Country of Origin

Country of Origin: Imported foods come from many different countries of the world. Many foods are not commonly grown in the United States. 

Common Imported Foods: Cocoa Beans for chocolate (most common sweet), coconut, cashews (most grown nut), brazils, mangos (most grown fruit), coffee (most consumed breakfast beverage), vanilla (most common flavor), black pepper (most used spice), tapioca (most consumed starch). Products are obtained from around the world from the best available origins.  When food crops vary in production, quality and availability the place of origin may change.

Quality: Foods grown in the Southern Hemisphere harvest 6 months earlier/later than those in the Northern Hemisphere(USA). Due to this factor many domestic crops are now being sold on a 6 month rotation with half the US crop being exported and in the next 6 months almost all the US usage being imported from the southern hemisphere. Many companies now have plants or business relationships in both the northern and southern hemispheres in order to supply products on a fresher and more consistent basis.

News: Imports, contrary to what the news media is currently augmenting and falsely portraying are more closely inspected and scrutinized than domestic foods. As US factories are becoming older other countries of the world are building new factories with new technology equipment and up to date safety standards.

FDA Standards: All imported foods are required to meet the same standards as domestic. Imported foods must be pure, wholesome, safe to eat, and produced under sanitary conditions. The US inspects all foreign countries to assure they have inspection agencies who enforce laws that meet or exceed US standards before allowing imports into the US. Any concerns that a certain food, food group, company or country may not meet standards results in the FDA immediately halting all imports until the foods are proven safe. The FDA also typically inspects every new company's shipments to the US until an assurance is met that the company's foods and labeling conforms to US standards.Additional information: FoodSafety.Gov