Ingredient Sourcing

Our USDA-organic certification was issued through CCOF Certification Service, LLC on 5/27/15. NOTE: CCOF is California Certified Of Organic Farmers; a non-profit who provides organic certifications on behalf of the USDA.

We support U.S. based local farms when available. There do come times when ingredient orders cannot be fulfilled by local farms due to growing climates, which is when we supply produce from other countries. For a food item to be sold as USDA Certified Organic, whether grown in the United States or anywhere else in the world,  it must meet all the requirements of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organic Program (Green Chef is certified for this program through the CCOF). These standards state the ingredient must be produced without the use of toxic synthetic pesticides, artificial fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms, or irradiation

The USDA National Organic Program is committed to protecting organic integrity through the following activities:

• Audits of certifying agents to ensure appropriate monitoring of organic products

• Annual on-site inspections of approximately 30,000 organic operations by certifying agents

• Residue testing program to verify that prohibited pesticides aren’t being applied to organic crops

• Compliance and enforcement activities, including suspending or revoking organic certificates for regulatory non-compliance

• Issue-based investigations (e.g. country- or commodity-specific)

• You can read more about the standards for importing ingredients through  this link : https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/Importing%20Organic%20Products%20to%20U.S..pdf

We are committed to delivering the best quality ingredients. We source organic fresh produce and eggs and our proteins are raised with high animal welfare standards. We also offer organic beef, chicken, and wild-caught seafood options. In the event that we cannot source an organic ingredient that meets our quality standards, we will let you know through labeling. In these cases, we focus on sourcing conventional options of the highest quality. All of our ingredients go through extensive screening to meet our high-integrity-ingredient standards.

One of our main seafood suppliers is The Better Fish. The Better Fish® offers the world’s first Fair Trade-certified ocean-farmed white fish. This supplier’s focus on quality and flavor has made barramundi the fastest-growing fish species in the country. Thanks to their climate-resilient practices that minimize food waste and environmental impact, they even earned the U.S. Secretary of State’s 2021 Award for Corporate Excellence in Climate Innovation. We’re proud to do business with vendors that align with our goals for a greener future. While we are unable to connect customers with our suppliers and unable to disclose information regarding every seafood supplier, we do carry out a rigorous screening process continuously with our suppliers to uphold humane raising and sourcing, high quality selections, and sustainability overall.

Our meats are all natural and primarily sourced domestically, our poultry is antibiotic and hormone free, and our pork is hormone free and guaranteed to get the best treatment possible, per our suppliers' certifications.

Sustainability and animal welfare is a core value here at Green Chef. Wild-caught shrimp practices often include dredging nets that scrape the bottom of the ocean that can cause significant damage and potentially kill other animals. We have partnered with a supplier that has BAP level 4 shrimp which is the highest level of BAP (Best Aquaculture Practices) certification. This means they use safe, sustainable practices with regards to everything from the feed, density, and handling of shrimp, to the protection of the surrounding environment and species, lessening our impact and helping protect the oceans.