Food Trade Consultants

Review: On 4/2/12 my wife and myself flew to San Juan Capistrano, to meet with [redacted] from Food Trade Consultants. I make a Award winning BBQ marinade, that we wanted to get bottled and sold into stores. After our meeting and after she tasted our BBQ,My wife and myself along with [redacted] Signed a contract and paid for [redacted]'s services. She wanted to get our marinade on the shelf's within a 3 month period, since summer time was just around the corner. Well I gave her our recipe. and that's as far as it has gotten. Just EMPTY PROMISES. We have NEVER gotten any revised update to our recipe, since we need to make this product in bulk quantity, Never gotten a Bottle sample, never gotten a "shelf Life' on our marinade. Just EMPTY PROMISES. I think she has only called us ONCE! We have gotten several e-mails, but they too we're Empty promises. The last e-mail she sent us was on 3/14/13. To see if we were OK. We had to move to a cheaper Apt. 3 hours away from where we use to live, since we could not afford the "Bay Area' any more. Both my wife and myself are Disable, so we live on our SSI. We wanted to get off SSI and start our Business, and not have to depend on Federal help. ( I've had 2 heart attacks, and my wife has had 2 amputations on her same leg, [redacted] has let us down deeply! She is a wolf in sheep's clothing!!Desired Settlement: I would LOVE to know the Shelf life of my product, that was my very 1st request!! I would also love for her to make good on her promise to us, or at least give my the "updated' version of my marinade to make in bulk! Or return our money so we can get someone else to help us out, since we are on a limited fixed income.

Business

Response:

In February of 2012 Mr. [redacted] and his wife traveled to San Juan Capistrano to be filmed for a reality show pilot featuring our business. The production company ([redacted]) was filming people who wanted to launch a new food business. Mr. and Mrs. [redacted] said they were coming down to the Orange County area to visit friends and to attend a concert during the time this filming had been scheduled and they wanted to bring their product in for us to taste in hopes they would be filmed for the pilot.

During this filming Mrs. & Mr. [redacted] explained (on camera) that Mr. [redacted] was suffering from dementia and he had several heart attacks years prior. Sadly during his interview, Mr. [redacted] couldn’t remember his web address or who owned the web address or the name of his product along with other business related facts related to his product but his wife [redacted] was able to fill in some of the missing pieces for him. When the filming was over they left.

Months after the filming (in April 2012) Mr. [redacted] contacted FTC stating he wished to move forward with the basic analysis of his product (necessary to do prior to bottling a product for consumer sales). FTC was contracted to provide Nutritional Facts, Ingredient Statements, pH testing, Weights and Measures Statements, and produce an Upscale Formula (a percentage-based recipe necessary for large batch production runs) of their product. These results are attached with certain information redacted to protect the secrecy of Mr. [redacted]’ recipe. He paid our standard fee of $990. for these services. FTC was not contracted to perform a shelf life test of the product. A shelf life test fee is an additional $850. and takes months to complete. Mr. [redacted] was already overextended on funds and was informed that a shelf life test was not a necessary test for his product. I believe Mr. [redacted] is confused about the differences between of a pH test / verses a shelf life test. His product only required a pH test this was explained to him and the explanation of the pH test is listed in the form he received after the pH analysis was completed and sent to him on 5-23-12. (See attached pH results).

FTC’s contractual obligations were completely fulfilled on June 9th when the results of the analysis on Mr. [redacted]’ marinade were completed and sent to him. The up-scale formulation sent to Mr. [redacted] is attached. We have redacted the weights on the up-scale formula as we are bound by a non-disclosure agreement to protect the secrecy of Mr. [redacted]’ formula. Senior Consultant [redacted] spoke to Mr. [redacted] after he received the work product paid for and learned he had relocated his residence and changed his email address. Together they discussed his analysis over the phone, [redacted] expressed concern about the “clumping” of his dry ingredients in the samples he had sent to her for testing but explained during production of his marinade that issue could be corrected. They also spoke about the possibility of trying to get some of his ingredients and containers “somehow” donated to him for production. Mr. [redacted] explained his wife was going in for additional surgery on her leg; she was in a lot of pain, they had no help and he was the only one taking care of her. He was very stressed and very worried about the second surgery taking place on her leg. He said he was going to contact FTC again after her surgery but he never did. That was the last exchange (see attached email 6-5-12). During that last phone conversation Mr. [redacted] also stated “…he did not have the money to move forward with production of his product…” he said that he and his wife [redacted] had been relocated to a subsidized apartment and they only received $900 each per month. [redacted] tried to reach them in June see email date 6-13-12, addressed to Mrs. [redacted] in regarding labels and containers asking to speak the following Tuesday but no reply was ever received from them. We thought perhaps something terrible had happened during [redacted]’s surgery when we never heard back from either of them.

In the two years since Mr. [redacted] came to FTC, we have expanded our business facility and now operate a fully equipped certified commercial kitchen where start-ups like Mr. [redacted] can come and manufacture their products in large or small batches on their own, saving them the cost of having a co-packer produce their product. Our senior consultant has a real soft spot for the [redacted] and their situation; she made sure all the analysis they paid for was completed in full and had conversations with Mr. [redacted] after the analysis was completed. She founded FTC after having a brain tumor removed and understands the severe challenges presented by life-threatening medical issues and the desire to fulfill a dream in the food industry. This is why we expanded FTC and added the commercial kitchen…to help people start food business one step at a time on a small and conservative scale.

We wish Mr. and Mrs. [redacted] well and hope they are doing better financially, that their health is improving and we stand ready to assist them if and when they are able to invest the necessary time and funds needed to commercially manufacture their marinade. We wish they would have called FTC sometime in the past two years before filing this complaint, we understand their struggles and truly wish to help them in any way we can. We occasionally donate one-time use of our kitchen to newbies in the food business who need a little help getting started so they have samples to provide to grocery buyers, but the cost of ingredients, containers and labels is incurred by the client and that concerns us because Mr. [redacted] has stated that he lacks the necessary funds to launch his food business.

