Food and Beverage Today
In this Issue
Bottoms Up
Trends In Food
Food Safety
Recalls
Florida Food Festivals 
MAY - Florida Food & Beverage Festivals
We are lucky enough to live and work in Central Florida where many of these events are held or are a short drive away. Take advantage of the numerous opportunities available this month to experience something new.
May 3-4, 2013 Smokin’ Blues Bikes & BBQ - St. Cloud, Florida
Live music, professional & backyard BBQ competition, bike rally/show, beer/wine, a kids' zone and much more. Always fun and always free.
May 3-5, 2013 50th Annual Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival
Fernandina Beach, Florida
Held in the heart of historic downtown Fernandina Beach on beautiful Amelia Island, Florida since 1964, the family friendly, free admission Shrimp Festival offers delicious shrimp prepared every way imaginable by 25 food booths all staffed and run exclusively by local Nassau County non-profit groups as fund-raisers. Wear your walking shoes to visit over 300 Fine Artisan & Crafters, 50 Antique Dealers, 25 Kid Fun Zone Activities, Live Music on 2 Stages, and lots of Pirates.
May 3-5, 2013 29th Annual Pensacola Crawfish Festival - Pensacola, Florida
The event is one of the largest crawfish boils in the state and features thousands of pounds of boiled crawfish in addition to other traditional Cajun and Creole fare such as red beans & rice, crawfish pie, boudin balls, and even fried gator tails.
May 4, 2013 39th Annual Panacea Blue Crab Fest - Panacea, Florida
Held annually at Woolley Park on scenic Dickerson Bay, the festival promotes the crab industry in Wakulla County. Enjoy a parade, live music, dance performances, historic demonstrations, a crab picking contest, fireworks, and lots of good food including boiled blue crab.
May 4-5, 2013 Florida Blueberry Festival - Brooksville, Florida
Highlighting the Florida Blueberry and the 17 county growing region. Located in the northern Tampa Bay region, Brooksville will host the inaugural festival. Blueberry Stomp, Food Truck Rally, Fresh Florida Blueberries, Contests, Gourmet Foods, Live Entertainment, and more.
May 11, 2013 29th Annual Windsor Zucchini Festival - Windsor, Florida
The Festival will be a day of fun for everyone! Activities include Duke of Zuke & Zuqueenie Pageant, arts & crafts, Cook-a-Zuke contest, live music, hay rides, fried zucchini, zucchini ice cream, and contests for the biggest, ugliest and best carved zucchinis.
May 11, 2013 Treasure Coast BBQ Championship - Ft. Pierce, Florida
Sanctioned by the Florida BBQ Association, will be held at the beautiful Riverwalk Center along the Indian River. Want something sweet? Enter the Best Dessert Contest on Friday night. Proceeds from the BBQ go to help homeless dogs and cats of The Humane Society of St. Lucie County.
May 11, 2013 Island Grove Blueberry Festival - Island Grove, Florida
Fun for the whole family! Delicious Florida foods, Blueberry Bake Sale, Cake Baking Contest, arts and crafts vendors, kids activities and entertainment, blueberries and plants. Proceeds benefit the local fire department.
May 11, 2013 Dine on the Wild Side - St. Augustine, Florida
A great Mother’s Day present! Treat yourself, Mom, wife, family, and friends to a wild Saturday they will never forget? How about dining next to a roseate spoonbill while being serenaded by the sounds of a roaring gator, all while supporting our wildlife center. Your event ticket will help us pay for the meals of our orphaned wild birds, mammals and reptiles. Come to our 19th annual "Dine on the Wild Side" fund-raising dinner will be held at The St. Augustine Alligator Farm on Saturday evening, May 11th, 2013. The Alligator Farm and Zoological Park (www.alligatorfarm.com) sponsors this popular event every year for HAWKE. This wonderful zoo has everything from the cute and fuzzy to the largest and rarest alligators and crocs.
May 11, 2013 7th Annual May Day Festival & BBQ Cook-Off - Defuniak Springs, Florida
There will be a host of activities for the kids, such as face painting, a magician as well as a model airplane show and demo. Come and be prepared for the various food vendors selling from fried Oreos, candy apples to oriental food to polish sausages.
May 14, 2013 GEt Cooking West Palm Beach - West Palm Beach, Florida
Inspired by the intuitive technology of GE, we present GEt Cooking, an informative demonstration on our new GE live kitchen appliance featuring menu items that easily transition from appetizers to "small plate" entrées that add up to a full and varied meal. Join us for lunch, an interactive presentation and a hands-on dessert lesson to GEt you cooking in our kitchen and at home.
