Let’s Recap

Pop Quiz! What is Validus? If you said an independent certification company that ensures specific and transparent production practices, you’re correct.  That also means you’ve probably been reading our blogs so let’s go for a bonus question.  What do the Validus Certified certifications cover? They review animal welfare, environment, and worker care practices.  Now, for the win, what type of activities occur during the review process? Interviews, testing, onsite assessments and audits is correct again.  It’s obvious you paid close attention to our animal welfare feature.

Well done!  Next up: the Environmental Review Program.

Environmental Review

Your living conditions affect your health and wellbeing. Drink dirty water you might get sick.
Neglect building repairs and the stability of your home might be compromised.  This also holds true for animals.  Understanding where your food comes from includes the conditions of the livestock facility and production areas.  The Validus Environmental Review Standards cover everything from air quality, dust control, erosion prevention, to water drainage.  Inspections are completed at a specified frequency to ensure the facility has time to correct any issues post-audit and ensure continuous improvement.  But, the requirements don’t stop there.  Manure utilization and mortality management are also part of the certification process. Both of these include extensive sampling, testing, documentation, and require that proper removal processes be in place. Certification is awarded to farms that demonstrate compliance with the environmental criteria established, which includes:

• General Site Management and Conditions
• Livestock Living and Production Areas
• Outdoor Manure and Storm Water Storage
• Manure Use and Land Application
• Animal Mortality Management
• Waste Water Plans, Treatments and Controls

This program is based on the Good Environmental Livestock Production Practices (GELPPs), a set of standards verified by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).  ANSI reviews and certifies that the appropriate mix of industry, academia, and public were consulted in developing the Environmental Review Program standard.

Meeting the Standards

You want to buy with confidence knowing the claims on your food are true. Where Food Comes From and companies like Validus work to ensure farms and ranches can be as transparent as possible about their practices.  The great part is the farmers and producers involved in our programs proactively want these certifications because they know the importance of telling their story in an authentic way.  Remember when we talked about the Emmy of the food world?  Well,  McCarty Family Farms, LLC was the first dairy facility in the U.S. to earn the Validus Certified Responsible Producer certification, now known as Validus CARE.  This means they met all of the Validus certification criteria, including environmental review, animal welfare review, and worker care.  We support farms like McCarty who are willing to tell their story and change the way we all collectively view how our food is produced, and most importantly, where it comes from.  To learn more about the verification programs, check out Where Food Comes From and Validus Certification.

Most people know that before you ever purchase your food, it goes through multiple steps and processes to reach your plate.  Here at Where Food Comes From, it is our responsibility to share with you on the stories behind your food and those processes it goes through to reach your plate. The farmers that grow our food truly are the point of change in the food industry.  As we introduce you to farmers we partner with through our programs and certifications, you’re getting an inside look into the variety of choices they make daily to ensure they are producing food in a responsible way.  This means understanding practices like the treatment of animals, which leads us to our Validus division and the work they do in assessing animal care.

Who is Validus?

Late last year in our New Year’s blog article we briefly touched on our Validus Certified programs.  Today we get a chance to dive deeper into Validus’ Animal Welfare Review and all that it takes to evaluate animal care and wellbeing within this program.

Let us introduce you to the  Validus Certifiedprograms.  Validus ensures food is produced according to specific and transparent production practices.  The best part is, like many of our programs, all of their practices go through extensive auditing in order to be certified. As a result, you know that not only have participating producers agreed to follow certain practices, but they have proven to do so as well.

Certification from Validus covers criteria specific to animal welfare, environmental integrity and  worker care. For those who have been evaluated and approved in all three Validus programs, they receive the prestigious Validus CARE certification – which is the equivalent of receiving an Emmy in the food verification world. Now that we’ve explained a little bit about Validus, let’s take a deeper look into the Animal Welfare Review program.

Validus Animal Welfare Review Certification

Validus has Animal Welfare Review certifications for multiple species, but the most widely used and prevalent in the industry today is the Animal Welfare Review program for Dairy (also known as AWRD).  Accredited to both the USDA Process Verified Program requirements and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Specification (TS) 34700 for Animal Welfare Management/General Requirements and Guidance for Organizations in the Food Supply Chain, the Validus AWRD standard comes with some serious clout.

