Topics covered in this issue--

• Message from the President
• Southern California "Meets Their Inspectors"
• The WHO Initiative
• Member Profile: Shemshad Food Products, Inc.
• Snapshot of LA County Food Processing Industry
• Where do you go for financing?
• A Message from San Bernardino County
• FIBR Supports California Senate Bill 582
• Kenny Yee Installed as President of Chinese Chamber of Commerce
• FIBR Welcomes Five New Board Members
• FIBR Elects New Officers
• Congratulations to San Diego County
• 1st Annual Western Collegiate Food Marketing Competition
• SAVE THE DATE! 9th AnnualTaste of FIBR
• Join FIBR Today!

Message from the President

Thank you Mark Roth, owner of El Burrito Mexican Products, for serving two years as FIBR president. You are an excellent leader who willingly and unselfishly shared knowledge and experiences with us during your term. Now, it's your turn to go fill that Burrito.

Wanna buy a house? Need Cash? Need Credit? Think it's impossible for your employees? CDTech's Wealth and Home Ownership plan is working--and very well.

Simply, a few banks have volunteered to serve home buyers who can qualify as credit-worthy without going thru the normal process of qualifying.

The program to buy houses for employees is working so well there were 22 people at the 1st meeting on Wednesday. People are buying houses who never believed the dream of owning their own home could come true.

What ever you ask shall become true, if you're a FIBR member--for some people--anyway.

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Southern California "Meets Their Inspectors"

FIBR held the “Southern California Meet Your Inspectors Forum” on May 12th at the Cal Poly Pomona AGRIscapes building. This “standing room only” event attracted participants from throughout Southern California, from Los Angeles to San Diego.

The program was a cooperative effort of the Regional Wholesale Food Processors Committee (RWFPC), a cooperative effort between FIBR and the Environmental Health Departments of Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and San Diego Counties and the City of Vernon.

The morning began with FIBR Board member Kenny Yee providing opening remarks on behalf of FIBR. Mr. Yee was followed by Dean Wayne Bidlack, of Cal Poly Pomona’s College of Agriculture, who welcomed the group to the campus.

The morning’s Mistress of Ceremonies was Ms. Rochelle Abramovitz, Chief Environmental Coordinator for Food Programs, Los Angeles County. She introduced Ms. Charlene Contreras of Los Angeles County who made the first presentation: Bioterrorism: Recipe for Protection. Ms. Contreras was followed by Mr. Lyndon Ongyiu of the City of Vernon who made a presentation on Backflows, Storm Water and Hazardous Materials. Both of these excellent presentations were selected because they apply to all Southern California wholesale and food processors.

Click here for the Bioterrorism presentation [1MB PowerPoint Presentation].

Click here for the Backflows, Storm Water and Hazardous Materials presentation [8.9MB PDF].

Next, an open questions and answers session took place between the participants and a panel representing Southern California’s regulatory community. Panelist included Liz Pozzebon, Chief, Food and Housing Division, San Diego County; Swati Bhatt, Environmental Health Specialist III, Los Angeles County; Kevin Do, Environmental Health Specialist, Orange County; Rob Miller, West Valley Regional Supervisor, San Bernardino County; and Lyndon Ongyiu, Environmental Specialist, City of Vernon.

The morning ended in the ARGRIscapes rotunda where participants could “Meet Their Inspectors” and get information.

FIBR would like to thank the following for contributing to the success of this event:

• Cal Poly Pomona’s Food Marketing and Agribusiness Management College
  
• Los Angeles County
  
• San Bernardino County
  
• San Diego County
  
• Orange County
  
• City of Vernon

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The WHO Initiative: A New FIBR Benefit

Do your employees tell you that they cannot afford to buy a home in the Los Angeles market?

Are you having trouble keeping employees because they move away in search of more affordable homes?

Are you looking for a low-cost way to increase employee benefits that will attract better employees?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then CDTech’s new Wealth and Home Ownership (WHO) Initiative might be just what you’re looking for!

What is the WHO Initiative?

The WHO program is a collaboration among CDTech, Community Empower, a national mortgage counseling and financial planning firm, and the Mortgage Finance Program at L.A. Trade-Technical College. Our goal is provide employees with a cost-effective and efficient one-stop service to assess their credit, improve their credit, get pre-qualified for a home loan, obtain a loan, and find a home. The WHO Initiative builds on the success of CDTech’s employer-based Individual Development Account (IDA) program, which currently works with three employers and has more than 300 low-wage workers saving for a home, new business or college education.

