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Frequently Asked Questions

Refrigeration

Q: Does the Red Chili Pepper Spread need to be refrigerated both before and after opening?

Yes. The Red Chili Pepper Spread is a Deli item that requires refrigeration at all times.

All of our other products are shelf stable until they have been opened and then they require refrigeration.

Shelf Life / Storage

Q: How should the Red Chili Pepper Spread be stored?

Red Chili Pepper Spread is a refrigerated item that must be stored at refrigerated temperatures both before and after opening.

Q: After opening and proper refrigeration, how long do Something Special products last?

Keeping good food handling practices in mind, after opening it is recommended that all products be refrigerated and consumed within 90 days.

Q: How can I determine what the best before date is?

The best before date is an ink-jet code that is found on the side or on the top of the lid. It is in the format B/B YYYY MMM DD. For example, an ink-jet code that reads B/B 2013 NOV 15 means that the unopened product is best consumed before November 15, 2013.

Q: How can the sealed jar of antipasto be safe at room temperature for so long?

The stability of the antipasto is the result of a number of factors.
• Gourmet Antipasto is boiled which destroys enzymes and bacteria that normally spoil fresh food.
• After all ingredients have been added the pH of the Gourmet Antipasto is below 4.0, which prevents the growth of sporeforming bacteria that are not destroyed at boiling temperatures.
• Gourmet Antipasto is filled into the jars at very high temperatures. As the gourmet antipasto cools a vacuum is formed and the lid seals itself from the outside environment. This prevents any external contamination.

Q: How should the Gourmet Antipasto, Gourmet Red Chili and Gourmet Jalapeno be stored?

Unopened antipasto, Gourmet Red Chili or Gourmet Jalapeno can be stored at room temperature. After they are opened, they must be stored at refrigerated temperatures.

Q: Why must the Gourmet Antipasto, Gourmet Red Chili and Gourmet Jalapeno be refrigerated after opening?

There is yeast, mold, and bacteria in the air. When the product is opened and exposed to the air, it will eventually spoil. Refrigeration will prolong the quality of the product.

Q: How can I tell if the Gourmet Antipasto, Gourmet Red Chili and Gourmet Jalapeno jar is sealed?

The lid should be concave by the vacuum created from hot product being filled into the jars. The 940g/33oz jars use a lid that will pop up when unsealed. For other lids, a popping noise will be heard the first time the lid is open. All jars undergo a seal inspection before being labeled and shipped from our facility to preserve the product quality and consumer safety.

Cholesterol

Q: How much cholesterol is in Gourmet Antipasto?

There is 0.90mg of cholesterol per 30g (2tbsp) serving which accounts for 0.30% of the Daily Value (DV). According to Nutritional Labeling guidelines, values less than 2mg (0.66% DV) are considered to be “free of cholesterol” and are to be stated on the label as zero.

Q: Which Gourmet Antipasto ingredient contains cholesterol?

Cholesterol is only found in animal products such as meat, fish, eggs, and dairy foods. Only the tuna contributes cholesterol to the Gourmet Antipasto.

Q: Do fruits or vegetables contain cholesterol?

No. However, saturated and unsaturated fats found in specific fruits (examples: olives, avocados) and vegetable oils (examples: canola, corn, safflower, sesame, soybean and sunflower), are used by our bodies to make cholesterol.

For more information regarding cholesterol, please follow this link to the American Heart Associationsweb page.

Q: Is there cholesterol in either the Gourmet Red Chili or the Gourmet Jalapeno?

No.

Fat Content

Q: If canola and olive oil are used to make Gourmet Antipasto, why does the label state 0 g of fat?

Vegetables make up the largest portion of the Gourmet Antipasto. The amount of fat contributed by the lesser ingredients is 0.28 grams per 2 Tablespoon serving (0.43% Daily Value). Labeling guidelines dictate that an amount less than 0.5grams of fat is considered “free of fat” and is to be stated on the label as zero. Note: the insignificant amount of fat that is present is primarily unsaturated (the good fat).

Ingredients

Q: Is there any gluten in the vinegar?

No. The vinegar has been triple distilled to ensure that no gluten is present. Therefore, individuals with Celiac disease are able to enjoy our Gourmet Antipasto, Gourmet Red Chili and Gourmet Jalapeno.

