The History of Riba Foods

After moving to the United States, Miguel Barrios could never find salsa quite like the rich, fresh, grilled salsa he had grown up with in Mexico City. It could often be found in authentic Mexican restaurants, but not on the grocery shelf. So, utilizing his heritage, Miguel pioneered the open-roasting process to "Fire-Roast" all the fresh vegetables prevalent in Mexican salsa products today. Established in 1988, Riba Foods, Inc. is still a family owned business.

Riba Foods is one of the premier fire-roasting packers in the United States. The Riba facilities produce traditional salsas and picante sauces, along with other food products: Italian sauces, Bar-B-Q sauces, salad dressings, chutneys, Bloody Mary, Margarita Mix, marinades, Bread n' Butter pickles and jalapenos, jalapeno mustard and jellies. The plant recently expanded to 25,000 sq. ft. by adding additional kitchen, cold storage and warehouse space, thereby doubling its year 2000 production capacity. Approximately half of the production is committed to company brands while the other half is for its co-packing partners.

Learn all about chiles in ChileHead 101 and our Chile Glossary.