Author: newnaturals

We’re asked sometimes who manufactures our products for us, but nothing is farmed out to a third party. Except for a few products we purchase (such as the Turmeric Life bars and Dog Bites), everything we sell is manufactured here. Our jars and pouches of spices, the jars of oil in the golden paste kits, and the kits themselves, are put together right here in our own manufacturing facility. But if anyone has visions of a huge space filled with machinery, it’s not like that! Not that we wouldn’t like to have a bit more automation one of these days, lol. But right now, every single process is accomplished by hand. Every pouch of spices that goes out of here is filled, one at a time, by one of us. Every jar of oil, every batch of the mixed products like the new Masala Chai mix, every tube of the turmeric salve (available soon, watch for announcements!), is assembled, mixed or otherwise processed by the (gloved) hands of someone right here.

One reason we haven’t pursued automated filling lines more seriously is that, while machinery may be more economical, it also has its problems. Sanitizing is one of them. When we finish a processing run, the room is carefully cleaned. Except for one piece of equipment, every surface in the processing rooms is easily available to be washed with the prescribed sanitizers. That one piece of equipment, our band sealer, needs only minor disassembly to reach all the areas where food or other particles might accumulate. All the small items such as scoops, spoons, bowls and other containers are washed according to requirements, the workbenches are sanitized and the floor is swept and mopped.

In larger operations where automated filling lines are in use, it can take nearly as long for the cleaning procedures as it did to fill and seal the containers. There are many more places where dirt and food may collect and possibly go unnoticed, and often there are floor drains, notorious for breeding germs. Our floors do not have (or need) drains, because we don’t have to spray things down with water. So while we do hope to grow to where more machine-assisted operations are needed, we’re not in a hurry to do that.

We thought you might like to see something of our manufacturing process, so I spent some time last week making a couple of videos and snapping some pictures. Here is Gary, one of the owners, filling one pound pouches of turmeric powder. He isn’t wearing a hair bonnet, because he has no hair! But he does have a bushy mustache, so he is wearing a beard/mustache cover over his mouth and nose. He’s spooning turmeric from a large bowl (which holds about one quarter of a bulk bag of turmeric) into a smaller food-grade silicone bowl on a very accurate scale. He’ll weigh slightly over a pound into the silicone bowl.

And then, just like magic, the bowl folds up to form a funnel, that lets him pour the turmeric into the pouch. This is far less messy and subject to spills than trying to spoon directly into a pouch sitting on the scale. For small quantities, such as the 1-ounce jars and the 2-ounce packets, we use laboratory weigh boats to weigh the product. They’re made to fold up, and for years, we looked for something larger that would fold the same way. Last year we found these silicone bowls, and transferring spices has been much easier since then!

Gary closes each bag by folding it down to remove as much air as possible, and then seals the ziplock closure across the top. Then it’s on to the next one. It takes about two minutes for each one-pound bag, and we typically do 50-100 bags of any given spice at a time. Turmeric in particular goes out the door very fast, so we spend a lot of time filling one pound and 8-ounce pouches of turmeric!

When all the bags for this run are filled, they go through the band sealer, which carries them on a moving belt between heated rollers. This seals the top of the pouch above the ziplock. The band sealer usually sits at the edge of the table, with a cart next to it holding a large bin. The pouches fall off the moving belt into the bin, and then we roll the cart out to the warehouse. Because of the limited space for photography at that end of the room, we moved the cart out of the way this time, and let the pouches come off the sealer onto the tabletop.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this little peek at our operations! We’ll post more from time to time. Please feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions.

We’re moving!

Our new website will be up soon, timed (I hope!) to coincide with the company move to our new and much larger facility in Suffolk, Virginia. I was moaning and groaning to a business friend about having to redo all of our product detail pages. She offered her opinion that life was much simpler when all businesses were brick-and-mortar stores.

In a way, she’s right. But having had several of those over the years, I say the differences are only in the type of housekeeping and/or changes you have to do, not the amount.

For example, after I broke my leg years ago and realized I couldn’t get in and out of my own storefront in a wheelchair, my next store building had a ramp! Likewise, our new website is getting all the bells and whistles for accessibility.

We changed signage, moved fixtures around and put up new posters at intervals in my last store. Our the new website will have all new product pictures to reflect our current logo and the updated FDA/USDA label regulations. So the changes are different in detail, but not in their purpose, to keep the online store fresh and appealing and in compliance with regulatory agencies.

Watch for new articles in the document library, and for our new scientific advisory panel as well!

I’m often asked whether golden paste would interfere with a drug that someone is taking. I can’t answer individual questions. That just gets too close to giving medical advice for me to be comfortable with it. But I did get permission to quote an article from the Turmeric User Group on Facebook about pharmaceutical interactions in general. This was written by Judith Jenness, a critical care nurse. I hope it will provide some help with medication interactions. I did some very minor editing to make it more readable, but otherwise, it is exactly as published in the Turmeric User Group files.

If you have a question about interactions that isn’t answered by this article, you can ask in the group and someone will provide the information.

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Pharmaceuticals and Turmeric, by Judith Jenness

Over the counter meds: Right up front, please read the ingredients on any OTC meds you buy, including cold medicines, pain compounds,etc . Many of them already contain aspirin or tylenol in particular; and neither of them is entirely benign. You should always be aware of what your total medication load is, including prescription meds, over the counter meds and herbals. And you should always let your health care practitioners know what things you are ingesting that may or may not affect your health or have interactions. This doesn’t mean that you can’t use turmeric or other things you have found efficacious, just that you need to educate yourself.

Anti-coagulants and turmeric: Turmeric has anticoagulant effects similar to those of commonly prescribed NSAIDs and aspirin. It directly effects platelet adhesion.If you are taking Coumadin (warfarin) , then it is relatively easy to measure effects because you are already having frequent INR checks, or in some cases are already monitoring your own levels.If you have been prescribed some of the newer anticoagulants (Eliquis, Xarelto, Plavix, for example), then it is more problematic. These drugs are not monitored, so any interactions with turmeric may not be noted. You need to work with your physician, and know whether or not a dietary addition that could increase clotting time is a problem.

Anti-hyperglycemics and insulin: Turmeric can possibly reduce insulin resistance. This means that you must be aware of and monitor your glucose levels regularly.

Chemotherapy: There a great many chemo drugs that are actually known to be enhanced by turmeric, whether for cancer or things like rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. There are also drugs that may not work well with turmeric. Please ask us for specific examples of research data …AND always work with your oncologist or rheumatologist. We will be glad to point you towards the most recent research data.

Anti-depressants: Turmeric has some antidepressant effects, specifically in terms of MAO inhibition. This means that if you are taking a drug which should not be taken with MAO inhibitors, you should check in with your physician before adding turmeric to your daily life. Additionally, the piperine in the golden paste formulation can possibly slow down metabolism of many drugs, and make their side effects greater. These include such drugs as SSRI’s, SSNRIs ( Zoloft, Paxcil, Prozac are examples) and tricyclic antidepressants (amitryptilline for example) Turmeric has a mild MAO-Inhibitor effect; any cautions about MAOI-s and dietary items in combinations with tricyclics and SSRIs and SSNRIs should be noted. The interaction can cause general malaise all the way to serotonin syndrome, which can be fatal. Bottom line: MANY commonly prescribed antidepressants, anti-psychotics, anti-anxiety drugs are extremely powerful drugs with rotten side-effects. Please be very careful if you are using any psychotropic drugs and adding in any herbal or dietary substance to your daily regime. Some people are very sensitive to even very small alterations in dosages. You need to know what class of drugs you are taking and you MUST work closely with your physician if you are taking these drugs, or attempting to wean off them.

Narcotics: The piperine in the golden paste can possibly slow metabolism of narcotics like morphine, fentanyl, codeine. This means that side effects can be increased. If you are taking narcotics of any sort, especially long term, then you need to work with your physician when adding any substance to your diet that can change how the drugs work in your body. Please, even when you find that your pain is relieved by using turmeric, do not stop using any narcotic suddenly.

Anti-seizure medications: the piperine in the golden paste can possibly slow down metabolism of drugs such as phenobarbital, phenytoin (Dilantin) and benzodiazepines like valium, midazolam, ativan, serax. This means that the therapeutic blood levels and effects may be increased. Please make sure that your physician or veterinarian is aware that you are adding turmeric and black pepper to your diet.

Anti-hypertensives and diuretics: Typically, four classes of drugs are prescribed to reduce high blood pressure: ACE inhibitors; Beta-blockers; Calcium channel blockers; Diuretics. Because either turmeric or piperine in black pepper can possibly interact with or increase effects, you should be monitoring your blood pressure regularly. ACE inhibitors are commonly used to decrease blood pressure by modulating action and production of a specific hormone (Angiotensin Converting Enzyme). Examples:benezapril (Lotensin), Captopril (Capten), enalapril (Vasotec), Lisinopril (prinavil or Zestril), Ramipril (altace) as well as others. *Turmeric also has a mild ACE inhibiting action, so the effects of this class of drugs could be increased by taking turmeric. Beta blockers basically block a particular part of the autonomic nervous system to decrease ‘fight or flight” reactions. They slow heart rate, decrease blood.pressure. Examples: Propranolol Hydrochloride, Timolol, Metoprolol, Atenolol, and Nadolol. *Piperine in black pepper can possibly increase the effects of beta blockers. Calcium channel blockers reduce blood pressure by relaxing blood vessels. Examples: Verapamil (Isoptin, Calan SR, and Verelan), Amlodipine (Norvasc), Felodipine (Plendil),sustained-release nifedipine (Procardia X) *Turmeric also has mild calcium channel blocking effects, so could increase the effects of these drugs. Diuretics: reduce blood pressure indirectly by increasing urine output, which clears excess fluid from the body and lungs. Diuretics also help relax artery walls, thereby reducing blood pressure.*Turmeric is also a mild diuretic. Generally there seem not to be any specific interactions with any of the commonly prescribed diuretic drugs.

Antibiotics: In general, golden paste can safely be taken with most antibiotics with rare exceptions. It is not recommended to use with antibiotics in the fluoroquinolone class, as it is known to decrease their antimicrobial effects. This includes most commonly, Ciprofloxacin (and gemifloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, ofloxacinef); and Baytril (enrofloxacin) used in animals. If you have a question about a specific antibiotic, ask your doctor, vet or pharmacologist, or post a query on the TUG page.

Antirejection medications: If you have had a transplant of any sort, your first resource when adding any dietary items or herbals must be your medical team. Curcumin has actually been studied with specific drugs used post transplant with some positive results, BUT some of the drugs used to suppress rejection have very, very tight tolerances as to effectiveness vs toxicity. Please consult with your specialist and/or pharmacist BEFORE adding turmeric and black pepper to your diet.