Gourmet Greens is a certified organic supplier of salad greens, culinary herbs, and fresh wheatgrass. We grow our produce on soil inside greenhouses and under lights. This creates conditions where contaminants do not flourish. First, the greens do not sit in irrigation water; second, there is a lot of competitive healthy bacterial operation in the soil which does not allow for build up of any single pathogenic form; third, the temperatures are  lower and fourth, the greens are watered  with clean well water rinsing the produce daily. Animal manures are sometimes suspected as being a source of E.Coli bacteria. We never use any animal manures in our soil. Our greens are grown on trays of soil mimicking  outdoor field grown conditions as much as possible. Before harvest the greens are air dried using oscillating  fans. They are cut about one inch above the soil surface and then immediately cooled to 37 degrees F. The greens are packed dry into plastic display bags. The absence of surface moisture leads to increased shelf life. Because of these major differences, our crops have been growing for over 20 years now without a single report of contamination.

We should not be grouped  with the distinctly different hydroponic sprout industry which has had problems almost exclusively  with  alfalfa  (which we do not grow). The major source of contamination in hydroponic operations has been the seeds, which if they have any bacterial contamination at all, will see rapid growth of the original infection because of the warm, humid conditions needed for hydroponic sprouts.
 
 

    On Dec 20 1999, we received notice from ISS, one of our seed
suppliers that a sample lot of snowpea seed they sent us had tested
positive for Ecoli 0157:H7, when they sprouted it in a Rota-Tech commercial
hydroponic sprouting system. Since we had been sampling this lot
(C-90407) to test  for germination, the opportunity presented itself to
verify on a limited basis the probiotic advantage of soil grown greens. The
greens from this naturally contaminated seed lot were grown in  soil ,
harvested, and sent to our microbiological testing firm, Analytic Services
Inc. Williston, VT. They found no trace of Ecoli 0157:H7. The test number 
99362-019 confirmed what Gourmet Greens had maintained earlier, ie that 
the conditions that soil grown greens are grown in do not encourage 
pathogenic growth, rather the biological activity of normal, healthy soil, 
seems to prevent the kind of rapid growth seen in standard hydroponic growing conditions.

        Granted this is only one test, yet it does not happen often that a
naturally contaminated seed lot can be found and tested in this way, and
the results are certainly encouraging.



 

We are a soil based growing operation like mesclun, lettuce, spinach, and other greens growers. Our produce and well water are periodically tested by independent testing labs. We are a supplier to many of the major health food stores and coops in the Northeastern US and are one of the largest organic growers in Vermont based on cash crop income. Gourmet Greens is committed to growing safe, nutritious greens for health conscious consumers.

If  you have any questions, or there are additional steps we could take to convince you of the safety of our produce, please contact us.

   Sincerely,

   Rich Rommer
   Gourmet Greens
 
 

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