Meat + Poultry - May 2007 - 46

WELLSHIRE

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and bratwurst.
But a major aspect of Wellshire
Farms deli production is its elegant Italian meats. The meats carry the "Primo
Naturale" label, and include sliced dried
salami, sweet Abruzzi sausage, various
types of salami that feature black pepper, herbs and wine, natural Chorizo,
sliced Sopressata and Pepperoni. All
of the Italian meats made by Wellshire
Farms are dried sausage meats free of
nitrates and nitrites, and are billed as
being 100 percent natural. In all, more
than 300 products are made under the
Wellshire label and 10 other brands.

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The company began operation in Colameco's house, but now is in a farmhouse
that was built in 1820 in an area of New
Jersey still considered somewhat of an
unlikely hotbed for agriculture. Because
his partners do most of the processing,
reserving some further processing to his
plant where about 15 people work, Colameco believes he's able to grow, not
only his own business, but those of his
processing partners as well.
Through his deli production, which is
the bulk of his business, and including

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workers at his partner companies, Colameco estimates he supports about 700
employees and their families. He says he
is one of four pioneers in the natural end
of the deli business, second only to Applegate Farms, Bridgewater, N.J. Overall,
Wellshire Farms has grown by 30 percent
or more each year since 1996. This year,
the company will ship a little more than
20 million pounds of products.
Wellshire's customers include Whole
Foods, Wild Oats and similar specialty
retailers. Growing the customer base
for natural products depends largely on
what the U.S. Food and Drug Administration determines is the definition of
natural products, an issue the agency
is currently investigating.
"The current definition of natural
products as 'not more than minimally
processed,' really minimizes the whole
idea of what natural products really are.
The 'minimally processed' standard really bastardizes what the category of
'natural food's is supposed to mean,"
Colameco believes. "While the conventional supermarket customer may not
know the difference, the consumer who
buys from Whole Foods or similar stores
on a regular basis certainly does."
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Meat + Poultry - May 2007

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