Message from Andrea Angera, General Manager of Angera Pork Products:

I am very passionate about our products and the importance of organic products. As an organic producer and small family farmer raising sheep in the Somerset Hills of New Jersey, I realize the challenges and benefits of "going organic."

This page is devoted to my comments on a wide variety of issues related to our products, customers and sustainable agriculture in general. They are my opinions, and not necessarily those of the organic community as a whole or our company. More akin to a blog than anything else, I will respond to customer comments dircetly and post those that impact our community here.

Please feel free to send me your comments at: andy@andysorganic.com, and thank you for visiting our site.

Live well and safe,

Andrea A. Angera, Jr.

=================================================

Supermarkets & Organic (4/23/05)

In recent discussions with several leading supermarket chains, one common thread has surfaced: the widespread perception that people will not buy our organic sausage because it costs too much. Of course this is nonsense, because those that do carry our products sell out every week. It is common sense that when deciding what to serve our children, family and friends, we will choose the best available. The fact is that serving organic sausage costs around 50 cents more per serving than serving commodity sausage.

So what's the real story? Well, its the fact that most supermarket chains just don't believe in organic products. To these retailers organic is just another "marketing opportunity." Also, keep in mind that organic may be a rapidly growing market, but it is still a relatively small one. The large retailers are vested members of the big dollar community that bring you factory raised meats, genetically modified foods, and pretty packages encapsulating sub-par products. Only consumer demand will make them change their ways, that means you and I. We need to speak with our wallets and support organic products.

What's in sausage and how does that affect seeing Andy's Organic in your local store?

All our products are made with whole cuts of pork shoulder. Most commercially available sausage is made from pork trimmings, that is, pork scraps. So you can understand when a major retailer told me that if he carried my sausage, what would he do with his scraps?! I understand his problem, but does that mean we need to eat his company's scraps? I hope not. I consider our sausage to be like steak or pork chops-- a real alternative for a healthy main course. Next time you are at the supermarket ask the store manager what the sausage is made out of-- you may be surprised.

I note the most ironic part of this situation is that our natural sausage, made from whole cuts of pork shoulder, costs virtually the same as the sausage made with scraps. That means that not only are they selling you scraps, but charging you for the "good stuff."

Organic Chicken Sausage.

While I was dropping off some of our organic sausage to a neat natural/organic store in Flemington, one of the store managers remarked that most folks would prefer chicken over pork sausage because it was "healthier." I had to giggle before explaining her the facts. Our pork sausage is made from whole cuts of pork shoulder with no additional fat. So what you see is what you get. With chicken sausage, under USDA regulations up to 20% can be (and often is) chicken skins. I don't know about you, but taking a mouthful of savory emulsified chicken skins is not my idea of healthy eating-- even if it is an organic chicken.

I then asked the unknowing manager to pick up the delightful emulsfied chicken skin sausage and compare nutritional fact panels with our sausage-- she was amazed to see our nutritional panel showed virtually identical fat content and lower sodium.

I note this store has tripled the sales of our orgainic products-- I have no idea how the organic chicken skin stuff is doing.

False lableling.

We are approved but awaiting introduction to a leading high end supermarket chain in the New York area. They seem in no rush to put us in their product mix-- they sell a house brand "Fresh Made Sweet Italian Sausage: No Preservatives, No MSG, Reduced Fat and Sodium" that seems to be their idea of "good enough." Out of curiosity, I picked up a package of this fresh made stuff and read the label. Interesting. Third ingredient is "corn syrup solids"; fourth ingredient "dextrose"; fifth ingredient "potassium chloride"; and the final ingredient "flavoring." So lower sodium and fat comes with lots of sugar and potassium based salt. Just what the doctor ordered-- or so it would seem from the nutritional facts-- except that the rosey nutritional facts label was based on "one link, 56 grams." This would be fine if one link weighed 56 grams and not the 90 plus grams they do weigh. Heck, if i reduced my serving size to 10 grams I could probably call my sausage fat free! The label in question is not only misleading, it is illegal-- but when you are royalty you get away with alot.

I can assure you, that when we finally get into this high end store, our label will be both accurate and not include any added sugars and fake salt. Not to mention we'll be USDA organic.