Why would I want to participate in the WHO program?

Because your employees’ financial problems can directly affect their job performance! By offering employees a way to overcome their financial problems, your business can reduce costs related to recruitment and high turnover, reward high-performing employees, and increase productivity. We’re targeting workers in the workplace because research has shown us that workplace financial education results in better financial wellness for workers (Garman 1998). Employees’ financial stress affects companies’ bottom lines in excess of $150 billion annually (Jacobson 1996).

What does the WHO Initiative include?

Our services include consumer education workshops (on topics such as: understanding your credit, buying a home, applying for a mortgage); personalized credit improvement services using Community Empower’s state-of-the-art, high-tech software; continued one-on-one counseling to overcome financial obstacles and prepare for homeownership; access to new and useful financial products, such as a low-cost, FDIC-insured payroll card with savings features; and loan underwriting and mortgage matching.

This sounds great, but how much is it going to cost me?

Well, it depends on which services you want to offer to your employees. The WHO Initiative is designed to be flexible in order to meet your company’s goals, whether it’s attracting high quality employees, rewarding your long-term employees, or encouraging your employees’ financial stability.

Some employers are interested in making all of the WHO program’s services available to employees, while others are interested in only the consumer education. Still other employers are interested in providing financial assistance along with education and counseling, such as funds for down payments or higher education expenses. If you have an existing relationship with a financial institution, the bank might be willing to sponsor your employees’ participation in the WHO program. At a minimum, CDTech would ask you to encourage participating employees, which might mean allowing an employee to take a few hours off to attend a counseling appointment, or providing space for conducting workshops and/or private counseling sessions. Our services are designed to be as convenient as possible for working adults, so counseling sessions and workshops are generally scheduled during lunch periods or after working hours.

Which of my employees are eligible?

That is also up to you! CDTech does not limit participation on the basis of income or any other measure. You may choose to offer services through the WHO program to all employees or to certain groups. For instance, if you want to increase benefits for your long-term employees, you can decide to include only those who have worked at your company for a certain number of years. Or you may decide to focus on employees who earn less than a certain annual income, or entry-level employees, or a certain department or business unit. Some of the products the WHO Initiative offers, such as affordable home loan products and the IDA, include additional eligibility criteria, and our well-trained counselors will work with employees one-on-one to determine their eligibility for those.

OK, I’m interested! How do I get more information?

CDTech can help you design a program that meets your goals and the unique needs of your employees. Contact Zoe Ellas at (213) 763-2520 or zellas@cdtech.org for more information. The WHO initiative is currently only open to FIBR members, who will be receiving direct information about the program in the mail. If your company is not a member, contact Yvette Nunez at ynunez@fibr.info.

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Member Profile: Shemshad Food Products, Inc.

In 1979, as immigration doors were closing in Iran, Cyrus & Armenouhi Teadolmanesh immigrated to the U.S. Looking to live the American dream, the young couple founded Shemshad Foood Products, Inc. in 1981. They created a niche market by producing Persian products that are sold to over 120 Armenian, Persian, Arabic and specialty stores.

“My husband always had good taste, I liked his recipes” said Armenouhi as she boasted that her husband was the one who comes up with the new recipes and products. This husband and wife team started with just a few breakfast creams and dip products in their first location. In 1989 they moved to a larger Los Angeles facility and added a variety of products which include jams, ground coffees, pickles, syrups, juices (pomegranate, sour cherry, tamarind), rose, mint and orange blossom waters, traditional stews such as Celery (Karafs) and Walnut (Fesenjan) and even frozen vegetables like fried eggplant. Their newest product, a line of dried fruit snacks, includes flavors like apricot, plum, barberry and lime.

Shemshad Foods first learned about FIBR through their health inspector who told them about the association and the “Food Safety with FIBR” training that was being offered. In 2001 Shemshad Foods not only took the training course, but joined the association as well. Active members of FIBR, Cyrus and Armenouhi can be seen at many FIBR events.

Shemshad foods is currently negotiating with a large national grocer to distribute one of their steak sauce products – but this contract would require larger capacity than their current location. This is no problem for Shemshad foods. Always looking to the future, Mr. Teadolmanesh has already purchased property in the Mojave Desert where a new factory is being built – this new facility will also provide him space for the many new products he is developing. Fortunately the Mojave Desert is still in Southern California – and Shemshad Foods will continue to be a valuable member of FIBR.

