At the Certified Angus Beef 2016 Annual Conference, The National Provisioner editor-in-chief Andy Hanacek spoke with Tom Ryan of Flocchini about developing the whole-muscle Certified Angus Beef sausage and frankfurter as well as what the reception was at the Taste Drive.

Andy Hanacek: I’m here with Tom Ryan of Flocchini at the CAB conference, and I wanted to talk to you a little bit, Tom, about the products you are showing off here, some of the new CAB sausages. Can you tell me a little bit about the products you brought?

Tom Ryan: Sure. First, thanks for coming, Andy. We’re really excited at Flocchini. We do believe we are the first in the country to feature a whole-muscle Certified Angus Beef sausage and frankfurter. What makes us most excited is all clean. We’re not using any nitrites [or] any phosphates. We do them all by hand in small batches, and we really think they are going to take off and go.

Hanacek: Cool. Talk a little bit about the actual individual products you have. What went into the formulation of some of them? What is it beyond the clean label?

Ryan: We started already with a pretty successful business around marketing and merchandising whole-muscle sausages, and when we purchased the sausage factory in Carson City, Nevada about a year and a half ago, with us at Sierra Meat & Seafood being such a Certified Angus Beef fan and supporter, we took what was already doing really well by using and showing whole-muscle sausages and upgrading it with Certified Angus Beef. What we really try and do is use very, very premium ingredients or whole muscle and then use the fewest additional ingredients possible to make sure that we don’t get in the way of the flavor.

Hanacek: What has been the response? We are at the end of the taste drive, and you had a pretty packed booth. What were your takeaways?

Ryan: We’re very, very blessed. Everybody has been really kind. We’ve gotten a lot of great feedback, and we can’t complain one bit. Super excited.

Hanacek: Thank you for your time. Awesome product as I knew when I did the cover story earlier this year, and good luck with it.

Ryan: Thank you very much, Andy. Appreciate your time.