A ginger pear sorbet was named the Outstanding New Product in the 40th sofi Awards which were announced June 18 during the Summer Fancy Food Show in Washington, D.C. 

The Latest Scoop Ginger Pear Sorbet is produced by Cable Car Delights, San Francisco. Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery, Websterville, Vt., was also a big winner, coming away with three awards, including a gold award for its product line.

A sofi Award recognizes the year's outstanding specialty foods and beverages, and it is considered the top honor in the $75 billion specialty food industry. "sofi" stands for specialty outstanding food innovation.

The awards, from the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT), were presented at a red-carpet ceremony hosted by chef and culinary innovatorJose Andres.

Tthe 40th sofi Awards for the outstanding specialty foods and beverages of the year recognized these dairy products and processors:

Cheese or Dairy Product. Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery, Bonne Bouche

Confection. Big Picture Farm L3C, Farmstead Goat Milk Caramels

Dessert or Dessert Topping. Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, Lemon Frozen Yogurt

Perishable Foodservice Product. Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery, Cultured Butter with Sea Salt Crystals 1 oz. Minis

Product Line. Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery, Product Line

USDA-Certified Organic Product. Rogue Creamery, Flora Nelle

The sofi Awards are open to members of the NASFT, a not-for-profit trade association for food artisans, importers and entrepreneurs. This year's contest saw a record 2,520 entries across all 32 awards, including 374 for Outstanding New Product.

This spring, a national panel of specialty food professionals narrowed the field to 125 Silver Finalists in eight days of judging at NASFT offices in New York City. The winners were selected by more than 200 buyers at the Summer Fancy Food Show, who evaluated the products and their votes in the past two days. The results were tabulated by an outside accounting firm.

For more information on the NASFT and its Fancy Food Shows, go to specialtyfood.com. For a list of all of the 2012 sofi Gold Winners, go to sofiawards