Brandt Beef Rates Highest Among Competitive Brands in Taste, Texture and Tenderness

BRAWLEY, CA--(Marketwire - March 31, 2008) - Brandt Beef - The True Natural, a family owned, premium natural beef producer is proud to announce the results of its evaluation by the Master Chefs' Institute, which awarded it the Seal of Excellence for its commitment to produce a high-quality natural beef product. To date, Brandt Beef is the only beef producer to receive the Seal of Excellence, which validates the superiority of its product and dedication to environmentally sustainable practices.

To obtain the Seal of Excellence, the Master Chefs' team put Brandt Beef's products through more than 120 experiments and compared it to a control group of three competitors in the same category. The testing focused on Brandt Beef's primary use as a center-of-the-plate item in an upscale foodservice establishment.

This extensive testing was conducted on 22 different cuts of Brandt's meat, including its brisket, utilizing a variety of preparation techniques and cooking methods. In the brisket testing, Brandt Beef outperformed its closet competitor by 18 points with a score of 82 to 64. Overall, Brandt consistently outscored the competitive brands in the majority of tests for the taste, texture and tenderness categories. Please refer to the following charts for specific test results.

Overview of All Tests   Brandt Beef     Competitive Brands
Braised Brisket         82              64

Taste Comparison        Brandt Beef     Competitive Brands
Braised Brisket         18.75           14.5

Texture Comparison      Brandt Beef     Competitive Brands
Braised Brisket         13.87           9.75

Tenderness Comparison   Brandt Beef     Competitive Brands
Braised Brisket         13.5            10.5

"The results of the Master Chefs' testing and our receipt of the Seal of Excellence provide validation for chefs and consumers that Brandt Beef produces a superior product," said Tom McAliney, executive chef, Brandt Beef. "Exemplifying our commitment to sustainability and the slow food movement, the Brandt Beef brisket received the highest rating in the all- important categories of taste, texture and tenderness when compared to competitive brands in the Master Chefs' evaluation."

In addition to Brandt's commitment to produce a superior all-natural product line, the Brandt family maintains a "farm-to-fork" philosophy which involves raising its animals humanely and naturally without hormones and antibiotic free. Chef McAliney also actively works with chefs and consumers to educate them on sustainability, the importance of being responsible stewards of the land and promoting the use of the entire animal.

Chefs and businesses can purchase Brandt products via the following:

-- Distribution to the East Coast (New England and New York) - Cambridge
   Packing Company (master distributor).  Sub-distributors include:
    -- Creative Wholesale Meats - southern Connecticut
    -- Endicott Meats - metro New York
    -- Pat LaFrieda Wholesale Meat Purveyors - metro New York
    -- Main Street Meats - Long Island, N.Y.
    -- Ashley Foods - Philadelphia
    -- Maryland Quality Meats - Baltimore/Washington, D.C.
    -- Grand Western Brands - Florida
-- Distribution to the Southwest - Hamilton Meats
-- Distribution to the Pacific Northwest - Lakeway Commodities
-- Distribution to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Aspen, Colo. and
   Hawaii - K&M Meats

To try the brisket that was featured in the Master Chefs' testing, Chef McAliney has created the following recipe for dry-rubbed barbeque Brandt Beef brisket.

Dry-Rubbed Barbeque Brisket (serves 8-10)

Ingredients:

--  1 All Natural Brandt Beef brisket (approximately 9 pounds), untrimmed
--  For Rub:
--  1 cup kosher salt
--  2 cups brown sugar
--  1 cup ground cumin
--  3/4 cup chili powder
--  1 cup cracked black pepper
--  1/2 cup cayenne pepper
--  2 cups paprika
    

Cooking instructions:

--  Combine spices and mix well.
--  Rub entire brisket with the spice mix, covering completely, and allow
    to come to room temperature.
--  Prepare a charcoal fire on one side of the grill, or light one side of
    a gas grill.
--  Place brisket on the opposite side of the fire and cover the grill.
--  Cook brisket over low heat, approximately 200 to 220 degrees, for
    about eight hours or until the brisket is easily pierced with a fork.
--  Slice brisket and serve with your favorite barbeque sauce.
    

To learn more about Brandt Beef, obtain additional recipe ideas from Chef McAliney or to purchase various cuts of Brandt's premium natural beef, please visit www.brandtbeef.com.

Contact Information: Media Contacts: Sara DeNio Dresner Corporate Services 312-780-7223 sdenio@dresnerco.com David Gutierrez Dresner Corporate Services 312-780-7204 dgutierrez@dresnerco.com