Yes, There is Non-GMO Canola!

Our readers write to us almost every day to ask why they saw canola in a Non-GMO Project Verified product. There’s a fairly pervasive misconception that all canola is genetically modified, but this is not true! Non-GMO canola does exist; when you see canola in a product bearing the Butterfly, you can rest assured that it’s non-GMO canola because we test (major) high-risk crops that go into your food.

Canola’s story starts with the rapeseed plant, which is a member of the Brassicaceae family like cabbage, beets, mustard, and turnips. The name of this plant comes from rapum, the Latin word for turnip. While we think of this as a Canadian crop, rapeseed has been a traditional part of Asian cuisines for more than 4,000 years. It did not become widespread in Canada until it was used to make industrial engine lubricant during the Second World War.

In the 1970s, researchers at the University of Manitoba started working to alleviate two potential problems with rapeseed: erucic acid (which has been connected to heart problems) and glucosinolate (which just tastes bitter or pungent). By repeatedly crossing rapeseed plants that were lower and lower in these compounds, scientists used traditional breeding methods to create canola: a rapeseed variety that is very low in erucic acid and glucosinolate. The first canola variety emerged under the name Tower canola in 1974. To be clear, Tower canola was a non-GMO crop. GMOs had not been developed yet!

If you are a small business looking to get cheaper prices on your olive oil, it’s smart to begin purchasing bulk quantities. You can save a lot of money by switching to larger packaging, getting your oil packed onto a pallet and ordering from a bulk supplier.

What most suppliers don't always tell you is that the transition from wholesale orders (buying one or two cases at a time) to bulk orders (buying a full pallet) brings its own intrinsic issues. You have to consider closely if the switch you’re looking to make, while helping you save money, may be too tough to handle in other ways.

You will probably have some good questions when you’re looking at buying 55 gallon drums of oil for the first time. The first, most logical one: how do I get the oil out?

This is is a very good question. Here is the answer and to be quite honest, it is pretty simple.

As a purchaser of bulk oil ingredients and olive oils, you will find there are some expectations that should be set forth to your oil supplier.

Your supplier should always — no matter what — consider your company needs and goals FIRST and work to guide you to both the best ingredient for your food product, as well as the best choices for packaging, contracting, and other supply chain details. Overall, it should always be a mutually beneficial business agreement. You should feel like you won a great fit for a long term partner!

Unfortunately, there are many suppliers in the market today that can be unaccountable or let their own desires guide their business decisions. And this doesn’t just happen in the oil industry! Some of the worst things you may see would be if your supplier ignores you, they mis-ship product or quantities, if they don’t communicate on backorders, or — worst of all — if they promote adulterating or false labeling to be able to offer you a cheaper price just to win your business. Working with a supplier like that, you’ll ultimately lose out in the long run.

While you’re in the midst of your vendor search, keep the following list of benefits in mind that you absolutely should have in a long-term supply chain partnership.

Do you ever look on the back of products to review the ingredient labels? These labels sometimes have a list with multiple potential ingredients, naming ingredients like “Safflower, Sunflower AND/OR Canola Oil”.

This happens with lots of oils, including Canola Oil, Sunflower Oil, Safflower Oil, Soybean Oil, and Corn Oil. It is especially common when these ingredients are used for cooking or frying. For example, you will often see this sort of “and/or” list on popcorn, chips and other snack foods.

This multi-oil ingredient label (Safflower, Sunflower AND/OR Canola Oil) means that the ingredients that may be used in the product could be Sunflower Oil or Safflower Oil….. but it could also be Canola Oil. Really, it could be a mix of two of them or it could very well be all three. No matter which oil is actually inside the product, it is completely fine because the brand has already listed those ingredients on the ingredient statement as possible choices.

This is a common trend especially with oil ingredients, as they are often commodities and some oils can be easily interchangeable. After all, canola, safflower, sunflower, corn and soy oil all have very similar taste profile: mild and light!

If you are wondering why companies list more than one possible ingredient, there is a good reason behind it: it is very self-preserving. In fact, it can help them save time, money and keep them out of a supply bind down the road.

