FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
You Have Questions,
We Have Answers
Is your milk pasteurized?
Yes - when we make yogurt the first step is to pasteurize the milk to eliminate all the bacteria in the raw milk - they would interfere with the fermentation by the yogurt or kefir cultures.
Are the cows grass-fed?
About 80% of what the cows eat is grass-based, either grass on the pasture or dry hay or haylage (= fermented hay). Dairy cows give a lot of milk which is actually hard work, so they need a little extra energy in form of grain (oats, barley, corn and peas).
Do the cows go on pasture?
Absolutely! The cows go on pasture from May to October.
Why is the texture different?
Our yogurt and kefir are made from milk only. We don't add stabilizers and thickeners to the milk in order to make a pudding-like product. These are highly processed ingredients (whey protein concentrates, skim milk powder). We use simple ingredients: organic whole milk and bacteria, nothing else!
Is the milk homogenized?
No - we do not homogenize the milk. Homogenization destroys the large fat globules in the milk and makes them harder to digest. Because we don't homogenize the milk there is a layer of cream on top of the yogurt or kefir.
What is the yellow layer on top of the yogurt or kefir?
Because we don't homogenize, some of the cream will rise to the top during the early stages of the fermentation.
Why are the kefir lids bulging?
During the fermentation process. some bacteria are producing a gas that puts a little bit of pressure on the seal and the lid. It's actually a good sign and shows that the kefir has lots of probiotic organisms.
Why are trans fats in your products?
Transfats in yogurt or kefir are naturally occurring trans fats. All animal fats contain transfats — including a human mother's breast milk!
Is your product gluten-free?
Our yogurt and kefir are made from milk and bacteria only. We do not add anything else - Ever!
Why the new packaging?
We are first and foremost organic farmers who care for the land. We don’t want to pollute our environment. The new cups provide us with an opportunity to reduce our use of plastic by 8,000 kgs per year. We just had to make this change.
Why are the new cups 908g?
The new cups are manufactured in the US. The 32 oz. (or 908g) cup is the largest container our supplier offers. They do not make metric sizes. As of now, there are no Canadian suppliers that offer environmentally friendly yogurt cups.
Certified Organic by Ecocert
Customers, who have bought our yogurt for some time might have noticed some changes in the labelling. We used to say, that we are certified by the Bio-dynamic Society of Ontario since 1988 and now we simply state that we are certified organic by Ecocert.
In North America California was the first state to implement an official set of rules and regulations and many old-time organic food buyers will remember the reference to that set of rules on many labels in the nineties. With the arrival of “official” organic rules came the forming of a growing number of organizations, whose main purpose it is to apply and police these rules and regulations in a professional way.
While the old system worked largely on trust and mutual interest in the ideology of the organic farm movement, the new generation of third party accredited inspection bodies is far more detached and unbiased. We may lament the change of times and all that comes with it, but the organic industry, as it is often called now, has matured and while we have certainly lost some personal flair we had to gain independent credibility.
Now, what does this really mean? Without getting too technical about the development of the organic farm movement in Canada, and the certification process, in particular, we thought it helpful to give some background information about this and where we stand. It is important to us that the buyers of our product know where it comes from and how it is made and really what this whole farming thing is all about.
When we started farming here in the middle of the eighties the organic farm movement and especially the marketing of organic foods was still in its infancy. The certification process was largely farmer-driven and also executed because we all did it and believed in it and the selling of products was somewhat of an afterthought. It was certainly not the driving force behind the transition of many farmers at the time and so the certification as an organic farm was more like a peer recognition badge, which had also a substantial educational component. As the market started to develop and grow, the certification process became more professionalized.
Coming back to our own position, we still practice bio-dynamic farming methods and are also certified as such by Demeter Canada, but because Demeter Canada is a fairly small organization and it lacks the funds to get third-party accreditation, we are officially certified organic by Ecocert Canada. In our hearts, we will always identify ourselves with the bio-dynamic principles, because it is a truly holistic and organic farming system, but for trade purposes, we have to, for the time being, also be certified by an officially recognized certifying body.