Backers looking to put "New Mexico Certified Chile™" on par with "Vidalia Onions"

(LAS CRUCES, N.M.) -- Farmers and processors within the state's chile industry are joining a new effort to protect their peppers from counterfeiters looking to cash in on the good reputation of New Mexico chile.

Governor Susana Martinez will announce the New Mexico Certified Chile™ trademark program at a launch party Tuesday, August 19, 2014, 12:30 pm at The Range Restaurant in Bernalillo, NM.

The Range is the first New Mexico restaurant to sign up for the program. With the creation of this program, New Mexico Certified Chile will join other well-known branded products such as Vidalia Onions™, 100% Pure Florida™, California Olive Oil™ and Idaho Potatoes™ as certification programs that support signature crops of a state or region.

"Red or green is a question New Mexicans answer every day at breakfast, lunch and dinner," said New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez. "Chile is a way of life in our state, ingrained in our culture and our economy. It supports more than 4,000 jobs and contributes more than $400 million every year to New Mexico's economy. The one question no one should ever has to ask is, 'Is this chile really New Mexican?' This program further cements the status of New Mexico Chile on par with other nationally-renowned state and regional products."

In April of 2011, Governor Martinez signed into law the New Mexico Chile Advertising Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any product as New Mexico chile unless actually grown here. The New Mexico Certified Chile program builds on this legislation, giving consumers across the country the confidence that they are using only the finest New Mexico chile.

"We are confident that we can continue to expand markets for the New Mexico chile industry as more consumers understand there is no imitation of the original," said Dino Cervantes, a chile grower in the Mesilla Valley and president of the New Mexico Chile Association.

The first food company to sign up for the program is Bueno Foods, the first grower Penn Farms, and first grocer, John Brooks Supermart. Consumers can find these and other growers, products, retailers and restaurants that use New Mexico Certified Chile at www.getnmchile.com.

The New Mexico Certified Chile mark can be placed on products and used in marketing and advertising, helping to assure consumers that their chile is not an imitation.

New Mexico prides itself on having the best chile in the world. The altitude, climate, soil and experienced farmers all contribute to its excellence. But harvested acreage of New Mexico chile has declined from 35,000 acres in 1992 to under 9,000 in 2013. More and more chile is coming from foreign countries. This chile is often deceptively described as New Mexico or as Hatch chile, when in reality, it was grown elsewhere.

Initial funding for the program was awarded through the New Mexico Department of Agriculture and the USDA Specialty Crops Block Grant Program.

About the New Mexico Chile Association

The NMCA is an organization whose mission is to create an environment in the New Mexico region that reinstates us as the world leader in chile production, processing and innovation, ensuring the viability, prosperity and growth of the chile industry.