Once a company or farm applies for AWRD certification the review process begins.  This consists of several steps, which includes interviews, onsite audits, and document and process assessments. Certification is awarded to farms who demonstrate compliance with specified criteria, including:

• Proper animal handling and management
• Herd health procedures and care
• Food and water quality standards
• Housing that promotes animal comfort and cleanliness
• On-farm security procedures
• Proper care of special needs animals

The Experts

 To ensure these standards are upheld, Validus assembles an expert committee for each sector; animal welfare, environmental health and worker care.   Each sector consists of five individuals who are considered experts in their given field of study.  They listen to suggestions from participating farms, consider new and emerging industry research and technologies, and review the current standards annually in order to continuously improve the evaluation criteria.  Did you hear that?  They listen and make changes!  This ensures that the standard is always current and is always striving to improve and shift with both industry and consumer expectations.

Over the next few weeks we will be sharing information about the other programs supported by Validus. In the meantime, if you want to gain more insights about these programs visit the Validus Certified website.

“Beef, it’s what for dinner” … and many times lunch and breakfast as well!  For many Americans it doesn’t get much better than the thought of sinking your teeth into a juicy steak cooked just the way we like it. I’m also sure most of us know the difference between a great steak and a good steak.  As consumers are more removed from their food than ever before, it can be difficult to understand what goes into the difference between “good” and “great” when it comes to beef.  This week we get a chance to tell the story of Allan Ortmeier with Rural Route 1 Farms.  Let’s head out to Scribner Nebraska to learn more.

Behind the Scenes

Starting as a simple dream in 1958, the idea of owning a family farm went from a dream and transformed into a thriving farmstead several decades later.  Continuing that simple dream and adding to their father’s legacy is Allan Ortmeier and his brothers, Dave and John.  In 2005, the brothers came to the realization that they had an opportunity to improve the quality of beef for their family, neighbors and customers. Working from sun up to sun down Rural Route 1 Farms went to work to make their beef the best, while ensuring what they advertised was exactly what you were getting.

With this new vision the farm began to prosper like never before.  In late 2015, Allan and his brothers reached out to Creekstone Farms Premium Beef to start processing and selling their beef, which was NHTC, Verified Natural Beef, GAP and Non-GMO Project verified.  Since then, Creekstone Farms has been receiving all cattle from Rural Route 1 Farms.

To Allan and his brothers, the quality of their meat is of the utmost importance.  Allan is very proud of what Rural Route 1 Farms has been able to accomplish with their hard work and clear vision. In the last two years, the farm has processed 35 head a week.  They have graded nearly 100% Choice, and of those 53% were Prime, and only 2 head were graded Select. Allan and his family truly want everyone to experience first-rate nutritious beef and their results speak for themselves.

Audit Services

For more than five years, Rural Route 1 Farms has produced Non-GMO Project verified beef, along with being NHTC, Verified Natural Beef and Global Animal Partnership (GAP) verified by Where Food Comes From. Because of these verifications, the farm has recently been able to take advantage of shipping product to China, Saudi Arabia and the EU.

The Benefits

“If you won’t eat it why would you feed it to your cattle?” was a question that resonated with Allan and his family and ultimately led to them to make a change on what they were feeding their cattle, switching from grass to Non-GMO corn. “Yes, cows can eat grass, but why do that when corn taste better?” says Allan. Everything the cows eat is Non-GMO. With the assistance of IMI Global and Where Food Comes From, Rural Route 1 Farms was able to make the transition from commercial to a highly restricted and specialized feed lot.  The Non-GMO corn feed may not be the next item on the menu for you, but the cows sure do love it!

Head over to the Rural Route 1 website to watch this video and learn more about the farm!  Interested in learning where to purchase their beef? The website will answer that question for you as well.

Over the last several weeks we have had the unique opportunity to take our readers along with us as we met with some of the farmers and ranchers that we provide our third-party verification services for.  Sharing their stories with you has been a wonderful experience, as connecting you with those that have a passion for animal welfare is a passion of ours! We know you love food and want it to taste great, but you also have a desire for more education around that food, where it comes from and how it is produced.   You’re connecting with your food on new levels, which means having a better understanding about where your food comes from.

