NEW PRODUCTS

Barbara’s Bakery has introduced Puffins® Cereal & Milk Bars, all-natural, wheat-free cereal bars which contain no trans fat, artificial additives, or preservatives. The bars are available in Strawberry Yogurt, Blueberry Yogurt, French Toast, and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip flavors. A portion of the sales of Puffins cereals and Cereal & Milk Bars is donated to the Audubon Society’s Project Puffin, which is dedicated to restoring the seabirds’ natural habitat off the coast of Maine. Barbara’s Bakery is based in Petaluna, Calif.

Betty Crocker, a subsidiary of General Mills, Inc., is starting a new line of desserts aimed at the busy family. Complete Desserts provide the fruit and topping for traditional home-cooked desserts such as Southern-Style Peach Cobbler and Old-Fashioned Apple Crisp. A General Mills survey revealed that while only 14% of families serve dessert, 75% enjoy having dessert with dinner at home. The desserts take less than 5% to prepare and only 30 min to cook. General Mills is based in Minneapolis, Minn.

Bob Evans Farms, the line of convenience foods from the restaurant chain, introduced five new products in September. The refrigerated line will be enhanced by Bob Evans Special Macaroni & Cheese, Large Sausage Cheeseburger Snackwiches, and Savory Sage Fresh Sausage. Bob Evans Original Sausage Gravy and Biscuits Frozen Entree and the Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Burrito Snackwitches join the frozen entree line. Bob Evans Farms is based in Colombus, Ohio.

Cascadian Farm has introduced a new flavor to its line of organic spreads. Organic Concord Grape Spread, like all of the Cascadian Farm products, is produced without the use of syncation thetic pesticides or synthetic chemicals. Cascadian Farm is a part of Small Planet Foods, a subsidiary of General Mills. Small Plant Foods is based in Sedro-Woolley, Wash.

Campbell Soup Co. and the Orthodox Union have jointly announced that Campbell’s Vegetarian Vegetable Soup is now certified as kosher. To meet the OU’s standards, an entire production line was shut down so that all of the equipment and utensils could be cleaned, purged, and certified. Other products issued by Campbell Soup Co. have received the OU’s certifications, but the Vegetarian Vegetable is the company’s first soup to receive the distinction. The first cans of kosher Vegetarian Vegetable Soup rolled off the assembly line at the end of August, and the product will be readily available nationwide by December. Campbell Soup Co. is based in Camden, N.J.

Pillsbury® is expanding its line of Home Baked Classics® to include three new products: Soft White Dinner Rolls, Crusty Sourdough Dinner Rolls, and Extra Large Easy Split™ Biscuits. The Home Baked Classics line of freezer-to-oven dinner rolls allows for convenient portion control due to the resealable bag and individually frozen items. Pillsbury, a subsidiary of General Mills, is based in Minneapolis, Minn.