Food Companies Are Working To Make Their Products Look More Natural

At Hillshire Brands Co., which makes lunch meats, hot dogs and sausages,  executives also are attuned to the fact that more people prize foods they feel  are natural. At an industry conference in February, CEO Sean Connolly noted that  in addition to taste, the appearance of its food needed work.

Specifically, Connolly said people wanted a more natural look for lunchmeat  that was “moist but not wet.” They also wanted the turkey to look “a little bit  grainier.” Without providing details, a representative for Hillshire, which is  based in Chicago, said those changes were achieved through the manufacturing  process.

Reggie Moore, the company’s vice president of marketing, concedes that the  meaning of “natural” is hard to pin down and varies from person-to-person. But  as the definition evolves, Hillshire is taking care to signal the natural  qualities of its meat visually.

In revamping its turkey slices, for example, one of the cosmetic touchups the  company made was darkening the edges of the meat with caramel coloring to give  the impression that it was just sliced from a Thanksgiving roast.

Ultimately, Moore said the change didn’t really impact the taste

Read more:  http://www.businessinsider.com/food-companies-creating-more-natural-look-2013-6#ixzz2X7V90Dx4

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