ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — The American Culinary Federation, Inc. (ACF), the nation's premier organization for professional chefs and cooks, has awarded Saputo Cheese USA Inc.'s Stella® Blue Cheese wheel and Stella® Blue Cheese crumbles its prestigious ACF Seal of Approval. The products were submitted for extensive testing and were approved by ACF's Seal of Approval Committee, effective Jan. 15, 2010. The company's Stella® Toppers® Fresh Mozzarella Bocconcini and Stella® Toppers® Fresh Mozzarella Ciliegini products earned the seal in December 2008.
James Taylor, CEC, AAC, MBA, who was chair of the committee at the time of the products' testing, applied the organization's rigorous testing criteria to the Stella® Blue Cheeses, evaluating for application, physical properties, performance, packaging standards, and accuracy of labels and marketing materials.
"The Stella® Blue Cheese products have a deep richness that enhances any recipe to perfection," said Taylor. "The products lend themselves to any chef striving to think outside of the box in their recipe creations."
Stella® Blue Cheese is aged to perfection, creating a rich consistent piquant flavor, with a crumbly texture. Available in Crumble or Wheel form.
The ACF Seal of Approval program offers foodservice manufacturers the opportunity to have products endorsed by the largest organization of professional chefs. Unlike other entities that offer tasting endorsements only, the ACF Seal requires extensive product testing and evaluation. After three years, ACF determines if the product needs to be retested.
About the American Culinary Federation
The American Culinary Federation, Inc., established in 1929, is the premier professional organization for culinarians in North America. With more than 22,000 members spanning 230 chapters nationwide, ACF is the culinary leader in offering educational resources, training, apprenticeship and accreditation. In addition, ACF operates the most comprehensive certification program for chefs in the United States. ACF is home to ACF Culinary Team USA, the official representative for the United States in major international culinary competitions, and to the Chef & Child Foundation, founded in 1989 to promote proper nutrition in children and to combat childhood obesity. For more information, visit www.acfchefs.org.
About Saputo Inc.
Saputo produces, markets and distributes a wide array of products of the utmost quality, including cheese, fluid milk, yogurt, dairy ingredients and snack-cakes. Saputo is the 11th largest dairy processor in the world, the largest in Canada, the third largest in Argentina, among the top 3 cheese producers in the United States and the largest snack-cake manufacturer in Canada. Our products are sold in more than-more40 countries under well-known brand names such as Saputo, Alexis de Portneuf, Armstrong, Baxter, Dairyland, Danscorella, De Lucia, Dragone, DuVillage 1860, Frigo Cheese Heads, Kingsey, La Paulina, Neilson, Nutrilait, Ricrem, Stella, Treasure Cave, HOP&GO!, Rondeau and Vachon. Saputo is a publicly traded company whose shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol SAP.
Source: Saputo Inc.