The Netflix docuseries Rotten portrays the bad side of numerous food product industries. Each of the segments delves into a food industry that produces and distributes that specific category, with the six episodes of season one focused on honey, peanuts, chicken, garlic, milk and fish.

The Garlic Breath segment was a jolt to the owners, staff members, customers of and even consumers who purchase Gilroy, CA-based Christopher Ranch’s products. The company — the only U.S. grower and distributor whose name was specifically used in the film — isn’t holding back in its response to the film and its attempts to portray the company in a negative way.Ken Christopher, executive vice president of Christopher Ranch and third-generation family member, with his father, Bill Christopher, president and second-generation family member.

Ken Christopher, executive vice president and third-generation family member of Christopher Ranch, said, “The segment is loud with accusations. It gives Christopher Ranch, the largest family-owned garlic company in the U.S., a loudly slanderous shout-out as it points to us as being a major part of a garlic conspiracy that has its hands in all kinds of dirty business.”

The film also groups Christopher Ranch to Harmoni International Spice Inc., a U.S.-based importer of Chinese garlic. This company is accused of using forced prison laborers in China to peel garlic and bite off the root end of the cloves because their nails have been worn down to the stub from doing it by hand. The film claims that Harmoni is the largest exporter of Chinese garlic to the U.S. and that Christopher Ranch is its biggest buyer.

“A lot of viewers subscribe to the Netflix brand, which makes its malicious and slanderous claims even more upsetting,” said Christopher. “It’s a David versus Goliath tale of untruth. It muddied the waters of what is a fair and trustworthy brand that the Christopher family firmly stands behind, and has since its founding 62 years ago.

“We are proud of our reputation as a highly regarded company, and we are making ourselves available to discuss this untrue, slanderous and malicious story to our customers and other industry professionals, and even consumers,” he added.

The Garlic Breath segment is very confusing, even if you’re involved in the fresh produce industry. It pits small growers and importers against each other and against the giants, and it points out how they were manipulated by another player who deals in Chinese garlic, and how a group attempted to create a cartel with Harmoni. It loudly and repeatedly attacks Christopher Ranch and Harmoni, and leaves viewers confused about what the story was attempting to disclose.

“It’s a complex story, and especially the way it was written and filmed,” added Christopher. “There are many major players in the U.S. garlic industry, but they felt somehow justified to call out only our name. The even referred to Christopher Ranch as the ‘Walmart of garlic.’”

The film also makes reference to the Fresh Garlic Producers Association, based in California, claiming that Christopher Ranch is the founder and only member of the organization, and that it formed the association as a level of protection for the company from U.S. government agencies. Christopher said the company is not the only, nor is it the leading, domestic grower who holds membership in the association.

“We have worked for over a decade to curb Chinese garlic dumping in the U.S.,” he said. “The FGPA was created to protect and promote the U.S. domestic garlic industry from illegal and unfair dumping of cheap foreign product. We work within the association to protect thousands of U.S.-based jobs and to sell U.S.-grown product.

“The dumping caused many California growers to go out of business during this period of time, and today there are only about four leading growers left, and they are active members of FGPA,” he continued. “Claiming that Christopher Ranch controls this association is an absurd statement. Decisions are made on a consensus basis between all members. To cast us as a major antagonist in this story is unsettling and unfair.”

Christopher openly said the company does source a small amount of Chinese garlic from Harmoni, but Harmoni was investigated by U.S. Customs & Border Protection just last year, and was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Christopher Ranch grows up to 90 million pounds of California garlic annually, which represents more than 90 percent of the garlic it sells to its customers.

“Some customers prefer less-expensive garlic options, so for them we source alternative product from various suppliers in Spain, Argentina, Mexico and China,” explained Christopher.

The Garlic Breath segment of Rotten also implies that Christopher Ranch uses forced prison labor-peeled garlic in its wildly popular line of jarred products by flashing photos of the line and its well-known labels in scenes.

“We can assure our customers that Chinese garlic is not packed in any Christopher Ranch branded product,” said Christopher, “and we strictly adhere to Country of Origin labeling. Christopher Ranch promotes sustainable agriculture and small farmers. Small farms that sell their product in farmers markets are a foundation of many communities, and we celebrate them.”

In one scene, boxes of garlic stacked at a warehouse in China awaiting shipment show a logo of a golden lion. The film’s moderator states the logo is the Christopher Ranch brand.

“This is totally untrue,” said Christopher. “We have no part of this logo. Furthermore, Christopher Ranch is proud of our commitment to our customers and community to be both ethical and transparent regarding our business operations.”

In a statement Zero Point Zero, the show’s producer, said, “The series was created to hold the food industry accountable, and we stand by the reporting in the episode and in the series.”