Our fundamental philosophy is anchored in the belief that nature provides the essential nutrients for exceptional wellbeing.
This is supported by our drive to protect the planet, and provide real benefits for people. We produce high quality food from New Zealand and make it accessible. Using sustainable and Certified Organic farming methods, and production techniques that capture maximum nutrients, we deliver exceptional products from nature, while caring for the land and protecting the planet.
This means we are totally committed to:
- 1. Farming practices that enhance our land
- 2. Food Manufacturing processes that capture the essential nutritional qualities the food offers in its native state
- 3. And making foods easily accessible for people
Claridges senior staff members have strong agricultural, horticultural, systems and manufacturing backgrounds. They appreciate agricultural production and harvesting techniques, fully understand certified organic production requirements and utilise new technology where it brings benefits.
Environment
A commitment to the land
We are based at the heart of the Canterbury region in New Zealand's South Island and our products are sourced from the surrounding region and throughout New Zealand.
Canterbury's rich alluvial plains are considered to be one of the best regions in the world for growing cereal grains, often referred to as the ‘granary of New Zealand', renowned for the verdant patchwork of agricultural land. The pure glacial waters of the Southern Alps feed fresh irrigation water to the low-lying fertile soil underneath, whilst the clean, unpolluted air and long periods of sunshine provide prime conditions for the development of these nutrient dense grasses.
Our people are people for, and of the land.
They understand the soil.
They understand the plants they grown and how best to capture the goodness they offer.
Sustainability
It is important to us to be as sustainable as possible. We do not want to produce more than what we need – therefore we work closely with our customers to ensure that demand requirements are carefully forecasted to ensure we can meet demand while not intensifying the requirement on the land.
Organics
Capturing the essential nutritional qualities
A commitment to safe, organic New Zealand-grown foods
Claridges Organic has been growing, sourcing, manufacturing, packing and exporting organic food products for nearly 30 years. It is one of New Zealand's original organic export companies and is certified under the organic certification body, BioGro NZ Ltd.
Claridges view is a powerful one – "organic agriculture is more than just spray or residue free. It is a holistic style of farming where the health of the soil and environment is prioritised, including the surrounding flora and fauna. Organic production means to produce products that are made without genetic modification (GMO's), the routine use of synthetic pesticides or herbicides, animals have been treated fairly and rural communities have been united and empowered along the way. Organic production is the only sustainable option for benefiting ourselves, our environment and future generations." Source: BioGro
Each step of our growing, harvesting and drying process is covered by audited organic certification. We, along with our partner organic farmers have undergone residue testing as part of the certification and take every effort to reduce any heavy metal, herbicide and insecticide residue.
Residues
For our customer's assurance, multi-residue reports are available with every batch traced back to the paddock where the batch originated from.
Additionally, independent laboratory testing is performed on all products allowing full lot control and microbiological testing ensuring the product is tracked, tested and their attributes and history fully documented.
Traceability
The importance of Food Safety
We believe in providing, and proving, the quality, sustainability and origin of what we do.
Food Safety is paramount. Food fraud is rife throughout the market and so our supply chain integrity is critical. Our product comes from the cleanest, unpolluted environment, so it is important that our customers receive clean, unadulterated product.
Science
Claridges Organic work to fully understand the composition and nutritional features of our food products. Additionally we activity comply with any statutory requirements governing the marketing of food and claims of any health benefits. We seek to position our products in the market honourably and in strict accordance with governing food standards. To identify and develop scientifically credible points of difference Claridges Organic work with New Zealand agricultural and food research agencies to bring the best science we can to our organic production. We also provide the best scientific information we can to our customers.
For each of our products we schedule a comprehensive literature review - to gather as much information as possible on the nutritional composition and potential health from objective scientific research. We regularly measure the nutritional composition to ensure the most relevant and accurate data is available for labelling and promotional purposes and create a dossier for each product to decide if further research is required to substantiate anything we say about the product.
© 2017 Claridges Organic Ltd