Listed below is the package Mr. [redacted] purchased.

FTC package rate for one (1) product is as follows: the fee is $990.00 and consists of the following analysis for that product:

1) Nutritional fact statement

1) Ingredient statement

1) Weights and measure reading for the product

1) Up-scaled formula (and up-scaled formula is a recipe for the product so large batches of the product can be produced in 100 gallon vats and stay consistent in the texture and flavor profile of the product as if a small batch of 1 gallon is being produced if a client does not have this up-scaled formula a co-packer will not produce product for them this is a very important part of the package).

2) Bottle selection: we send sample bottles to clients nationwide so they can select the container they like best to put their product in for the retail market place

3) pH testing – this is a test that will determine the product’s safety to be packaged and consumed by customers, it needs to watched and products need to be tested with every batch made and test records kept on file for the State Health inspector when they make quarterly visits to co-packing kitchens.

FTC has attached documentation showing the completion and the results of Mr. [redacted] product including his upscale formula (redacted to comply with the Non-Disclosure Agreement we are bound by) which will prove the work he paid for was completed. Given Mr. [redacted] is apparently unable to fund production of his product, we do not understand why he is now apparently seeking shelf life analysis.

Please contact us if you have any additional questions.

Sincerely,

Partner

Consumer

Response:

?Hello Ms. [redacted], I apologies for the late response to this case; we recently had a death in the family and had to leave town for over a week to help with funeral arrangements. However, in regards to our complaint against [redacted] of Food Trade Consultants, we have not resolved this matter by any means thus far.

According to the letter you sent us on their behalf, which states they had complied with all that they were contractually bound to do so, that statement is entirely false. As far as what they have actually provided us, which we have proof of any and all correspondence between [redacted] and my husband [redacted], we have not received neither the pH level test results, nor the UPC label that she promised we would get as was our agreement.

The only thing that we did in fact receive was the Nutritional Facts Statement, the Weights & Measurements and the jar samples, which were all the same size. We have yet to receive the complete pH analysis print out, Ms. [redacted] only gave us a verbal result as well as via email, in which she simply stated that the pH levels were compliant. Ms. [redacted] NEVER gave us a read out of the results, nor were we ever given an up-scale formula of our marinade so that we’re able to mass produce the product.

[redacted] went as far as insulting my husband by claiming he doesn’t remember things due to having dementia. We never actually said he had dementia, only that he had signs of it but was inconclusive at the time. Be that as it may, his health problems are irrelevant to the fact that she failed to meet her contractual obligations. Even if my husband’s memory is in question, MINE IS NOT!

I may have undergone 2 amputations during the time we were trying to do business with Ms. [redacted]; however my state of mind and memory was then and is still intact. I’m only 34 years old, am very literate and have a sharp memory being a writer. Furthermore, we have both kept every single email and correspondence with Ms. [redacted] since we first started this venture. According to our records we did all that was required of us to the best of our ability. It was [redacted], who not only dropped the ball on her end of the deal, but she blatantly took advantage of our dire situation, which is not only unethical but completely despicable! The last email we got from her was on 7/3/12, in which she clearly stated she was being audited and that she would call us and do a final phone consultation the following Monday. That was the last we heard from her at all, and we’ve repeatedly tried calling and emailing her since then, but with no response whatsoever.

We require that she fulfills her contractual obligation, then and only then will this matter be closed. We are not asking for more than that which we are owed, and have in fact paid for.

Please give me a call at 650-438-3028 after 12 pm, in regards to this matter ASAP, so that we can have it resolved as quickly and as stress free as possible. I thank you kindly for your time and efforts in resolving this issue.

Respectfully,

Mr. & Mrs. [redacted]

Business

Response:

All of the items purchased were sent to the client (and presented in the original response) and I would be happy to send redundant copies out to them via USPS Express mail. The envelope will contain:

1) pH test results

2) Nutritional panel

3) Ingredient statement

4) Weights and measures statement

5) Up-scaled formula

I will also provide you the tracking number but I need the new mailing address for Mr. & Mrs. [redacted]. Their contact information on record is two years old.

Shelf Life testing was not a part of the service agreement and neither was a UPC code. UPC codes are purchase online through many different UPC code suppliers for $10.00 each and often sometimes as low as $2.99 each. FTC does not purchase UPC codes for clients, we refer all of them directly to the internet vendors for purchase of bar codes.

I do not know what else FTC can do to satisfy the complainant. The work was completed in full and we cannot provide them services they never purchased or bar codes we do not sell.

Sincerely,

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,

[redacted] ..............Its funny how [redacted] told me it usually cost a $100.00 for a UPC, but that she was going to wave that, and get me a UPC.. BUT its OK, I will get it.. Also [redacted] knew my VERY 1st request was the shelf life, and she told me she would do it at no charge and not to worry, she NEVER even mention that it would cost extra... ANYWAY... I guess I should be happy that im getting my updated version of my marinade, and how to make a bigger batch!!! Our address is... [redacted] Thank You [redacted]!!!

Consumer

Response:

From: [redacted] <[redacted]t>

Date: Tue, Jun 17, 2014 at 2:07 PM

Subject: Complaint ID #: [redacted]

To: [email protected]

As of today, I haven't received anything from Food Trade Consultants.. I will be away in the bay area the next few days at Drs appointments. I will check my email on Monday when we get back.

Thank You, [redacted]

Business

Response:

Copies of all materials (same documents previously referenced) were sent to new address, USPS Tracking number [redacted].

Consumer

Response: