KOSHER CARB COUNTERS

This story comes from the Aug 14 issue of Kosher Today. FEATURE: Kosher Consumers Still Count Carbs, Renewed Interest in Diet New York…The epitaph on the low-carb diet may already have been written but there is mounting evidence that lower carb kosher products are still very much in demand, retailers say.

Even desserts are not immune from the carb counters. Gladder’s Gourmet offers their new CarbTarget Food line and says, “Count the carbs, but don’t skip dessert!” Gladder’s vice president of sales and marketing David Foreman states, “adherents of low-carb programs are showing preference to those food chains that are catering to their specific needs. We’ve taken our classic cookie recipes and reduced the carbohydrates without altering the great taste so that savvy operators can offer their carb-counting customers — who would otherwise skip dessert — a sweet surprise at the end of the meal.” Sales of low-carb products (including food, books, and other items) are expect to double to nearly $30 billion in 2006. It is further estimated that nearly 20% of all US adults will consider a low-carb diet in the coming year, according to The Valen Group, an Ohio-based consulting group. And a small group of snacks and beverages that assume low-carb positioning in their names or on their packaging — like Carbolite — saw sales blossom from $78.8 million in 2000 to $333.7 million in 2003 in the food, drug and mass market channels. Carbs are also the focus of Enlitened Kosher Cooking, a new recipe book from Nechama Cohen, the founder and CEO of the Jewish Diabetes Association. The 420-page full color book (Feldheim Publishers, $34.95) includes some 250 recipes that are both carb controlled and sugar-free. Desserts are also an important part of Cohen’s book. For the significant number of kosher diabetics, the book offers an amazing array of dishes. “Because there are suggestions as to appropriate food choices in all the food groups: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, anyone striving for a healthy way of living is able to enjoy this book,” says Dr. Lois Javanovic, CEO & Chief Scientific Officer of the Sansum Research Institute