Food Safety

QUALITY TESTING

Edison Grainery tests and certifies every product lot using 3rd party food science laboratories. Our facilities are routinely inspected by official certifying agencies. These assurances are reflected in the logos you'll find on our packaging. Each logo points to a specific process we employ to make sure every bag is safe, clean and ready for your recipes.  Each lot number you see on the back our packaging is listed on our product pages. By clicking the links that match your lot codes, you can see our actual laboratory results. 
We strive to give our customers as much information as we have, so we can all get back to the things we love most: eating and thriving. 

LOT NUMBERS

A "lot" refers to a specific batch of finished products made of the same ingredients. LOT NUMBERS are used trace that lot back to its origins through the "chain of commerce". They are an essential tool in ensuring food safety, especially in the unlikely event of a recall. At Edison, we work several layers of information into EACH unique lot code*, so that just by looking at the back of a bag, you can find out how it got from the farm to your table.  Here is how to understand our codes at a glance:

*Not all Edison Grainery lot numbers carry this format. Occasionally lot numbers are provided by original suppliers.

Product ID

The first three digits are a product identification code. They generally describe the finished product by category, type and variety. For example, the code AQR refers to Red Quinoa: Ancient Grains - Quinoa - Red.

Original Unit Size

The next two digits help us identify how the ingredients arrived to our facility prior to cleaning, testing and packaging. If it arrives in 25 lb. bags, the code will read 25. If it arrives in 50 lb. bags it will read 50. The majority of our ingredients arrive in large "totes". In this case the code will be 00. 

Receiving Date

We use a four digit "Julian Day Number" to mark the date in which we received the ingredients that make up our products. Julian date numbers advance from the first day of a given year (001) up to last (365) and end with a single digit marking the year. For example, if we receive a shipment of Red Quinoa on April 17th, 2022, the Julian date code will be 1072.

Country of Origin

You will find a country of origin printed in English on every Edison product. This indicates the country in which the ingredients were grown, when the product is unaltered, and the country in which the product was prepared, in the case of cereals and pastas. The country of origin is also detailed in our lot numbers, as a two letter code, using ISO designations. For example, if our Red Quinoa arrives from Peru, this section will read PE.

ORGANIC CERTIFICATION

USDA Certified Organic logo: A black and white circle containing the words USDA ORGANIC.Organic Certifiers Logo - A black circle, intersecting an overflowing cornucopia. Inside the circle, stacked, arched letters read "Organic Certifiers"

 

Edison Grainery is a proud member of the National Organic Program (NOP). 

As an exclusively organic facility, we eliminate the concern over cross contamination with non-organic ingredients during receiving, processing, storage and shipping. 

We’ve forged working relations with organic farmers and producers that respect and sustain a healthy system for providing safe food.

Edison Grainery and our approved supplier rely on natural substances and physical, mechanical, or biologically based farming methods.

  • 100% of the ingredients used in a finished good are organically certified. The label must include the organic certifier and may include the USDA Organic Seal and the 100% Organic claim.
  • Organic – All ingredients are certified organic unless specifically allowed by the USDA National List of Prohibited Substances.  Organic products can lawfully display the USDA Organic Seal and/or the organic claim and includes the name of the certifying agent on its packaging.
  • “Made with organic ingredients” – 70% to 95% of the ingredients used in a product are certified organic. The USDA Organic Seal does not appear on the packaging.
  • Specific organic ingredients – The label or packaging for multi-ingredient products with less than 70% cannot display the USDA Organic Seal or use the word: organic.

ALLERGEN-FREE

Allergen Free logo: A a black and white circle, bisected by a diagonal line, encaging the simple grey shape of a peanut.

Products displaying the Allergen-Free logo are packed on equipment Free of the Big 9 Allergens: Milk, Eggs, Fish, Crustacean shellfish, Tree nuts, Peanuts, Wheat, Soybeans and Sesame as identified by U.S. Congress in the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 and the FASTER Act (Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education, and Research Act) of 2021.

We are proactively moving into compliance with the FASTER Act. As of June 30th, 2021 we will no longer handle Sesame products in our facility.

Edison Grainery does not process any Big 9 allergen products. While the cheese powder in our Organic Q Mac contains a milk allergen, it is manufactured off-site and arrives in pre-sealed packets, thus posing minimal cross-contact risk.

