
to be free of antibiotics, growth-promoting hormones and pesticides.
Dakota Beef cattle are humanely raised on pasture and fed a proprietary
diet of organic grains, resulting in consistently flavorful and
tender beef. Dakota Beef has recently announced a partnership
with one of largest organic Angus ranches in the country
http://www.dakotaorganic.com/
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