At Eatmore Sprouts, we take food safety very seriously. We continue to invest our time, energy, finances, and personal commitment into the operation and ongoing improvement of our Food Safety Plan.
Our Food Safety Plan was created based on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) Code of Practice for the Hygienic Production of Sprouted Seeds and the Food Safety Guidance for Sprout Manufacturers: First Edition.
We are (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) HACCP Certified! Primus GFS
We are routinely inspected by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the Vancouver Island Health Authority, and third party auditors as a food processor.
Every food commodity has its own particular areas where special attention is required for production of safe foods for the consumer. In the case of sprouts, that means starting with the seeds themselves.
We buy only certified organic seeds from approved suppliers. Every bag of seed is inspected prior to use in our facility. Seed inspection includes bacterial pathogen testing at a certified third party laboratory. We only accept the very best seeds!
Once we sprout the seeds, every batch of sprouts is tested again, through a third party laboratory, for Salmonella and Ecoli 0157 H7. No sprout leaves our facility until we get a clear result from the lab! Our testing program includes seed, spent irrigation water, bulk samples and our compost. We take every measure possible to control the handling and process parameters from start to finish to deliver consistent quality to our valued customers.
Food Testing
Incoming seed testing: Our seed supplier tests seed before they ship it.
Once we receive the seed a sample from every bag of seed is sprouted for 48 hours. The spent irrigation water used in this process is then sent for testing. Seed is not approved for use until all tests come back negative. Seed is tested for STEC, E-coli 0157H7, Salmonella and Listeria.
Seed Sanitation: Next the seeds are rigorously sanitised using a sequence of anti-microbial and temperature treatments (all organically approved) in order to make sure our seed is clean.
All sprouts produced at our facility are tested for E-coli 0157H7 and Salmonella using spent irrigation water for testing. We have a hold-for-release program whereby no product leaves our facility until the results of these tests come back clear.
Our water is tested monthly through the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA), who works with us to maintain our water system
We train our employees in the multiple aspects of the jobs they are doing. Including Cross Contamination, Basic Hygiene, Chemical use, Task specific training, HACCP, CCP
Recommended ways to handle sprouts prior to consumption:
Keep sprouts refrigerated at 0 – 4° C
Protect sprouts from sources of contamination during storage
Prevent drying by keeping sprouts covered or contained
Always wash hands before handling food
Rinse sprouts with clean cool water before eating them
Our sprouts should last for 8-14 days from the day of packing, but like all fresh produce, shelf life will vary depending on storage conditions. We encourage people to eat quickly and buy often!
Discard sprouts that are no longer fresh and crisp
We currently mark our sprouts with the Julian Calendar. In other words….. the day in the year that it was harvested and packaged is the lot code on our package
We respectfully acknowledge that we work and live on the Unceded traditional territory of the K’òmoks First Nation
Contact us: 250-338-4860 info@eatmoresprouts.com 2604 Grieve Rd Courtenay, BC, V9J 1S7, Canada On Vancouver Island