Protocols to ensure protection of food from allergen cross-contact and misbranding include:

  • We require our suppliers to provide allergen statements so we have full knowledge of their allergen profile, and we verify that they employ sound allergen management practices.
  • Product containing allergens (Q-Mac) are received and stored in our dedicated allergen warehouse.
  • Strict sanitation practices are maintained for cleaning equipment and utensils.
  • Employees practice good hygiene and traffic flow is managed between allergen and non-allergen areas of the facility.
  • Allergen Labeling Verification Protocols prevents undeclared allergens (Q-Mac)
  • ATP and AllerSnap Swabs of equipment uphold are Sanitation Standard Protocols.

    VERIFIED GLUTEN FREE

    Verified Gluten Free logo: The words VERIFIED TM arched over a black and white oval containing the words Gluten Free.

    Edison Grainery is proud to operate a gluten-free facility. 

    We empathize with the millions of people having allergic reactions to food that can sometimes be life-threatening, and that many suffer from Celiac disease or are gluten-intolerant including our own family.

    So that our customers may purchase our products with confidence, we have established a robust allergen and gluten program.

    Our product line is Gluten Free. We do not offer gluten-containing grains, which are defined as wheat (e.g., durum, spelt, kamut, emmer, einkorn), rye, barley, or their cross-bred hybrids such as triticale. 

    • Each and every incoming lot of every product is tested by a 3rd party laboratory for the presence of gluten to verify that cross-contact has not occurred in the field or at earlier processing steps.
    • The FDA has established a gluten limit of less than 20 parts per million (ppm) for foods that carry the gluten-free label. Edison Grainery threshold is <10 ppms and test results average <5pps.
    • All of our products meet or exceed that standard and carry the “Verified Gluten Free” logo. 
    • Lot specific Certificates of Analysis (COA) are available on individual product pages.

    NON-GMO

    Non-GMO logo: A black and white circle containing the words Non GMO, bordered to the right and left with a single dot.

    The National Organic Program regulations cover all aspects of the food chain – from soil fertility, to animal welfare, to additives and to packaging materials. 

    Organic farms may treat their fields with chicken manure while non-GMO and GMO crops are treated with chemical weed killers and fertilizers.

    A Non-GMO product may have been produced with pesticides, antibiotics and no regard for animal welfare. 

    Official organic rules prohibit genetic engineering and we routinely test for GMO’s as part of our agreement with our organic certifier, Oregon Tilth. Edison Grainery only offers organic ingredients procured from Organically Certified Suppliers. 

    Food labels can be confusing. To help you make an informed purchase, Edison Grainery is both: Non-GMO and Organic. 

    VERIFIED PURITY TESTED

    Verified Purity Tested logo: The words VERIFIED TM arched over a black and white oval containing the words Purity Tested.

    Edison Grainery analyzes incoming products for biological hazards that can cause serious adverse health consequences or death. Our hazard analysis identifies and evaluates known or reasonably foreseeable hazards requiring a preventive control (biological, chemical and physical) for each category of ingredients manufactured, processed, packed, or held at our facility. 

    We’ve classified Salmonella spp, Listeria monocytogenes, and E.coli, as biological hazards that could has life threatening issues if no Kill Step or Preventive Control – such as cooking or baking - is applied. 

    Edison Grainery also tests incoming products for a number of indicator organisms to verify that suppliers are be responsible in meeting product specifications and controlling hazards. These include aerobic plate count, total coliforms, and yeast & mold.

    We have established a standard, comprehensive testing protocol such that all incoming products are tested for the same biological hazards, indicator organisms, and gluten levels. 

    This means that products may be tested for biological hazards not identified on the hazard analysis. 

    Upon receipt, a composite sample is sent to a 3rd party laboratory for analysis. Our QC team grants a Positive Release only to those ingredients with test results that are within our established thresholds. 

    Based on scientific levels these reports serve as our Certificate of Analysis. We post lot specific COA online for your review.

    CLEAN OLCS

    Optical Laser Color Sorter logo: The words CLEAN PRODUCT arched above and below a black and white oval containing the letters OLCS.

    Products displaying the Clean OLCS logo been run through our dry mechanical cleaning line, which consists of one or more of the following:  Vibratory Sifter, Rare Earth Magnet, Optical Laser Color Sorter and Metal Detection. 

    These products are 99% free from foreign material contamination. 

    KOSHER

    Chicago Rabinical Council logo: A black and white triangle containing the letters cRc. Supported below by the word KOSHER and the date 1936.

    This product complies with dietary guidelines with regards to how it is produced, processed and prepared. With certified companies throughout the world, The Chicago Rabbinical Council (cRc), is the largest community-based non-profit Kosher organization in the world. 

    This symbol ensures that a product complies with dietary guidelines with regards to how it is produced, processed and prepared.