If you are interested in learning more about Shemshad Food Products, please contact them at 818/241-2215 or by e-mail at SHEMSHAD@aol.com

Snapshot of LA County Food Processing Industry

With help from the research staff of the Community Development Technologies Center, we took a snapshot of the local industry to find out what happened over the past two years. Based on figures from Dun & Bradstreet, the total number of food manufacturers in Los Angeles County decreased slightly from 1,326 firms in July 2003 to 1,264 companies in April 2005. Employment numbers also saw a decrease during this period, from 51,308 employees in 2003 to 46,484 in 2005. This might not seem like very good news until you look at the annual sales. Annual Sales are why you are in business and it looks like business has been good.

There was a great increase in Food Industry Annual Sales in Los Angeles County from nearly $16 billion in 2003 to just over $25 billion this year. Look even further, and you can send a trend for the food industry’s growth. Compare the current number to those in 2001, when annual sales were at $7.2 billion. Small firms (i.e., manufacturers with 50 or fewer employees) continue to dominate the industry. These statistics make a case and point about the importance of the Food Industry Business Roundtable – FIBR, the voice of an industry that has proved itself an economic engine for the Southern California region.

Click here to see L.A. County Food Industry Comparison from July 2003-April 2005 [76 KB Excel File]

FIBR thanks the Community Development Technologies Center for its research assistance for this article and many other FIBR projects. CDTech is a long standing member and partner of FIBR, providing many in-kind services to FIBR over the years. For more information about CDTech, give them a call at 213/763-2520 or visit their website at www.cdtech.org

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Where do you go for financing?

This issue of the FIBR Newsletter is focused on Access to Capital. FIBR invited its four members (The Los Angeles Local Development Corporation, City National Bank, Norden Capital and Growth Capital Associates, Inc.) who provide financing to the food industry to tell you about their services and products. As you will see, there are a variety of avenues available to you when seeking financing to grow your business, through both for-profit and non-profit entities. Weather you are looking to buy new manufacturing equipment or acquire a larger property, there is help out there. We hope that by sharing this information we can help you identify programs that might bring you closer to achieving your business goals.

The Los Angeles Local Development Corporation:

The Los Angeles LDC, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that has been dedicated to providing needed capital and investment through loans to businesses throughout Southern California for the past 25 years. We offer access to capital and community development investments to a myriad of clients that range from start up, emerging and dynamic small and mid-sized businesses that enable us to deliver high-quality service coupled with market-driven priced capital and investments. The LDC merges capital access, community development investment and financial advisory services to provide comprehensive solutions to the most complex community development financing problems in our industry. We’ve been working with Manufacturer’s for the past 25 years.

The LDC provides access to low-cost capital on reasonable terms for communities that have historically been excluded from traditional financing. We specialize in providing loans in the often neglected areas of small business development/expansion as well as commercial real estate development/acquisition. Our lending happens almost entirely in distressed census tracts (an area with over a 20% poverty threshold). Here are some examples of these programs:

• Micro Credit Access Loans (Small Business Development)
• Southern California Business Development Fund (Small Business Development)
• SBA 504 ACE Loan Fund I (Real Estate Acquisition/Small Business Development)
• SBA 504 Loan (Real Estate Acquisition)

• Real Estate – Acquisition and Predevelopment Loans (Real Estate Acquisition)
• Permanent Real Estate Loans – Senior or Subordinated
• Tax Exempt Bond Financing

Please feel free to contact us at (213) 362-9110. You can also e-mail us at info@losangelesldc.com. Also feel free to visit our website at www.losangelesldc.com.

City National Bank:

Jolinda Navabonilla is Vice President at City National Bank. Ms. Navabonilla has over 10 years of experience in dealing with privately held companies based in Southern California. She specializes in the food industry as such she understands the complexities and challenges faced by food processors, distributors and Importers of perishable goods.

City National Bank is a full service commercial lender headquartered in
Southern California. The bank provides working capital lines of credit,
equipment loans, SBA loans, foreign exchange and other international
products.