For example, did you know those chocolate chips in your cookie are produced with ingredients from a fruit grown on a tree?  Or did you know that the handling of an animal could affect the quality, taste, or look of the meat that inevitably makes it onto your plate? Expectations on how our food is produced are changing the food industry; from environmental standards to animal welfare.  Better food quality means verifying producers are engaged in specific processes, which is the purpose of standards, audits and certification.  One example of this is in the evaluation of animal care and wellbeing, so this week we’re diving into the Global Animal Partnership (GAP) 5-Step Animal Welfare standard.  Let’s head out to the farm! 

What is the 5-Step Animal Welfare Program?
Before meat or other products can display the certified label, a third-party audit must be conducted at each farm/ranch in a given supply chain that wants to label their product as GAP certified.

First, let’s understand what that means to you.  Below is some helpful information on the three components that GAP uses to define farm animal welfare.

• Health & Productivity – raising animals so that they’re healthy and productive with good quality feed and water, shelter, and free from disease, illness and injury (but treating any animals that get sick).
• Natural Living – raising animals in environments that allow them to express their natural behaviors effectively – both indoors and outdoors
• Emotional Well Being – raising animals in environments that provide them the ability to be inquisitive, happy and playful and minimize boredom, frustration, fear, stress and pain, as much as possible.

Understanding what farm animal welfare encompasses is important.  Let’s also take a look at the “5” steps below as defined by GAP.

The Standards
GAP was created in 2008, with an underlying commitment to collaboration with stakeholders involved in animal agriculture and production.  Over the years, GAP  has focused on continual improvements to animal care, management and animal welfare with their farm and ranch partners, while at the same time connecting with other segments of the food industry (e.g. retail, manufacturing, etc.) to grow awareness about animal welfare and their program.

GAP truly has a unique process demonstrating their commitment to transparency in labeling. They blend scientific research and practical knowledge to develop a thorough and evidence-based process.  GAP covers beef, broiler chickens, bison, pigs, turkeys, goats, sheep, and laying hens and all of their standards are shared with the public to solicitate feedback as they are developed and/or changed  over time. This allows you to share ideas and perspectives with GAP directly, creating a collaborative process for continuous improvement in the standard in a way that allows all stakeholders – from producers to consumers – to have a say in what matters most to them.

Verification
As you know, the core service of Where Food Comes From is third-party verification.  Our IMI Global division is accredited by  GAP to complete audits on every farm that is seeking a GAP certification – with audits taking place on every operation every 15 months.  The GAP program covers the entire life of the animal, from the birth of a pig or hatching of an egg to finished product processing. You name it, they cover it.  

Why GAP?
In a recent GAP survey, 63% of consumers look for labels that call-out how the animal was raised when purchasing the products.  When it comes to making choices for yourself and your family, transparency is extremely important.  So why GAP?  Their 5 – Step program allows them to be transparent so you know first-hand how an animal was raised.  As customer demand increases, GAP is available to help you tell your story to consumers, raising the understanding about animal welfare in addition to increasing the use of the label.  The last 10 years has been an exciting time for GAP, and they don’t plan on slowing down anytime soon.

Learn more about GAP at www.globalanimalpartnership.org.
View the IMI Global GAP program flier here and you can also contact us to enroll today!

It’s been a great start to the new year, and with this new year has come a renewed interest for many in making changes for ourselves and our families.  Undoubtedly you are very familiar with seeing many types of fruits, vegetables and meats marketed as organic.  Even if you don’t load your cart with all organic food, you have probably had that moment when you selected an organic avocado or tomato over a non-organic, disregarding the price difference, because you internally wanted to make a different decision about what your family is eating.  While organic is now a mainstay on our grocers’ shelves, we wanted to take a closer look into the nuances of what makes organic, “organic,” and how we here at Where Food Comes From play a part in that verification process.

What does organic mean?

There can be some confusion when it comes to understanding what organic means.  Some consumers assume it means natural, but the word natural doesn’t really get into the details of what organic is.  Organic foods are foods made without synthetic chemicals or modified components like fertilizers or irradiation.  As part of the certification process the USDA even requires organic farmers to consider impact to the environment by improving the quality of water and soil.  This also includes helping to preserve wildlife, wetlands, and woodland areas to promote ecological balance.  As you can see, the requirements don’t just focus on the actual food but also on the environment related to the growth and processing of that organic food.

