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Cheese Market:
Block Price: $1.7525, Barrel Price: $1.7225
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Duets

FAQs

Welcome to our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

We’ve compiled a list of questions that we commonly get asked about Sargento Food Ingredients. Click on a question in the list below for a detailed answer. Don’t see what you need to know? Click here and let us know what interests you. You’ll receive a personal reply within five to seven working days.
 
If you wish to contact Sargento Consumer Products, Click Here!

  • What is the Sargento Idea Center?

    The Sargento Idea Center is a virtual creativity kitchen where you can experience the breadth of the Sargento Food Ingredients product portfolio in an interactive, hands-on way. At the Idea Center, you are given the opportunity to create your own ingredients, using your imagination paired with Sargento products in their many shapes and forms.

    Sargento Chef Glenda Murray is your online guide to the Idea Center. She introduces you to the product development kitchen and helps you get started. You can click and choose among the Sargento products to build your own ingredient. After selecting your desired category, temperature state, form, ingredients and a packaging option, a photo of your creation will appear. Before leaving the Idea Center, you can contact a Sargento sales representative for a product consultation or you can send your creation to a colleague.

  • Does Sargento have ingredients other than cheese?

    Great question! When you think Sargento, you probably think cheese. That’s because for more than 50 years, we’ve employed a single-minded focus to turn our family’s passion for cheese into the very best cheese experience possible for you. Part of giving you the very best cheese experience has meant offering cheese sauces, dips, appetizers and snacks. But now, we also have the capability with our Portionables® technology to add to our cheese-based products with a range of sauces, soups, smoothies and more.

    To understand the full breadth of our product portfolio, we recommend that you visit the Sargento Idea Center. You’ll be amazed at all the products we offer.

  • Does Sargento offer any reduced sodium cheese?

    Yes, we have a line of reduced sodium natural cheeses. Available varieties are in the ingredients section of our website. The cheeses have 25% less sodium than the original versions. We were able to reduce the sodium without sacrificing taste by using a proprietary cheese-making process. Our reduced sodium cheeses were developed over a couple of years, as we consulted with consumers to ensure a great tasting product.

  • Does Sargento have any better-for-you products?

    While we think all cheese can be part of a healthy diet, Sargento does offer a better-for-you line that includes reduced sodium and reduced fat natural cheeses. The sodium is reduced by 25% in our reduced sodium products. And our reduced fat cheeses are made with 2% milk and have a 33% fat reduction. You never have to compromise taste or texture with our better-for-you items, and you can get them in the format and packaging you want.

  • What are Duets®?

    Duets® are a breakthrough in portion-control packaging. With Duets®, you can fill up two 4-ounce packets simultaneously with products that cannot normally be comingled—cheese, meat, dried fruit, grains, etc. This new capability streamlines current production processes, improving efficiency and adding flexibility.

    Each pouch of the Duets® can hold up to four ounces of product, but each one can be filled to different weights if desired. The pouches are gas flushed and hermetically sealed, and the finished pouches can either be one perforated package or two separate pouches. This reduces packaging and handling. Moisture migration from one pouch to the other is also eliminated with this packaging system.

  • Do Duets® have to include cheese?

    Yes

  • What are Portionables®?

    Portionables® are portion-controlled Individually Quick Frozen (IQF) foods made using a proprietary technology that enables us to work with minimally processed ingredients such as fresh milk, cream, butter and cheeses without the separation and texture problems that often occur with other processing methods. The technology can be applied to sauces, soups, desserts, side dishes and purees.

    Portionables® can come in many different flavors from béarnaise to Thai curry, and the IQF piece size can be varied. The Portionables® products are ideal for retail and food service products. The pieces can be added to frozen entrees or side dishes. Portionables® products are an alternative to commonly used frozen “brick” or powdered mix sauces, soups and side dishes. No mixing or measuring is required, allowing for complete control over portion size.

  • What types of portion-control packaging are available?

    We have a variety of innovative portion-control packaging options that can be customized to fit your needs for cheese, shreds and sauces. (See below for some ideas.) Our latest packaging innovation is Duets™—two side-by-side, 4-ounce packets that can be filled simultaneously with products that cannot normally be comingled—cheese, meat, dried fruit, grains, etc.

    Portion-control shreds
    7-gram to 16-ounce pouches
    Shredded natural, process or shelf stable
    Custom blends with spices + other combinations
    Clear, white or printed film

    Portion-control sauces
    1-ounce to 20-ounce pouches
    Custom formula development
    Freeze/thaw stable
    Outstanding particulate identity

    75-ounce to 16-ounce cups
    Custom formula development
    Printing options available

  • Does Sargento offer product or culinary development assistance?

    Yes, we invite customers to join us in our test kitchen located in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Here our customers have access to a wide range of expertise – from our family of R&D experts to our dairy, culinary chef and food science professionals – not to mention a complete pilot-scale operation that can aid in the understanding of full-scale, application production.

    Whether you have a simple question, need us to spend time in your plant or are interested in our help in developing an application, each of our R&D experts is ready to bring more than 50 years of cheese and culinary expertise when you need it. Simply give us a call at 800.893.7411 or e-mail us with a question, and we’ll be there to assist you every step of the way.

  • What quality procedures/audits does Sargento follow?

    Quality and food safety are of utmost importance to us. In fact, so much so that we have comprehensive systems to ensure that quality and food safety are built into everything we do. Our Quality Management System is modeled after ISO 9000 and our Food Safety Management System is HACCP. It’s the responsibility of all our employees to uphold the processes, and our people are empowered to deliver on their responsibilities each and every day.

    We have both internal and external audits to ensure that our products meet our high standards. All of our facilities are inspected by state and federal regulatory agencies (e.g., USDA, FDA) on an ongoing basis. While we often have customer audits, we also support the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) and are certified to the GFSI through the British Retail Consortium Global Standard for both food safety and quality.