Ms. Navabonilla can be reached at the following address:

555 S. Flower St., 12th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90071

Her telephone number is 213-673-8703 and her fax number if 213-673-8734. You may also contact her by e-mail at Jolinda.navabonilla@cnb.com

Norden Capital:

Norden Capital is an equipment lessor, specializing in working with manufacturers in the Food & Beverage Industry. Our transaction size ranges between $20,000.00 and $500,000.00 and above. Equipment can include new and used manufacturing and packaging equipment, office equipment, immovable equipment such as freezing equipment, and furniture and fixtures. We work with companies throughout the U.S. and also with companies located in foreign countries, including Mexico, where the transaction involves the import of manufacturing equipment made in the U.S. with substantial U.S. content.

Please feel free to contact me, Bob Homans, to see how Norden Capital can fill your needs. Norden Capital is located at 8217 Beverly Bl., No. 8, Los Angeles, CA 90048. Our telephone number is 323/852-7070 and our Fax is 323-852-7172. We also have a U.S. Toll Free number, 800/775-2624. Alternatively, you may e-mail me at rhomans@nordencapital.com

Growth Capital Associates, Inc.

TAX-EXEMPT BOND PROGRAMS: LOW-INTEREST RATE LOANS FOR FOOD PROCESSORS & DISTRIBUTORS

Food processors and distributors are turning to two low-interest rate loan programs to fund their new facilities - Industrial Development Bonds (IDBs) and Empowerment Zone Bonds (EZBs). These programs allow qualified businesses to borrow the proceeds of a tax-exempt revenue bond issue to fund their projects. The tax-exempt status of the interest allows a company to borrow at rates often below those paid by major corporations. Companies in Southern California that have used these programs include American Fish & Seafood, Worldwide Produce/Green Farms, Wing Hing Noodle and Gold Coast Baking.

Bonds can only fund the purchase of land, buildings and/or new equipment associated with a qualified operation. IDBs are used by manufacturers and processors. EZBs can fund a wide variety of projects located in the Federally-designated Empowerment Zone (EZ), primarily downtown and South Los Angeles. IDBs have no location limitations, but EZB projects must be in the EZ.

Borrowers have found that by using bonds they can reduce their financing costs by at least 20% to 30% annually. Bond transactions as small as $2.0 million can be completed on a cost-effective basis, the average IDB issue is about $3.5 million and EZBs can range up to $25 million. Smaller projects can qualify for a streamline approval process to access bond funds quicker.

For more information on these programs, contact Dan Bronfman, Growth Capital Associates, Inc. (310) 581-8888, or email dan@gro-cap.com.

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A Message from San Bernardino County

A regular feature of the FIBR Newsletter is “A Message From Your Regulators”. This feature is part of a larger effort by FIBR that strives to build partnerships with the academic, corporate, and regulatory community.

San Bernardino County is a member of the Regional Wholesale Food Processors Committee (RWFPC), a co-operative effort between FIBR and the Environmental Health Departments of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange and San Diego Counties and the City of Vernon. The objective of RWFPC is to share information and resources among its own members and the entire Southern California food processing industry. One result of this effort was the Southern California “Meet Your Inspectors” Forum that was held on May 12, 2005.

San Bernardino County, Food Protection Program

The Food Protection Program of San Bernardino County is just one program under the Community Environmental Health Division. The responsibilities of the Food Protection Program include;

• Inspect places where food is eaten, processed, sold or stored, such as restaurants, markets, food stands, vending machines, catering vehicles, salvagers, and carnivals.
• Investigate complaints of suspected foodborne illness, insanitary conditions and other problems.
• Review plans and regulate construction of food facilities.
• Inspect and sample retail ice cream/yogurt soft serve machines.
• Inspect wholesale food manufacturers and food warehouses for sanitation and food safety.

In addition to these programs the Division of Environmental Health also has a Housing Inspection Program, a Recreational Health Inspection Program (public swimming pools), a Water, Wastewater/ Land Use Program, a Waste Management/ Local Enforcement Agency/Medical Waste Program, a Vector Control Program, and a Health Education Program.

Recently, our County has adopted an A B C grading system for retail food establishments. At this time, 13 out of the 24 cities within our county have adopted this system which will require food establishments to post a letter grade upon the completion of a routine inspection.

Our Wholesale Food Inspection Program is responsible for routine inspections of wholesale food processing facilities and food warehouses. This is to ensure that all processors and distributors are producing/distributing safe, wholesome food products. We currently have over 350 wholesale facilities under permit in our county which is the largest in the 48 contiguous states and covers over 20,000 square miles. Our Wholesale Program is also responsible for plan review for all new wholesale facilities and remodels of existing facilities to ensure that they meet current compliance standards.

