Kosher Valley™ Named Best New Poultry

Plainville, NY /PRNewswire/ -- Kosher Valley(TM), www.koshervalleypoultry.com, a new line of certified kosher antibiotic-free (ABF), vegetarian fed and humanely raised all-natural chicken and turkey products was named a 2009 Kosherfest New Products Competition Winner in the "Best New Meat, Seafood or Poultry" category for its Kosher Valley chicken breast cutlets. Kosherfest is the leading kosher food and beverage show in the US.

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"We are honored to be judged the best in our category and believe this confirms the superiority of our turkeys and chickens," said Harry Geedey, VP Marketing of Kosher Valley. "We believe that customers appreciate the unwavering quality we can offer, because of our sole commitment to antibiotic-free certified kosher, rather than offering ABF as a sideline," he added.

Unlike conventionally raised kosher poultry, Kosher Valley turkeys and chickens are fed a diet of pure corn and soybeans that is free of animal by-products. They are humanely raised with room to roam and ready access to vegetarian feed and fresh water at all times. All Kosher Valley products are certified by Rabbi Yechiel Babad and the Orthodox Union and produced in Plainville, New York.

Poultry that is raised on vegetarian diets with no antibiotics and room to roam is naturally flavorful with a taste that has been described as both clean and old-fashioned. Kosher Valley Turkey offers a full line of fresh and frozen whole young turkeys, as well as a variety of tray packs, including ground turkey. Kosher Valley Chicken offers a complete line of tray pack chicken as well as fresh or frozen chicken in four sizes.

Kosherfest used a professional judging panel of restaurateurs, grocers, and cookbook authors who sampled hundreds of new food kosher food entries to select the winners. One of the five judges was Chef Jeff Nathan, an award winning chef, author and TV personality, who specializes in kosher cuisine. When asked about his judging criteria, he said, "It's a pleasure to have kosher poultry free of antibiotics and hormones. The flavor is just where you want it to be, delicious, tender and moist. I feel fortunate that I'm using the Kosher Valley poultry exclusively at my restaurant Abigael's. This is a terrific product for the at home consumer, too. I like that it's sold in stores close to home."

Kosher Valley is joint venture between Pegasus Capital Advisors, L.P. and The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. ( HAIN). The Kosher Valley brand leverages the experience of longtime leaders in the ABF poultry category and unlike most kosher poultry companies, focuses exclusively on ABF poultry.

Kosherfest took place on October 27-28 at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, NJ.

Pegasus Capital Advisors

Pegasus Capital Advisors, L.P. is a private equity fund manager with offices in New York and Cos Cob, CT. Founded in 1995, Pegasus provides capital to middle market companies across a wide range of industries, and has particular interest in businesses that make a meaningful contribution to society by positively affecting the environment, contributing to sustainability and enabling healthy living. For more information, visit www.pcalp.com.

The Hain Celestial Group

The Hain Celestial Group (Nasdaq: HAIN), headquartered in Melville, NY, is a leading natural and organic products company in North America and Europe. Hain Celestial participates in many all natural categories with well-known brands that include Celestial Seasonings®, Terra®, Garden of Eatin'®, Health Valley®, WestSoy®, Earth's Best®, Arrowhead Mills®, MaraNatha®, SunSpire®, DeBoles®, Gluten Free Cafe(TM), Hain Pure Foods®, Hollywood®, Spectrum Naturals®, Spectrum Essentials®, Walnut Acres Organic®, Imagine®, Rice Dream®, Soy Dream®, Rosetto®, Ethnic Gourmet®, Yves Veggie Cuisine®, Granose®, Realeat®, Linda McCartney®, Daily Bread(TM), Lima®, Grains Noirs®, Natumi®, JASON®, Zia® Natural Skincare, Avalon Organics®, Alba Botanica®, Queen Helene®, Tushies® and TenderCare®. Hain Celestial has been providing "A Healthy Way of Life(TM)" since 1993. For more information, visit www.hain-celestial.com.

SOURCE Kosher Valley