GMO's, Monsanto, & Your Role

The issue of GMO's are becoming a hotter and hotter topic, and there is a serious demand for labeling of foods that contain GMO's or don't. The good news is that if your buying your food from Certified Organic farmers or sources then that food does not contain any GMO's. This is because of the use of GMO's is prohibited in Certified Organic practices by the USDA, "The use of genetic engineering, or genetically modified organisms (GMOs), is prohibited in organic products. This means an organic farmer can’t plant GMO seeds, an organic cow can’t eat GMO alfalfa or corn, and an organic soup producer can’t use any GMO ingredients. To meet the USDA organic regulations, farmers and processors must show they aren’t using GMOs and that they are protecting their products from contact with prohibited substances, such as GMOs, from farm to table." Organic 101: Can GMOs Be Used in Organic Products?

In the aspect of getting legislation passed that would require companies to say whether or not their product contains GMO's there is a large push for it not to pass. Most of the pressure is coming from a company called Monsanto, they are the same company that produces round-up. 

For more information about what exactly a GMO is click here, it's a great article that explains the difference between non-GMO and GMO. 

The best thing that anyone can do while the politicians sort things out is to support you local Certified Organic Famers. Your supporting your local community, and your putting your money into what you believe is right for your health. 

Hope this helps everyone out a bit, we will be continuing to follow this topic through its process. 

How We Control the Quality

Quality is an important part of what we do .
In our packing house we wash, destem, color sort, and pick out all the bad berries, then the good ones go into 30 pound boxes for cold storage.

Who oversees the quality of all this?
Who makes sure that the water levels and all the regulations are being met?

I do, Jenni Wilt. I make sure everything is running smoothly and oversee the maintenance of the facility, meaning that I check our cold room temperatures, that the metal detector is working properly. I also take grades of our berries every 10 minutes, which means I take a pound of berries off the line and sort out all the ones that don't meet our quality standards. If there are too many below grade berries, we correct the machinery. If the berries all are surpassing grade, then we know we can speed the line up (the grades have standards that are regulated by the USDA). Our farm standards exceed USDA standards.

At the end of the day I oversee line clean up and do an in house self audit, along with loading and inspecting the truck that takes our berries from our cold rooms (once in the 30 pound boxes) to a cold storage facility.