Specially modified manufacuring for organic products

[OrganicABC]

Specially modified manufacuring for organic products

9/6/2007 - Nature's Gate announces the release of a range of USDA certified organic body lotions, produced at its Californian plant that has been specifically modified for organic product manufacturing.


The Rainwater Organics range is certified organic by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA); meaning that not only do over 95 per cent of the ingredients have to be organic, but the product manufacturing processes must also comply with the standards as well.


According to the USDA's National Organic Program, the standards for personal care products must match those applied to organic food products - ingredients must be grown, harvested and processed without the use of synthetics, irradiation, chemicals, preservatives, genetically modified organisms and pesticides.

This kind of organic standard affects all stages of production, from the growers and suppliers, through to the manufacturers, suggesting why the certification could be hard to attain.

Indeed, USDA certification is relatively rare in the US cosmetics market, where a proliferation of beauty products displaying the label 'natural' or 'organic' has fostered confusion in both consumers and industry players.

Levlad, the maker of Natures Gate Organics, performed a number of modifications on their plant in Chatsworth, California, in order to manufacture products in accordance with the requirements of the USDA'a National Organic Program (NOP).

Specific modifications included the creation of storage and handling areas for certified organic ingredients, and the development of special sanitization procedures for organic production lines.

According to the company, its Chatsworth facility is one of the few of in the country with the ability to manufacture products in accordance with the NOP.

"Products that combine this level of purity and efficacy are extremely difficult and expensive to formulate, and that is why they have been largely missing from the marketplace" explained Nature's Gate president Paddy Spence.

The four body lotions that make up the Rainwater Organics range contain jojoba and soy bean oil, shea butter, and vitamin E, along with açai oil found in the berries of the açai tree in the Amazonian rainforest.

The berries are said to have powerful anti-oxidant properties along with large quantities of vitamins C, B, E and A, and the company attest to their sustainable harvest.

The recent Rainwater Organic's range will be released nationwide this month in health food stores, pharmacies and drugstores.