About Bulk Foods

Handling, Buying and Selling Bulk Foods

Why We Do What We Do at Harvest Haven

I used to think about how good or "natural" it is to buy in bulk. When we think of those days before plastic, we realize how modern society has messed the planet with its throwaway mentality. The earth is overrun with garbage of every kind.

One of the ways some have tried to alleviate the problem is to buy and sell in bulk, thus avoiding packaging that eventually is discarded to contaminate our environment. In principle, we are all for it, and, believe it or not, for decades we have even washed any plastic produce bags and containers we could use. We do so to this day, along with recycling metal, plastic, glass, paper, clothing, and whatever we can. Whatever we can buy or sell in bulk, we do so, though that option is very limited, as you know.

However, while we wax nostalgic and environmentally considerate about food packaging and handling, there are some serious considerations in handling bulk foods that reality must impose upon us, one way or another. Are consumers aware of what they are exposing themselves to when they deal in bulk? When we speak of bulk foods, it includes the barrels and containers we open from above and over which we lean. Into those containers go our hair, dead skin, dandruff, mites (tiny insects that feed on dead skin and organic matter), animal hair if we handle pets, other insects, insect feces, bacteria, viruses, fungi, mold, pollen, ragweed and other allergens, and numerous pollutants we shed moment by moment. I have observed, by sight, smell, feel and taste, hair, insects and stale product. I am told that 80% of dust we see floating in a ray of sunshine is composed of dead skin, a staple of dust mites. (Only 10% of dust is visible.) Added to this, people handle the scoops with unwashed hands, breathe on the open foodstuffs, and when talking with the bins open, unwittingly and, most often unnoticeably, spit on the foods (we all do it...called Pflügge droplets, greater than 5 microns in size...which is how tuberculosis, for example, is spread), oftentimes adding pathogens and contaminants we would avoid like the plague, and who knows if they aren't the carriers of plagues?

How often have I been to the men's public washrooms to observe apparently clean, respectable, well dressed men come from the toilet (not just the urinal, though that too) and head straight out the door! They do not wash their hands! I feel like chasing after them and saying, "Remind me not to shake your hand!" Yet we shake hands with people all the time, don't we? We handle the doorknobs, rails, elevators, money, credit cards, tickets, and all the merchandise in stores, including the fruits and vegetables that people with unwashed bathroom-contaminated hands handle. And now with the greater possibility of diseases, to which we have poor immunity because they are not domestic, due to global interconnectedness, or because of super strains due to over usage of antibiotics, our dangers are greater every day.

At Harvest Haven, our wholesale product comes in bulk. Our staff wash their hands, don latex gloves, hairnets wherever feasible, use clean utensils, and hygienically package all foodstuffs. When our customers buy our bulk foods that are no longer bulk because packaged, they can be reasonably sure they are receiving clean foods that have not been exposed to all the contaminants common with ordinary bulk food display.

The dilemma is that we have not addressed the packaging proliferation problem this way, and that seems to be the primary concern of those who wish to buy in bulk and do well by the environment. However, although we sell our bulk foods packaged, which seems to somewhat defeat the purpose of buying in bulk, we have mitigated the problem of excess packaging. We use brand-new plastic bags and containers that, though sturdy, require less materials and ink than many foods in conventional packaging, which come in multiple packages.

If these things are not enough for some, or if any would simply like to take advantage of getting a better price on volume purchases, we do sell bulk quantities as shipped by our food suppliers of various food products. Why not take advantage? Ask us about this.

There is one other option we know of, but is it feasible? We could install gravity-feed bulk food dispensers. That way, the food is sealed off from contaminants from without. However, these are very expensive, and can only be warranted by a significant daily volume of business. Otherwise, costs do not justify the equipment. Secondly, the grocer has the same problem of stale product if the turnover is not high, although, even if turnover was high, the containers would have to be emptied and cleaned often to assure the customer of sanitation and health, because the foods are not kept cool.

At Harvest Haven:

Our bulk foods are kept in coolers and freezers a good deal of the time, ensuring greater freshness.
We do not take out of the coolers and freezers any more than we need to meet short-term demands, ensuring greater freshness.
We personally, hygienically package the product to ensure cleanliness.

For our part, while we endeavor to be responsible to God, our neighbor, and to the environment, knowing what we know, we believe that the hygiene and safety of that which goes into our very mouths takes precedence over the modern problem of packaging. That is why we do things the way we do.

Victor Hafichuk

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