Archive | February, 2011

This weekend we’re hittin’ the road (ok just down the road from our plant) to the Seattle 4th Ave. Costco to do a fun road show with our Chicken Sausage Rolls!  This Friday, Saturday and Sunday (2/11-2/13) we’ll be sampling 4 varieties and you can mix-&-match your own variety pack – 3 rolls for $8.99! 

We got off to a great start this morning – here are some photos of the fun so far.  If you’re in the area, come on out and see us – Frank will be there too!  Pick up some sausage for your Valentine, or stock up your freezer with this great all-natural chicken sausage. 

A certain fast food chain has been in the news lately because their “seasoned beef” taco filling actually contains a substantial amount of non-beef ingredients including binders, fillers and unnecessary sugar, and they’re being sued for it.

Reactions to this news has been across the board – from being disputed by Taco Bell, to experts claiming this is par for the course, to just plain disgust from the public.  Regardless of your opinion, there’s no denying that controversy over processed meat products has been all over the place in recent years.   As a meat producer we take this very seriously, and our stand is simple:  Real food makes for a healthier you.

Here’s the ingredient listing for that “seasoned beef” filling:  
Beef, Water, Seasoning [Isolated Oat Product, Salt, Chili Pepper, Onion Powder, Tomato Powder, Oats (Wheat), Soy Lecithin, Sugar, Spices, Maltodextrin, Soybean Oil (Anti-dusting Agent), Garlic Powder, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Citric Acid, Caramel Color, Cocoa Powder (Processed With Alkali), Silicon Dioxide, Natural Flavors, Yeast, Modified Corn Starch, Natural Smoke Flavor], Salt, Sodium Phosphates.

As a contrast, here’s the ingredient listing for Isernio’s Italian Chicken Sausage: 
Chicken, water, salt, fennel, spices (including pepper), bell pepper, paprika, dehydrated garlic, parsley, natural flavor, lemon juice concentrate.

Which one would you rather eat?  We feel it’s important to know what you’re putting in your body, and that eating “real” food and ingredients is key to a healthy lifestyle – which is why we’ve never used any sort of fillers, binders, extenders, artificial colors or flavors, or unnecessary sugars and corn syrup. 

We have no problem showing you there’s absolutely no mystery in our meat.  In fact, here’s a photo taken of a whole chicken thigh in our plant right before it was ground and combined with spices to make our sausage: 

Nothing too mysterious there – ours is really the sausage you want to see made!  For more info on our company and production processes, check out this video that takes you behind the scenes.  We’re proud of what we make, and hope you and your family enjoy it too!

The USDA has just released their 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, urging us to basically eat less, drink more water than sugary drinks or alcohol, lower fat and sodium intake, eat more fruits and veggies and balance our calorie intake with physical activity.  Seems fairly obvious…?   Maybe that depends on who you ask, but in any case we’re pleased to see the USDA encouraging healthy habits to help combat obesity and related health problems.

Not to toot our own horn (ok, maybe a little), but Isernio’s sausage products are a fantastic lean protein option that we feel have always been a good fit into a healthy diet, and are indeed a good fit with these new USDA guidelines as well.  Our chicken sausage is made from 95% lean skinless chicken thigh – that’s only 5% fat; just 3.5 grams of fat per link.   Plus, the premium seasonings we use add a ton of flavor to any dish, so even a little can go a long way. 

Now that we have the horn-tooting out of the way, we’re interested to know your thoughts – will you and your family be making any changes to your diet as a result of these new guidelines?   Or is this all just old news to you now?