High quality, non-GMO and organic oils are in such high demand. If you use specialty oils or natural oils as a bulk ingredient in your manufacturing facility you are probably already well aware.

These premium oils often come at a higher price. Perhaps you are already feeling the pressure from the market, and looking at other alternatives that could help you save on costs and increase your profitability.

Today, let’s focus on the giant elephant in the room…. the price. Here is how some of the most commonly known healthy non-GMO and organic oils compare.

Did you know that there are major benefits to soap that is made with olive oil?

The majority of Americans simply buy the cheapest soap found in the grocery stores and may be missing out on all the major benefits. Conventional soaps can leave your skin dry, cracked or require more moisturizers to keep your skin in balance. They also can contain many different types of harsh chemicals, sulfates and sulfites. It’s a lot for your skin to take!

Expeller Pressed vs. Non-GMO: these two traits are interrelated and a common point of discussion. Is expeller pressed oil automatically non-GMO? Is all non-GMO automatically expeller pressed? To help with a bit of the confusion we will break down some helpful information to find out truly whether or not it your oil is just expeller pressed or non-GMO — and what the difference really is.

Have you ever wondered how companies that sell in bulk handle their shipping charges? Depending on how your supplier provides their pricing, shipping may or may not be included in the price automatically.

A price for bulk oil will often be quoted 'FOB' or 'Delivered'.  Do you know what these terms mean? Having a clear understanding of these terms is very important to allow you to do an accurate cost comparison.

If you run your own small food company, you are in a unique situation as you begin to grow and expand. When you are a small company, buying your ingredients from a local supplier like Costco or even a grocery store can suffice. As you grow and begin to expand your product lines, you will need look for alternative, larger suppliers that are set up to fit your business needs.

As I’ve worked with small businesses over the last 10 years, I’ve seen the same challenges over and over again in their transition process. The challenge comes in the initial growth phase, when small businesses are starting to look for larger ingredient suppliers, but are not quite yet ready to buy the larger volumes that a bulk supplier requires.

For example, as a start-up you may be buying from your local wholesale store a few gallons at a time. As your production increases you will need more and more — now you are using 40 gallons a week, and you start to look for a cheaper option that doesn’t have you running to the store all the time.

As you dig into this sourcing process, you are going to find a few different challenges that you’ll need to navigate. Today, we’ll be reviewing all of the things that you — a small business owner — need to be thinking about as you are comparing ingredient suppliers.

If you are producing a new food product and marketing it as a healthier option that meets the keto diet guidelines, there are specific oil ingredients that you will need to choose to stay with in the bounds of the keto definition.

Here are each of your options (and what we recommend).

Oil suppliers can look very different, each with their own unique strengths and business models. They can be very large or very small, set in their ways or very flexible. They may only supply oils — or even just one type of oil — or they may supply lots of different products.

Each type of supplier will serve your company’s needs differently and bring their own pros and cons to the table. To do a truly helpful comparison, it’s important to first understand the different types of suppliers and how their different business models work.

Are you looking at bulk oils for the very first time from a bulk supplier? If your answer is yes, there are a few basics you will need to know. For example, you’ll need to know how much oil you are getting in one shipment, determine the weight of the different packaging options, and understand how much oil you are getting on one pallet.

If you use a lot of olive oil for your home kitchen or small business, you may wonder how you can save money by buying it wholesale. Here are some thoughts on why buying wholesale could be a better option than just buying a new retail bottle every time you are out of oil.

We firmly believe — if you are using enough — you should buy your olive oil by the gallon or in 35 Lb. Containers.

Olive Pomace Oil is highly debated and quite the topic in this increasingly health-focused industry. Now, don’t make any rash decisions on whether it is good or bad yet. First, you will need to look at both sides of the debate at hand.

How can you do this, you ask? By understanding both the pros and cons of olive pomace oil to help you make the best decision for your manufactured food product.

It can also help to survey your target market to see if your current and future customers have a preference about this oil. What you learn from them could affect your oil search process, as well as your marketing plan and the financial implications of your oil choice.

Let’s dive in to the pros and cons.