Q: Are there any additives in the Antipasto?

No.

Q: Are there any additives in the Gourmet Red Chili?

No.

Q: Are there any additives in the Gourmet Jalapeno?

A small amount of artificial coloring is added to enrich the green color of the jelly. Tartrazine (FD and C Yellow #5) is one of the artifical colors used.

Nut Free

Q: Are there nuts or any chance of nut cross contamination in any of your products?

No. Our products are completely nut free. There are no nuts used in our manufacturing processes.

All About Peppers

Q: What types of Red Chili Peppers are used to make the Gourmet Red Chili?

We select a special blend of hot red Chili peppers that are grown specifically for Something Special that deliver a unique tongue tingling heat and beautiful rich red color.

Q: What makes a Chili pepper hot?

A chemical called capsaicin in the peppers irritate trigeminal cells throughout the mouth, nose, and throat. These cells send messages of pain to the brain which responds by releasing endorphins throughout the body. Endorphins act as natural pain killers giving a temporary euphoric feeling. Some people can experience increased heart and salivation rate, faster gastrointestinal motions, runny nose, and perspiration.

Q: Some peppers claim that they are the hottest. How is this determined?

The amount of capsaicin present in the Chili peppers determines its heat. The system for measuring the heat of a Chili pepper was developed by a chemist named William Scoville in 1912. Originally the testing was based on a form of dillution tasting. Today machines called chromatograms (like in CSI) are used to measure the amount of capsaicin present in the pepper.

Scoville Chile Heat Chart
Pepper Variety
Rating
Heat Level
Bell, Sweet Banana, Pimento
0
Negligible
Mexi-Bells, Pepperoncini
1
100-1000 Scoville Units
Ancho, Pasilla, Poblano
2
1000-1500 Scoville Units
Sandia , Cascabel, Rocotillo
3
1500-2500 Scoville Units
Jalapeno, Chipotle
4
2500-5000 Scoville Units
Yellow wax
5
5000-15000 Scoville Units
Chile de arbol, Serano
6
15000-30000 Scoville Units
Aji, Cayenne, Tabasco
7
30,000-50,000 Scoville Units
Santaka, Chiltecpin (tepin), Thai
8
50,000-100,000 Scoville Units
Habanero, Scotch Bonnet
9
100,000-350,000 Scoville Units
Red Savina Habanero
10
350,000-855,000 Scoville Units
Naga Jolokia
(Naga Morich, Bhut Jolokia)
10
1,000,000 – 1,500,000 Scoville Units
Pure Capsaicin
(origin – Chemistry Lab)
  16 Million


Fun Fact:In the big picture, the objective for all living things is to spread their seed! Capsaicin discourages animals from eating the Chilees. But birds, which are highly effective at distributing seeds, can eat them. Birds will not experience the burning sensation the way we mammals do. The seeds will pass through the bird's gut intact and spread to new areas. And voila, more peppers!!

Q: What is the difference between a red pepper and a green pepper?

Jalapeno chili peppers are harvested when the pepper is still in the green stage. If left on the plant, the peppers would ripen until they turned bright red. It's this early harvesting that allows for the milder green chili pepper.

Gluten Free

Q: Is there gluten in your products?

No. Our products are gluten free. The vinegar has been triple distilled to ensure that no gluten is present. Therefore, individuals with Celiac disease are able to enjoy our products.

Trans Fat Free

Q: Is there trans fat in your products?

No. Our products are trans fat free.

Spices

Additives

Q: Are there any additives in the Antipasto?

No.

Q: Are there any additives in the Gourmet Red Chili?

No.

Q: Are there any additives in the Gourmet Jalapeno?

A small amount of artificial coloring is added to enrich the green color of the jelly. Tartrazine (FD and C Yellow #5) is one of the artifical colors used.

Policies

Privacy Policy

Our Privacy Policy is designed to assist you-businesses, consumers and the general public-in understanding how we collect and use the personal information you provide to us, and to help you make informed decisions when using our web site and all of our related services therein.

Contact Us

To request a correction or deletion of your private information, or if you have any questions and general comments about this privacy policy, please contact us.