We recently distributed questionnaires to our wholesale operators and have begun to collect data in order to assist us in the event of an emergency such as a terrorism attack, or in the event of a product recall.

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FIBR Supports California Senate Bill 582

In April, FIBR issued letters of Support for California Senate Bill 582, the “retailers disclosure” bill. This bill addressed the issue of “slotting” or shelf placement fees that manufacturers pay to supermarkets to have their products placed on the shelves.

Although SB582 was defeated in the California Senate Committee for Business, Professions and Economic Development, it was a very important bill that would have not only required disclosure of fees other manufacturers pay for their shelf space, but also require disclosure of any marketing data that might be shared with other manufacturers in like categories.

As a non-profit trade association of ethnic and specialty food manufacturers in Southern California, FIBR felt this bill was important to our over 100 member companies, and to the larger community of well over 2,000 wholesale and food processing throughout Southern California.

SB582 is just the kind of bill that FIBR feels is a step in the right direction toward helping the smaller manufacturer. Slotting fees are a sensitive issue for our industry and something most of us have learned to live with. There are countless stories about new businesses that quickly end up out of business -- after negotiating product cost, they are then surprised to learn about the incredible shelf placement fees they must pay. Those who pay it must work longer and harder just to make it. Past government efforts to address this issue have ended up in retaliation from the industry – again forcing anyone willing to talk about this issue to be quickly put out of business. And there are many manufacturers who simply choose not to, or cannot afford to, carry their products in chain stores, limiting their market share and potential growth.

Part of FIBR's mission is to “promote the growth of the ethnic and specialty food processing industry in Southern California”, and FIBR’s support of bills like SB582 helps to fulfill that mission. As an association, we have the strength to speak out as a group, and as we grow, so will our voice.

State Senator Liz Figueroa, who introduced SB582, issued an op ed piece that appeared in many publications after the bill was defeated. To see a copy of her article, please click here [36 KB PDF].

FIBR makes every effort to keep a pulse on legislative issues that affect our members. We welcome your comments and suggestions on issues that are important to you. Please feel free to e-mail us at ynunez@fibr.info.

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Kenny Yee Installed as President of Chinese Chamber of Commerce

FIBR board member, Kenny Yee, was installed as Chinese Chamber of Commerce president for a two year term on Friday, June 24, 2005, at Empress Pavillion in Chinatown.

Henry Leong, also a FIBR board member, was demoted after his two years of loyal service as Chinese Chamber president. Henry now holds the title of immediate past president.

Kenny promised to continue Henry's theme of shameless self promotion and immediately fulfilled his promise by handing out his company's noodles.

FIBR attendees included Grace Low of Harvest 2000, Hikari Matsuno and Horacio Bellofiore of California Specialty Farms, Lawrence Tan of Wah King Noodle Company and Don Whittemore, Dandy Don's HomeMade Ice Cream.

FIBR Welcomes Five New Board Members

FIBR is proud to announce five newly elected and appointed members to it’s Board of Directors. Elected to the board at the Annual Members Meeting in March were Horacio Bellofiore of California Specialty Farms, Ryan Gaytan of Gaytan Foods and Selene Wang of First Vegetarian Foods (Starlite Cuisine). Two additional board members, Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz, food industry expert and author and John Pesce of Felbro Foods, were appointed to the board for terms to be re-elected by the general membership at the 2006 Annual Members Meeting.

Congratulations to these new board members who bring their expertise and energy to our association! Here are short profiles on each of our newest members of the Board of Directors:

Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz, J.D.

Prosy is a quality professional with more than 26 years experience in regulatory affairs, providing oversight to food manufacturers, drug and device manufacturers, and dietary supplements. She is an accomplished author on various topics of food safety and integrated approach to quality management systems affecting food manufacturers. She co-created a Food Safety Training Institute, with the Food Industry Business Roundtable, now in its 5th year.

Prosy is actively involved in issues that concern the dietary supplement industry. She has been a speaker, moderator, panelist for convened conferences by the American Society for Quality’s Food Drug and Cosmetic Division (ASQ-FDC), Council for Responsible Nutrition, Consumer Health Care Products Association and the So. California District Attorneys Association. She participated as the state government representative to the USFDA Los Angeles District Grassroots Regulatory Partnership (GRP)’s Dietary Supplement Subcommittee. She co-authored the Subcommittee’s position paper submitted to the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition on Dietary Supplements with Ephedrine Alkaloids, in September, 2000. She has served for five years as a member of the Expert Panel on Dietary Supplements for the United States Pharmacopeia. Prosy is also a Senior Member of the American Society for Quality and served as the National Chair for the Food, Drug and Cosmetic (FDC) Division in 2000-2001.