May 15, 2013 GEt Cooking Bonita Springs - Bonita Springs, Florida
Inspired by the intuitive technology of GE, we present GEt Cooking, an informative demonstration on our new GE live kitchen appliance featuring menu items that easily transition from appetizers to "small plate" entrées that add up to a full and varied meal. Join us for lunch, an interactive presentation and a hands-on dessert lesson to GEt you cooking in our kitchen and at home.
May 16, 2013 Annual Brandon Business Expo & Taste of Brandon
Florida State Fair Grounds, Florida
Attendees will get to see more than 200 exhibitors plus receive FREE samples from "Taste of Brandon" participants including: Chick-fil A, Smokey Bones, Romano's Macaroni Grill, Mimi's Cafe.......and more! Registration is available now & open to all types of business!
May 18, 2013 68th Annual Newberry Watermelon Festival - Newberry, Florida
Since 1946. Some of the favorite festival activities started many years ago and still continue today. These activities include contests for watermelon eating, seed spitting, hog calling, pie/cake baking, and of course the 'Big Melon.´
May 19, 2013 8th Annual Taste of the Beach - St. Augustine, Florida
The event is held each year at the St. Augustine Pier and Pavilion from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 pm. Local restaurants within the beach community are featured.
May 24-27, 2013 Blue Crab Festival - Palatka, Florida
25th Annual Festival--as always, on Memorial Day Weekend. Arts & crafts, beauty pageant, seafood cook-off, and entertainment.
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Food Safety
Shaun Bevan
South Florida Business Journal
A bill that would add more scrutiny to dirty restaurants was passed in the Florida House of Representatives on Thursday.
HB 795 would ease the regulatory burden for restaurants statewide that have a good record with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, and allow inspectors to focus on establishments with a negative record.
“This bill will allow the department to focus its regulatory and compliance efforts on establishments that pose a higher risk to the public,” DBPR Secretary Ken Lawson said. “Businesses that have a positive compliance history with the department will have their regulatory burden reduced, and we thank the House for passing this bill.”
The companion bill, SB 842, as been placed on the special order calendar in the Senate, according to a news release.
If passed, the inspection process for food establishments won't change, but will mean an increase in callback frequency for restaurants not in compliance. The DBPR has about 186 state inspectors to focus on repeat offenders.
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Recalls
Real Pasta Inc., a North Bergen, N.J., establishment is recalling approximately 25,000 pounds of assorted pasta products that were processed without benefit of inspection. Some of the products were also misbranded after being repackaged and may contain soy, a known allergen not declared on the label.
The products subject to recall were labeled under the following brand names:
- Angelina Foodservice
- Deer Park Ravioli
- K-Bella
- La Gustosa Ravioli
- NY Ravioli and Pasta
- Pasta Del Mondo
- Queen Ann Ravioli
- Raffetto’s Corp
- Real Pasta Inc
- San Marco Ravioli
- Serino’s Italian Foodservice
- Vitamia
Various products include:
- Meat Ravioli
- Meat Ravioli Round
- Meat Tortellini
- Pre-cooked Meat Tortellini
- Veal Tortellini
- Meat Raviolinni
- Chicken Tortellini
- Chicken Ravioli with Smoked Mozzarella
The products subject to recall were packaged on various dates since November 14, 2012, then shipped into commerce bearing one of the following establishment numbers: Est. 21479, P-21479, Est. 4702, or P-4702, Est. 1835, or P-1835. Wholesale and retail outlets can identify bulk pack product by the following Julian codes: 12318 through 12366, and 13001 through 13121. The products were distributed in Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York.
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Trends in Food
May Foods
Vegetables - Artichoke, asparagus, broad beans, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, courgettes, cucumber, fennel, Jersey Royal new potatoes, mangetout, new potatoes, peas, radishes, rocket, runner beans, sorrel, spinach, spring onions and watercress.
Fruit - Cherries, elderflowers, kiwi fruit, rhubarb and strawberries.
Meat/Poultry - Lamb.
Fish/Seafood - Cod, crab, Dover sole, haddock, halibut, herring, John Dory, lemon sole, mackerel, plaice, wild salmon, sardines, wild sea bass and sea trout.
Others - Mint and parsley.
Facts
- Sardines - Sardines are naturally high in omega-3 oils, which can help keep your heart healthy. If the soft bones are also eaten they provide calcium too, which is needed for strong bones and teeth.
- Runner Beans - High in fibre, which helps keep your digestive system working well. Four heaped tablespoons of runner beans count as one of your 5-a-day.
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Bottoms Up
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