The farm we used to harvest the turmeric is family owned organic Turmeric plantation in Karnataka in South India which is over 2000 miles from Bangladesh.
Our Turmeric Farm
Why don’t you buy Australian grown turmeric? The main reason for this is that there are no organic Turmeric farms here in Australia that can produce the quantities of powdered organic Turmeric in the amounts we require, in the frequency in which we require it. We have now been getting our turmeric from the farm in Karnataka, India since 2013 and we have been supporting the family farm and the village ever since. After 7 years of this relationship are now very loyal to this community and will continue to support them for as long as we are able. The organic turmeric they grow for us meets all Australian standards and is certified organic by the ACO. Each harvest has a certificate of analysis, a heavy metal test report and a microbiology report. Our Turmeric is tested just the same as all food products to ensure it meets the quality and Australian standards for food manufacturing. Our products are manufactured in Certified Good Manufacturing Process (cGMP) facilities here on the Gold Coast.
The Karnataka region where our farm is was one of the first regions in India to be part of the updated state government launched Organic Farming Policy 2017, but has been in place since 2004. This policy aims to bring organic farming into the mainstream and transform agriculture in Karnataka into a sustainable remunerative occupation enabling production of nutritious food by promoting eco-friendly organic farming and marketing systems. The policy strategies included organic farming in mainstream agriculture, focus on region and season specific crops to increase farm output and income, added as beneficiaries under various strategies, adoption of group centric approach in production, handling and marketing of organic produce, diversified farming for maximising production, productivity and farm income and promotion of Neutra Cereals. The policy also focus on conservation and management of soil and water and agri-ecosystem, improve supply chain and infrastructure for post-harvest, simplification and authentication, enforce quality control, branding, labelling and packaging of organic produce.
Certification a must
AK Yadav, advisor, APEDA, said certification is necessary for organic products. It is not the organic products but the land on which they are produced that needs to be certified. The centre has come out with two types of certification–the national program for organic certification (NPOP) and the participatory guarantee system (PGS).
“The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has drafted a new rule that no person shall pack, manufacture, sell, distribute any organic food unless they comply with FSSAI regulations. This applies to processed food and not to farmers. To export to other countries, an NPOP certification is required but it is expensive as it contains a QR code. Such a certification enables the seller to directly sell in the European Union and other markets which have stringent import rules, especially when related to food. All these central government policies are in sync with the new organic farming policy that Karnataka has come out with.
The Harvest
You can see how our Turmeric is grown and the meticulous care and love taken by the family who grow it for us. It is all sun and shade dried naturally to maintain it’s organic status before being ground into the powder you end up receiving in your capsules. Our Turmeric is certified twice, once before it leaves its native country and then again here in Australia. The Certificate of Analysis that is issued by the ACO tests for many things including lead as well as E-coli, Salmonella, Pesticides and Colour Additives. It is wonderful and very comforting for us and our customers to be able trace what you put into your body right back to it’s source and see how it is grown….. as mother nature intended?
As much as we would like to be able to by Australian turmeric, unfortunately they Australia farms simply do no harvest annual the organic tonnage we require. It is too labour intensive and expensive for them to do so. We import the Turmeric from its native country and then we use all Australian suppliers and business for manufacturing, packing and labeling.