Prosy has a Bachelor of Science in Food Technology from the University of the Philippines and a Juris Doctor Degree from the Whittier College School of Law. She retired from her position as Regional Administrator for the California Dept. of Health Services, a career span of 26 years She was recently elected to chair the endowment group, called “ Pilipino Legacy Fund at UCLA”, that will work to create a permanent program on Filipino Studies at UCLA. In March 5, 2005, Prosy, along with her husband, received the Peace and Justice Award from UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center for the couple’s combined body of work on community service of over 70 years in the areas of leadership development, literacy, and civil rights in the US.

Horacio Bellofiore

Horacio Bellofiore of Pasadena is the owner of H. Bellofiore, Inc. and is founder and president of a specialty produce distribution company.

A CPA for 28 years, Mr. Bellofiore is a native of Buenos Aires, who became a U.S. citizen in 1975. In 1980 he formed his accountancy and in 1993 he founded Worldwide Specialties, Inc., which operates as California Specialty Farms. The company supports restaurants and food service providers with chef-ready herbs and hand-carved vegetables. Additionally, Mr. Bellofiore is an active real estate investor and is involved in a design company.

Mr. Bellofiore earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration from California State University at Northridge.

Ryan Gaytan

Ryan Gaytan grew up in the food business. His grandfather, Frank, started one of the first general stores in the Puente Valley in 1935. Soon thereafter, the store became known for its home-style fried pork rinds, or Chicharrones. There was so much demand for these Chicharrones that the market was eventually knocked down to make way for a full-time pork rind factory.

Frank's son Rudy took over the business in the 1970s and expanded the factory to occupy roughly half of a city block. Rudy's son Ryan joined the business as a child in the 1980s. He started as a "quality control inspector", getting to sample product as it moved through the production line. Despite his being so young, Rudy often took Ryan to visit customers and vendors so that Ryan could get used to the business operations.

In 1997, Ryan began his studies at the University of Southern California with an undeclared major. In 1998 Ryan applied to, and was accepted by one of USC's top divisions: the Marshall School of Business. Seeking to further concentrate his studies, in 2000 Ryan applied to, and was accepted by the Lloyd Gried Center for Entrepreneurial Studies within the Marshall School of Business. After receiving his degree in 2001, Ryan started working for the business on a full-time basis, concentrating his efforts on the finances and accounting of the business.

Today, Gaytan Foods employs over 50 people and is the western U.S.'s largest manufacturer of pickled pork rinds and one of the largest manufacturers of fried pork rinds."

John Pesce

John N. Pesce is Operations Manager for Felbro Food Products, Inc. in Los Angeles. He is responsible for developing food safety programs, employee training, supplier audits, vendor compliance and pest control.

He has over 39 years of experience in the food industry in both production and executive management capacities. For 27 of those years, he worked at Fearn International, a subsidiary of Kelloggs', where he developed curriculum and provided employee training in sanitation and hygiene, CGMP's, pest control and industrial safety. He also had extensive experience in thermal processing of canned food products and was responsible for employee training in retort and orbitort operations.

Mr. Pesce is a member of two professional organizations (AFDO) Association of Food and Drug Officials and the (ASQ) American Society for Quality. He will be completing his training this fall for Certified Quality Auditor HACCP

John is also a City of Los Angeles-licensed steam engineer. He attended the University of California at Davis' Better Process Control School; the American Institute of Baking for certification in Food Processing Sanitation and Hygiene; the University of Tennessee's Statistical Process Control Management for Food Processing; and the University of Southern California's Food protection Certification Program for food plant manufacturers. Mr. Pesce also has a certificate in Seafood HACCP.

Selene Wang

Selene Wang loves to meet challenges head on…especially when it comes to handling marketing, research and development tasks for a growing soy foods company, called StarLite Cuisine. She’s been responsible for these essential tasks since 1999. She and her sister, June, are the two principals in StarLite Cuisine.

