We Are Transparent

Manufactured Thing

One thing we wanted to explain here is the whole “Manufactured in a facility that also manufactures soy, wheat, dairy” disclosure....   Our raw materials (ingredients) do not have any of these (soy, wheat, dairy) however because our products are manufactured in a facility that also manufactures products with these, we must put manufactured in a facility that produces other products that do have that stuff on the label. Some people are deathly allergic to dairy and soy, so it is important for them.. We get it.. But for us, we just want to know the scoop for our own choices.  Make sense?  We know, this stuff can be confusing.. So fun to learn and share!*

Sugar Thing

Ok, WE LOVE REAL Food and we also Stay clear of Sugar, well at least medium to large amounts. Our products do include  natural sugar in small amounts.   We are loving the more natural Bars that are available in the marketplace, but we have a problem… A lot of them are 12-18g of naturally occuring sugar!  Way too much for us! And then the ones that are low sugar, like 5g or lower, seem to contain other chemicals or rice or guar gum, all of which our guts do not like!  So what we did was formulate with only 5 grams natural organic sugar with minutes amounts of organic stevia to bring the sweetness of the whole food ingredients out so they are YUMMY! *

Why Grass Fed & Pasture Raised

Ok, for Bone Broth Nutrients, which has been around FOREVER the whole point is getting all the nutrients from animals in their natural state they are raised.. For example, cows are meant to roam and eat grass, the grass has a ton of nutrients that then load those bones, joints, meat, organs with a ton of these powerful nutrients that then get cooked in water to extract.  When cows are put in those confined feeding operations and fed grain with added hormones and such, their nutrient values drop between 30-70% . Consider us your advocate because we are fierce about this!  We are mother hens you might say!  *

Organic Thing

We are Eco Certified Organic over 70% using ALL organic plant protein and organically raised bovine bone broth collagen and the under 30% is Clean Grass-Fed Pasture-Raised Bone Broth Collagen from Europe with no hormones or antibiotics whatsoever, raised organically.

The Whole NON-GMO Project Verification Thing

The NON-GMO Project Verification thing is GREAT! And one thing we learned is that all of our ingredients are NON GMO! But what is so fascinating is for the NON-GMO Project Verification process (which is paper trail only), they have rigourous document trail requirements, which in most cases is GREAT, but when it comes to Organic Chicken Bone Broth, Grass Fed Bone Broth Collagen or even Grass Fed Bovine Collagen Peptides it is pretty much impossible to have records for every single bone used in cooking the bone broths with records of every animal from birth and the grass they grazed on for the previous 10 years was never planted with gmo seeds.. even though all of that is clean and no gmos were involved, there is not a paper trail going back that far on every detail for NON GMO Project’s requirements. So the only clean collagen that has been able so far to get this NON-GMO Project verification is marine collagen due to their more simple process.*

So what we did is TAKE THIS A STEP FURTHER, we enrolled in iGen certification:

The IGEN™ Program evaluates the GMO content of samples using validated analytical methods (actually testing the FOOD!). Clients can submit each unique batch/lot of raw materials, ingredients finished products for analytical testing. Therefore, IGEN actually does TESTING, rather than only following a paper trail.

The level of certification achieved (raw materials, ingredients or finished products) will be displayed on the Product Report. Ideally both finished product and its components (e.g. raw materials, ingredients, process chemicals) are tested to show full GMO transparency in their supply chain.

The IGEN™ panel tests for common DNA gene elements and transgenic proteins that are found in bioengineered crops. To achieve IGEN™ certification, a product must contain undetectable amounts of GMO equivalent to <0.1% GMO. The method quantification limit of each test is at least ten times (10x) lower than the EU 0.9% threshold.

Very interesting stuff! Total HEALTH NERD fest!

Vegetable Glycerin

Glycerin actually occurs naturally throughout the body. It makes up a portion of the cellular membranes. This gives glycerin an affinity for the body, making it an excellent carrier for healthy nutrients.  We use Organic Glycerin derived from coconut and NEVER derived from soy.*

The word glycerin is probably derived from the French word glycérine, which is from the original Greek glukeros which translates to “sweet”. Glycerin has a long history of use in the food and health products industries, and is considered a GRAS ingredient ( Generally recognized as safe). It is used by botanical companies to prepare non-alcoholic pure herbal extracts, and also helps to preserve healthy active constituents. It is somewhat thick, with no scent or color. It has often been used as a very low calorie sweetener, and has the additional properties of acting as a moisturizer, which helps food products maintain a smooth, easy to chew, consistency. Vegetable glycerin has the additional benefit of acting as an all natural preservative. People often use glycerin as a stand alone product, which can be useful as a skin smoothing agent, or a sweetener that does not spike blood sugar levels. It is an excellent choice for anyone who chooses to watch their sugar consumption. Both adults and children enjoy the “sugar/aspartame-free” sweet taste of pure vegetable glycerin. Glycerin can help to bind certain plant constituents and help the body more easily absorb these into cells.*

Glycerin is recognized as a natural sugar by the body. However, if is NOT A FODMAP (fermentable oligo-, di- and monosaccharides and polyols), since it does not act as a fermentation food in the large intestines by unwanted gut bacteria.*

Glycerin can be extracted from animal fats but ours is alway from organic plant based sources.*

However Natural Vegetable Glycerin is vegetarian and is sourced from tropical plants. Once extracted from the original plant, there is no difference in chemical structure linked to the original source.*