Reasons Consumers Want Organic

Many consumers have switched to organic because they believe it’s the healthier option and even tastes better than the non-organic counterparts as organic foods do not contain imitation flavors.  Other consumers are buying organic because they are simply concerned about antibiotics, chemicals, additives, and pesticides used in the production of their food and feel that certified organic foods provide them the necessary transparency to feel confident in the foods they purchase.  In 2017, the Organic Trade Association reported organic food sales hit $45.2 billion and is projected to increase in the coming years.  As a result, manufacturers will need to get creative with the increasing demand.  Consumers want more than just traditional food options for breakfast, lunch and dinner and, because of this, even organic snack foods are increasing in popularity.  Organic snack foods range from items such as potato chips and tortilla chips to bagels, pretzels, cookies and even chocolates and raisins.

Organic Labeling

The USDA has a strict process when it comes to organic products.  In order to carry the label, there are certain criteria that products and processors must meet.  This includes the following:

• Produced with No genetically modified organisms – Read the Policy to Learn More
• Produced with Only allowed substances – View List Here
• Follow All USDA organic regulations and overseen by a USDA National Organic authorized certifying agent

How Does WFCF Support National Organic Program (NOP)?

The organic market is growing rapidly and is not showing any signs of slowing down.  Today, the USDA reports there are more than 22,000 organic approved farms in the United States.  In order to carry the organic label, a product, its ingredients and all of its manufacturing processes must be evaluated to the USDA National Organic Program as required by law in the United States.  Where Food Comes From plays a unique role in ensuring these standards and processes are upheld for consumers through its two organic Accredited Certifying Agencies – A Bee Organic and International Certification Services, Inc. (ICS). Each of these divisions specializes in organic certification for all types of food products.  ICS has been a leader in establishing organic standards and processes in the United States for the last 35 years, and A Bee specializes in certifying quite a few unique product categories, include apiary, hydroponics and wild harvest crops.

To learn more about the world of organic certification, visit the sites below:

Visit the NOP website here.
View the ICS Organic website here.
View the A Bee Organic website here.

As you may have recently read over the last few weeks, in December Where Food Comes From was named the Program Administrator for the new U.S. Hemp Authority ^TM verification program. Where Food Comes From and Validus Verification Services, known for socially responsible practices like animal welfare, will serve the hemp growers and those seeking to display the certified designation on their labeling, advertising and marketing. It’s truly an interesting time for the hemp industry.

There is no doubt that hemp is here to stay.  This multipurpose plant has the capability to produce all kinds of resources from clothing to food to paper.  With the demand increasing for hemp-based products and hemp in general, it’s quickly growing in popularity across the globe.  As hemp continues to grow, no pun intended, there’s much to learn including educating consumers about the misconceptions of hemp.

“Our selection to administer this program puts Where Food Comes From at the forefront of a major new health and wellness movement in the U.S. today.”

John Saunders, CEO of Where Food Comes From, Inc.

The development of the U.S. Hemp Authority ^TM  Certified program demonstrates commitment toward high standards and transparency with hemp cultivation.  Once growers pass the third-party audit they will be licensed with the certified seal of approval.  This lets you know as the customer that the hemp product you’re purchasing has been checked for quality, safety, and consistency.

The 2014 Farm Bill allowed farmers to start pilot programs for hemp alongside their agricultural programs. As of 2018, a new bill allows farmers to grow hemp with all the protections traditional farming receives.  This Farm Bill allows farmers to legally grow hemp, which  means more CBD products on the shelves. Through this bill, hemp will no longer be considered a controlled substance but rather take its place alongside all other types of traditional farming.

In addition to legalizing hemp, legislation also includes medical quality of cannabidiol also known as CBD, which is becoming widely accepted to treat certain medical issues. CBD is known to treat chronic pain, anxiety and many other things. Bloomberg reports the legal market of CBD could reach $20 billion by 2020.  Perhaps this will change individual perception about this useful plant.

We know hemp has an even bigger role to play in future, including being the catalyst for other innovations and practical everyday uses.  In order to get there, the U.S. Hemp Authority ^TM  offers a training program to guide farmers and growers through the certification process.  This includes concepts such as ISO quality standards, good agricultural practices and quality management amongst other sources.

Where Food Comes From is extremely excited to be a part of the hemp boom alongside the U.S. Hemp Authority ^TM  to provide a new verification program that will instill confidence in hemp products. As we partner with farmers and growers we look forward to bringing certifications from seed to shelf.