Selene grew up in the food business. When her parents, Jenny and Tau Wang, founded First Vegetarian Foods, Inc. in 1979, young Selene, the fifth of five children, spent hours watching her father prepare foods for sale to the community. She learned first-hand how to create unique and tasty menus that would appeal to the company’s target audience. After graduation from high school and during her college years, Selene continued to work with her parents in production and sales and marketing. "I love to cook up new ideas," she explained

When her sister June and brother-in-law, Thomas Lim, purchased First Vegetarian Foods, Inc. in 1999, they decided to add a new brand of soy foods under the name, "StarLite Cuisine" Selene became vice president and creative director of the company. Selene’s outgoing personality has been essential to the growth of the company.

"There are times when I work round the clock to perfect a recipe or get a new product out. I guess I’m a perfectionist, but that really makes a difference in the food business."

Today, Selene works closely with June in their quest to build StarLite Cuisine into a major player in the soy foods category. Says Selene, "June and I work really well together. She’s more detail oriented and patient; I’m more creatively driven. She comes up with the plans; I execute the plans. I work on recipes; June works out the selling points. There’s a nice balance."

Selene has captured the attention of natural food customers creating healthy, tasty and convenient products that are easy to prepare. She and June have also established a great working environment for StarLite Cuisine’s employees. "We have a great relationship with all of our staff," notes Selene. "We know they appreciate having a fun, exciting, safe, and sometimes slightly crazy place to work."

Notably, Selene and June have adopted a "Game Plan for Greatness Success Blueprint," which is a key element to StarLite Cuisine operating philosophy. Included in this "blueprint" are five core values -freedom, love, integrity, spirituality and creativity. Selene and June believe these values are important to the success of both their personal and business lives.

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FIBR Elects New Officers

The FIBR Board of Directors recently elected new officers. The new officers are:

President: Don Whittemore of Dandy Don’s Homemade Ice Cream

Vice President: Henry Y. Leong of Quon Yick Noodle Company

Secretary: Shelly Suzuki of Suzuki Enterprises

Treasurer: Stephen Summers of Travers Realty/Oncor

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Congratulations to San Diego County

Winner of the 2005 Crumbine Consumer Protection Award

The Foodservice & Packaging Institute has named the County of San Diego Department of Environmental Health Food & Housing Division as the 2005 Samuel J. Crumbine Consumer Protection Award winner. Each year the Crumbine award is awarded to only one food protection program in the nation. This is the “Academy Award” of honors in the food industry.

Special congratulations to Liz Pozzebon! Chief, Food and Housing Division, San Diego County – a long standing FIBR member!

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1st Annual Western Collegiate Food Marketing Competition

The 1st Annual Western Collegiate Food Marketing Competition was held March 15th in conjunction with the SCIFTS Suppliers’ night. It was a great success -- ensuring that this will not be the “first and only” Food Marketing Competition.

The day started out at the Pasadena Sheraton where the students enjoyed the opportunity to meet the other contestants at a continental breakfast that was sponsored by Kroger Manufacturing and Crossmark. The teams then got down to serious business as they presented their food products to a panel of four judges at the Pasadena Center.

Hidden Villa Ranch sponsored an innovative “ice breaker” luncheon, where a description of a new product was presented and each table was charged with designing a new slogan and print ad. At the conclusion of the luncheon, Hidden Villa picked the winning team and each team member received a gift certificate.

After the luncheon the teams continued making their presentations until the competition was finished and judging completed. The teams then enjoyed Suppliers' Night, the opportunity to network with industry professionals and the presentation of the awards for the competition.

The 1st place winner was Brigham Young University presenting the product “Frooshi”, a sushi roll (without the seaweed) wrapped around fruit. The 2nd place winner was Cal Poly Pomona with an Ice Cream Plant and Ice Cream Parlor to be opened on campus. The other Top Five Winners included: University of California, Chico, University of California, Fullerton, and the University of the Pacific.

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SAVE THE DATE! 9th Annual Taste of FIBR!

The 9th Annual “A Taste of FIBR” will be held at October 26th from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The location will be announced soon.

This is “the” FIBR event of the year – where members showcase their products to the delight of your taste buds! This year we will be presenting four awards:

FIBR Food Processor of the Year;

FIBR Community Partner of the Year and;

FIBR Safety Achievement Award.

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Join FIBR Today!

New business opportunities like the ones described above are just some of the benefits of membership. The FIBR Sampler will profile member companies and individuals to help you grow your business. For more information about membership, contact Yvette Nunez at ynunez@fibr.info.

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