“Our specialty product line includes fresh and peeled shallots, pearl, cipolline and boiler onions, and we pack for both the retail and foodservice sectors,” said Patsy Ross, vice president of marketing for Christopher Ranch headquartered in Gilroy, CA. “And we carry a full line of retail dried chiles as well as a line of sun dried tomatoes. We also grow, pack and sell elephant garlic.

Christopher Ranch grows shallots, garlic and elephant garlic and it works with grower-shippers on the remaining items in its extensive line.

The company is known for its high-quality product line, but it’s also known for its high level of food-safety and traceability initiatives, and for its sustainability practices and policies.

“For the last few years our company has scored over 98 percent — a superior rating — on our annual processing food-safety audit,” said Ross. “The audit includes investigating and evaluating the status of 212 separate quality assurance items at Christopher Ranch. From harvest through processing, packaging and shipping we employ HAACP, Good Manufacturing Practices and Good Agricultural Practices, as well as third-party auditing that guarantees consistent quality and safety in our products.”

Christopher Ranch has had an intensive food-safety program in place for over 10 years, and because it knows its customers depend on it, it continues to assess and invest in its plant facilities to insure superior food safety from the field to the end product. 

“Some of the latest safety improvements include making facility walls, ceilings, doors, pipes, lighting and more all wash-down capable,” said Ross. “We’ve installed sealed floors, foot baths, new hand washing stations and shatter shield lights.  We even color-code clean-up tools to keep them in their designated areas to avoid cross-contamination between processing areas.”

Janette Codiga vice president of the food safety and compliance division for the firm added, “At Christopher Ranch, food safety is of paramount importance and we work continuously to improve and maintain high standards of quality and sanitation in our growing, processing and packing facilities.  We are committed to giving our customers the best — and safest — products possible by following strict guidelines to ensure ‘quality from the ground up.’”

Traceability gets equal attention at Christopher Ranch. It has been able to trace its fresh garlic to its wholesale customers for decades with its own lot-number coding system. 

“We have expanded our capabilities and are working towards compliance with our full product line by dedicating our IT department to updating our invoicing, inventory and computer systems to comply with upcoming legislation and PTI,” Codiga added.

Sustainability too is of paramount importance to the company. Ross said that farmers are the stewards of the land and are tasked with ensuring the continuation of crops from year to year, and Christopher Ranch is no exception.

“We have been growing California heirloom garlic since 1956 and our commitment to sustainable farming is stronger than ever,” she said. “Christopher Ranch started growing organics in 1995. Our California heirloom garlic is grown pesticide free. In 1991, we were one of the first growers to use drip irrigation on our bell pepper crop. Drip irrigations puts water and fertilizer right at the base of each plant, only where it’s needed.

“Today, almost all of our crops are on drip irrigation saving thousands of gallons of water annually and significantly decreasing our use of implements,” continued Ross. “We have a stringent field rotation program in place to prevent over farming of the soil.  We change our growing areas to preserve soil quality and prevent overuse of resources in those areas.”

The company’s products, both fresh and jarred, are found nationwide. Ross added, “Our items are perfect for the home cook who wants a lot of flavor without a lot of calories or fat.”