Red Gold, whose mission is to produce the world’s freshest, best tasting tomato products, has maintained a steadfast commitment to the values first set by its founders 74 years ago to do the right thing – by its employees, farms, and products.
It is in that spirit that its fourth generation of leadership announced today that nearly all (90 out of 93) of their canned tomato products produced under the company's four brand labels are packed in Non-BPA/BPS-lined cans and are Non-GMO Project Verified.
While completing the verification for their products' Non-BPA/BPS-lined cans and Non-GMO status, Red Gold also redesigned its labels, unveiling a cleaner, easier-to-read format that helps busy shoppers quickly understand what is, and more importantly, what isn't, in their cans of tomato products.
"No other canned tomato brand out there has this level of transparency on their labels," said Colt Reichart, fourth-generation family ownership at Red Gold. "Rather than create something to meet other standards, we elevated our objectives to deliver information that's top-of-mind among our consumers. We know our fellow food companies share that drive to exceed their customers expectations, and invite them to join us in this effort."
Red Gold's verified non-GMO products, which first started shipping to grocery stores and foodservice distributors after the Fall 2015 harvest, can be found in restaurants, kitchens and grocery stores across the country today.
"Everything we do as a company is guided by our mission to provide the freshest, best-tasting tomato products in the world," said Reichart. "Our decision to pursue third-party verification was born out of the marriage of our mission and values. We've always done the right thing. Our customers have never had reason to question it, and now we have measured that validation through an independent organization."
The company, the first tomato brand to offer Non-GMO Project Verified products in a Non-BPA/BPS lined can, credits its close working relationships with its suppliers including the family farms that grow tomatoes for the company as critical to achieving this industry first. Even more significant, though, is the fact that no major changes were made to Red Gold's growing and canning operations to receive this verification.
"Each can shipped from Red Gold holds the quality and promise that only four generations of family-run operations can deliver: the best tomatoes, created from responsibly and sustainably-managed crops grown on family-owned farms," said Reichart. "Proving the pure goodness of our products was a logical thing to do as a business, and honors the trust that families place in us each time they use our products."
As with the more than 50 family-owned farms that Red Gold works with, the company's business model is based on sustainability practices:
All tomatoes are grown on farms within 200 miles of Red Gold's facilities, so they spend as little time in transit as possible. When the ripe tomatoes are delivered to a Red Gold facility, they are washed, processed and canned in about an hour.
No part of the tomato is wasted in production: tomato peels and seeds are saved and turned into animal feed.
The company embraces a recycling strategy across all its facilities and is on track to reach zero landfill status by 2017.
Submitting its products to the Non-GMO Project for third-party verification meant not just testing Red Gold's tomatoes, but all major GMO risk ingredients included in its products, facility inspections, and annual audits to ensure Red Gold products continue to meet the highest standards for GMO avoidance.