What information do we collect?

When visiting the our web site, you may provide us with two types of information: personal information you voluntarily choose to disclose that is collected on an individual basis, and Web site use information gathered on a collective basis as you and others browse our Web site.

Personal Information You Choose to Provide

Registration Information

You will provide us information about yourself, your firm or company, and your practices when you register to be a user of our services, register for certain services, or register for email newsletters and alerts.

Email Information

If you choose to correspond with us through email, we may retain the content of your email messages together with your email address and our responses. If you use our "Email this page" feature to send a copy of that page to someone else, your email address will appear as the sender of the email. Both your email address and the recipient's email address will not be used for any other purpose.

How Do We Use the Information That You Provide to Us?

Generally, we use personal information for purposes of managing and expanding our business activities, providing customer service and making available other products and services to our customers and prospective customers. Occasionally, we may also use the information we collect to notify you about important changes to our Web site, new services and special offers we think you will find valuable.

Choice/Opt-out

We allow you the choice to opt-out of having your information used for purposes not directly related to our site, when we ask for the information.

Until you explicitly opt-in for the first time, we consider you in the opt-out category. We always notify our customers when their information is being collected by any outside parties. We do this so our users can make an informed choice as to whether or not they should proceed with services that require an outside party.

If you do not wish to receive any promotional or marketing e-mails and/or surface mail marketing letters, you may opt-out of receiving those communications by using the opt-out mechanism on the User Account Settings Web page, or by sending an e-mail with the subject line "Unsubscribe" to our e-mail address. See above.

What Are Cookies?

A cookie is a very small text document, which often includes an anonymous unique identifier. When you visit a Web site, that site's computer asks your computer for permission to store this file in a part of your hard drive specifically designated for cookies. Each Web site can send its own cookie to your browser if your browser's preferences allow it, but (to protect your privacy) your browser only permits a Web site to access the cookies it has already sent to you, not the cookies sent to you by other sites.

How Do We Use Information We Collect from Cookies?

As you visit our Web site, the site uses its cookies to differentiate you from other customers. In some cases, we also use cookies to prevent you from seeing unnecessary advertisements or to ensure that you are not required to log in more than is necessary for security.

Cookies, in conjunction with our Web server's log files, allow us to calculate the aggregate number of people visiting our Web site and which parts of the site are most popular. This helps us gather feedback in order to constantly improve our Web site and better serve our customers. Cookies do not allow us to gather any personal information about you and we do not generally store any personal information that you provided to us in your cookies.

Secure Information Transmissions

Email is not recognized as a secure medium of communication. For this reason, we request that you do not send private information to us by email. Some of the information you may enter on our Web site may be transmitted securely via Secure Sockets Layer SSL, 128 bit encryption services. Pages utilizing this technology will have URLs that start with HTTPS instead of HTTP. Please contact Eric Farrell, Director of Technology, at 570-602-1885, if you have any questions or concerns.

How Can You Access and Correct Your Information?

You may request access to all your personally identifiable information that we collect online and maintain in our database by contacting us.

What About Other Web Sites Linked to Our Web Site?

We are not responsible for the practices employed by Web sites linked to or from our Web site nor the information or content contained therein. Often links to other Web sites are provided solely as pointers to information on topics that may be useful to the users of our Web site. Please remember that when you use a link to go from our Web site to another Web site, our Privacy Policy is no longer in effect. Your browsing and interaction on any other Web site, including Web sites which have a link on our Web site, is subject to that Web site's own rules and policies. Please read over those rules and policies before proceeding.

Your Consent

By using our Web site you consent to our collection and use of your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy. If we change our privacy policies and procedures, we will post those changes on our Web site to keep you aware of what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances we may disclose it. At any time you may request to view any and all changes and updates, via surface mail.

Notification of Changes

The Privacy Policy is subject to periodic review and change. In order to view the current Privacy Policy, simply check this section of the website. If we materially change our privacy policy, we will post those changes to this privacy statement and other places we deem appropriate so users are aware of what information we collect, how it is used, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it. In some cases where we post a notice, we may also email user who have opted to receive communications from us, notifying them of the changes in our privacy practices.