Show officials say the21st Annual Kosherfestconvention will showcase a record number of new products -- everything from Chipotle Chili Aioli sauce to Pomegranate Acai Mints or Pina Colada Popcorn.

For the record, exhibitors are projected to bring more than 500 new items to Kosherfest 2009, which convenes Oct. 27-28 at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, N.J.

According to the Mintel Research Organization, kosher remains the most dominant feature on new food items and an estimated 40 percent of a supermarket’s food products are kosher.

Notes, Rabbi Eliyahu Safran, vice president of communications and marketing for the Orthodox Union (OU) kosher certifying agency, “In the past year there has been significant increase in the number of inquiries and applications by many food companies about OU certification despite the ongoing recession. The companies are well aware that attaining kosher certification can easily increase sales and gain a larger market share. We have particularly noted a spike in applications from every segment of the beverage, baking and organic food categories.”

Kosherfest 2009 will feature a new products competition to showcase the best of the best new certified-kosher products in 17 categories. Officials say there will be hundreds of entries from Kosherfest exhibitors and winner will be announced following the event on October 15th.  Winning products as well as the other entries in the New Product Showcase will be showcased on the Kosherfest show floor.