Loblaw foods internationally recognized

Loblaw has been recognized by the International Taste and Quality Institute. It received Superior Taste Award for seven of its products.

It's the first North American retailer to be recognized by the institute.

The five 2014 winners included its red quinoa salad with butternut squash, butternut arancini, prosciutto and truffle lasagna, dry aged strip loing steak, and the coffee and black pepper beef burger. The two 2013 winners were the AAA Ontario cornfed platinum beef and turkey spinach meatballs.

Four of the products received the special rank “Remarkable”, with a rating between 80 and 90 per cent, while two earned the highest recognition – "Exceptional" – with a rating between 90 and 100 per cent.

Five of the seven winning dishes were created at the Maple Leaf Gardens location in Toronto, with a team of 30 chefs.

“When we create recipes for our stores, the goal is to redefine people’s expectations of supermarket food,” explained Mark Russell, executive chef for Loblaw, in a release. “Everyone likes roast chicken and potato wedges, but at Loblaw takeout can be gourmet prosciutto and truffle lasagna, or a steaming plate of turkey meatballs.”

A select few Canadian food-makers were also recognized at the ceremony in Brussels, Belgium. Breviro Caviar garnered attention for two of its products, as did cheesemaker Sartori. Mastronardi Produce was recognized for three products.

See Loblaw’s winners below: