San-J Soy sauce GMO inquiry

To: Jocelynn Hart Sent: Wednesday, June 08, 2011 8:46 PM

San-J International, Inc.

2880 Sprouse Drive

Richmond, VA 23231

p. 804.226.8333

p. 800.446.5500
f. 804.226.8383jhart@san-j.com

www.san-j.com

Hello, I was wondering if you use organic corn alcohol in your products or GMO corn alcohol? I am looking for a fermented soy sauce product to replace my old brand with & have never tried yours. Thanks so much from Sherry

The REPLY.....
From: "Mark Mansfield" <MMansfield@san-j.com>
 Sent: Mon, Jun 13, 2011 09:04 AM

San-J uses Organic Alcohol derived from sugarcane in the organic products and conventional alcohol derived from sugarcane in conventional products.

In the past San-J used corn based alcohol.  However, due to the GMO issues with corn and availability, San-J switched to alcohols derived from sugarcane.

It would be possible to use corn based alcohol again, however, it would be necessary that it would comply with the requirements for the Non-GMO Project. 

Please let me know if you need any additional information.

Sincerely,

Mark Mansfield

I have stopped writing companies,

I have asked restaurants where does there chicken or meat come from and the answer I always get is "from our supplier". I ask where do they get it from & the answer is "I don't know". So, therefore I no longer eat out unless I want to eat GMO food & try to detox later. There was one restaurant that advertised an organic salad on the menu so I inquired about ordering it & found out that only the spinach was organic, the rest of the salad was not organic. I encourage others to continue to keep up on the new GMO food hitting the market & sign all petitions wanting GMO food to be labeled. Also, vote daily by buying organic food or food that is labeled non-gmo. 

angelfoodministries.com

To: Angel Food Customer Care
Subject: organic/non-gmo

Hello, I was wondering if you will ever have an organic box 

that includes items that are not genetically modified. Corn,

Canola & Soy are the 3 biggest United States Genetically 
Modified Crops. So anything corn related in the breading or 

ingredients means it's genetically modified with Round up Weed

killer grown into it or some other undesirable trait that is

not good for eating.

I really hope that you try to help put out healthy organic

non-gmo boxes in order to help the low income. Thank you so much  

Their Reply

From: Jane Easterling <Jane.Easterling@angelfoodministries.com>

Thank you for your comment, I will forward this to our procurement

dept for their consideration. I too believe in a very healthy 

diet and food is where you get most if not all your nutrients

I sometimes shop the grocery stores later in the evening to

see what organic items they have put on sale "Manager's Special"

might be one or two items.  But it is something.

God Bless You!

Jane

My Reply=

Thank you for forwarding this & for considering organic &

non-GMO food for your program. I would love to participate

in your program when there is non-gmo/organic items 
for sale.  I know others who are struggling families that 

would like to participate also if there is an organic/non-gmo 

option.Please keep me posted if possible. Thank you so much

Burgerville

My local burger fast food place where on their website it says "Sustainability at Burgerville starts with community. We all have a stake in the future, and all of us collectively can do a lot more good than any one of us. That’s why we’ve created this space to share our sustainable journey, invite your ideas and participation, and learn out loud together as we go.
Please join in the conversation." http://burgerville.com/sustainable-business/

So I emailed them=Hello, I am concerned about some of your menu items. I have been a Burgerville fan for a long time but recently I've been learning about GMO's & am alarmed.

Do you use Genetically Modified Canola oil? If so, why not switch to non-gmo?

Is your fish Farmed or Wild? If not wild then why not switch? (Farmed gets fed antibiotics & GMO feed)

Why not have grass fed to slaughter beef instead of GMO grain fed?

You have free-range turkey but is it fed GMO food? Why not serve organic?

I feel like Burgerville is making huge progress in selling healthier food
choices but why not make the switch to non-gmo & Post it in the store.
If there were signs up or information in the restaurants then I & my healthy
friends would definitely eat there. Also, post the word Organic if any berries
or salads or other items are organic, because I went into Burgerville & asked
& had to talk to a manager & didn't find anything that I could eat in the store
that was organic or non-gmo. This is a HUGE problem.

Their reply= Dear S A,

Thank you for taking an active interest in where you food 

comes from and how it is raised. We appreciate you taking

the time to share your questions and concerns with us.
We strive to provide our guest’s the highest quality, 

sustainably sourced menu offerings. We are working 

diligently with all of our suppliers to clean labels of 

artificial ingredients.The canola oil we use is not GMO. 

We serve sustainably fished wild-caught halibut. The 

smoked salmon is wild also. All our beef is raised by 

Country Natural Beef, a co-operative of family-owned

and operated ranches who are certified sustainable by 

the Food Alliance. We love this partnership because the 

beef is raised on pastures and open range land and fed 

100% vegetarian diets, antibiotic and hormone free.

Portland-based Fulton Provisions has been grinding 

Burgerville’s beef for almost 50 years and is also a

Food Alliance Certified Sustainable Processor. Since our 

first burger was flipped in 1961 our beef has been fresh, 

never frozen. We are proud to partner with Diestel Farms to

supply our turkey. Diestel has been recognized as the most

sustainably raised turkey in the West. The turkeys are not

fed GMO product.Our goal is not to have all of our product

be organic. Many of our growers do practice organic farming as 

well as sustainable practices, but organic certification is very 

expensive for many of them. We are proud to partner with those

who provide the highest safety and quality assurances. 

We value your business and hope you will choose Burgerville 

when you are selecting where to spend your food dollars.
Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns.
Sincerely,



Debe Nagy-Nero, RD
Director of Quality Assurance, Nutrition 
The Holland, Inc./Burgerville

Ok Burgerville, how about labeling or putting up a sign

 in your store or on the website so that I & 

everyone else can have a choice?

Bob's Red Mill

http://www.bobsredmill.com/
My email=
Hello, I am glad the Bob's Red Mill is local & of great quality. I enjoy the decent prices & excellence care that's taken. As far as I know, you don't use anything that's genetically modified but I am emailing just to ask for sure. I see that your brand has organic & non-organic. So my question is "Are the non-organic items that you sell GMO free?" Thanks from Sherry 

Their reply= 

Hello Sherry,

Thank you for your inquiry. Here at Bob’s Red Mill, we only purchase identity-preserved products that originate from non-GMO seed. We think it is very important to offer the most natural, wholesome flours and grains. You can purchase our products knowing that we make honest decisions on behalf of our customers.

I will note that we do not guarantee the complete absence of genetic modification in our products because of wind drift, pollinators and our lack of testing equipment.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Warm regards,

Elizabeth
Customer Service
Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods, Inc.
(800)349-2173 x245
13521 SE Pheasant Court
Milwaukie, OR 97222
http://www.bobsredmill.com

Country Natural Beef

 I looked up my local fast food hamburger place online & emailed the place where they get their beef from which is from Country Natural  

http://www.countrynaturalbeef.com/

From: secondaccount@juno.com [mailto:secondaccount@juno.com]
Sent: Monday, November 29, 2010 10:13 AM
To: questions@countrynaturalbeef.com; secondaccount@juno.com
Subject: Corn

Hello, I like the way you care for & feed your beef however, When you grain feed them then do you use Non-GMO products? If not then why not? I will not eat GMO's in any form even though it is not labeled & in most products. I will choose the higher priced Grass fed to slaughter meat over GMO fed. Thank you for any information that you could give on this matter. From SA

 Their reply

SA,

Thank you for the question.

I’m sorry to report that at this time we cannot make a non-GMO claim. With cross pollinization it is next to impossible for any grain fed product to make that claim and we virtually cannot source enough non-gmo product if we could afford it.  I’m glad that you have found and like the grass fed product. It is a great alternative if you like the flavor and can live with the price.

I would not be surprised if it will soon be difficult to get grass fed that is non-GMO as that technology moves to grasses and is already used in alfalfa.

Dan Probert

Country Natural Beef

541-473-3355

GARDEIN

 I read the ingredients of  GARDEIN & emailed them to ask about GMO's in their products http://www.gardein.com/foods_we_make.php

Here are their ingredients for frozen buffalo wings(which are very delicious & tastes like chicken but it's not)

gardein™ chick’n: water, soy protein, vital wheat gluten, ancient grains (quinoa, amaranth, millet and kamut®), natural flavous (from plant sources), potato starch, expeller pressed canola oil, pea protein, modified vegetable gum, carrot fiber, organic beet root fiber, organic evaporated cane juice, yeast extract, sea salt. glaze: water, buffalo wing glaze (sugar, spice, corn maltodextrin, vinegar, onion powder, salt, garlic powder, citric acid, flavor), garlic, corn starch, organic evaporated cane juice, vinegar, modified vegetable gum, xanthan gum.

 

On 29-Nov-10, at 9:42 AM, secondaccount@juno.com wrote:

Name: SA Email: secondaccount@juno.com

Reason for Contacting gardein: inquiry

Subject: GMO\'s
Details: Hello I bought 4 different bags of your frozen items. I\'ve ate 2 kinds so far & absolutely loved to tastes. However, I re-read the ingredients & even though the soy is from a non-gmo source, the canola doesn\'t say if it is or not.  Also, the vegetable protein & guar gum doesn\'t say. I am staying away from GMO\'s & buy items labeled non gmo or organic. So, my question is \"Are there any Genetically modified (GMO) ingredients in your items?
If yes, then why not switch those to non-gmo or organic? If there are no gmo\'s in your products then could you please label them more clearly as such, so that my friends & I could tell more easily? Thank you
Contact Me: YES


 The REPLY from GArdein
Good Afternoon SA,

Thank-you for your email and inquiry about our gardein products. In our products we use expeller pressed canola oil, and although some is non-gmo, we can not guarantee that it is completely non-gmo canola oil. The soy in our products is non-gmo as we only use 'identity-preserved' soy protein (which basically means, it helps to ensure that our soy protein is not genetically modified) and is listed on our packaging. gardein™ does contain organic ingredients and we are looking into the possibility of an all organic product in the future.  I will pass on your comments to our R&D department as they are always interested in hearing what our consumers are asking about. I hope that answers your question and thanks for your interest.

Kind Regards,

Laurel

Garden Protein International Inc

Customer Relations

T  604.278.7300  ext  2109  |  F  604.278.8238   www.gardein.com

So Thank you Gardein for labeling the non-gmo in your product so that I & everyone else can have a choice,