We want to provide you with the best service. If you have any questions which are not answered please feel free to contact us. Have the Best Day Ever and Thanks for your Support!

Are all of your foods Organic?

In accordance with our mission, ALL of the foods we import are grown organically and most are genuinely certified as such. The ones that are not certified organic are either wild crafted or grown on small farms not yet certified. Nearly all of the items we import from South America come from regions where chemicals have never been used.

Who does your Organic Certification are they NOP approved?

CCOF certifies Essential Living Foods, and then we work very closely to certify our farms through BCS-Oko, SKAL, BioLatina, and IMO.

Are your products certified Kosher?

KOSHER certified for PARVE & PASSOVER by Abraham Benhamu, (Rabino Mayor Communidad Judia del Peru) Until Passover 5764, April 2004

Who is in overseeing this supervision in the states kosher supervision?

Orthodox Union

What about genetic modification?

Genetically modified food cannot be certified as 'Organic' . And we currently only work with Heirloom varieties foods, meaning they are endemic to the source!

Are any of your fruits sulfured?

All our fruits are organically grown. Sulfuring is contrary to the California Organic Food Act of 1990 and all other organic food codes.

Have the fruits been sweetened with sugar or anything else?

We maintain strict, raw, vegan, wholesome rules when it comes to providing you the sanctity you wish to have when buying food. These foods are in there natural state, sweetened by the sun, the moon, the rain and there natural growing climates. Enjoy!

At what temperature is your fruit dried?

Most of our Fruits are Sun-Dried, and the temps can reach up to 160 F, we are very careful to monitor temps in our solar dryers so that we are not cooking the precious enzymes and phyto-chemicals in our products.

What is the best way to keep dried fruits and nuts?

Refrigerate, Store in a cool place, Consume as soon as possible and buy only what you need.

Are all of your foods RawFoods & Living Foods?

No. Virtually everything we import is low temperature processed; however, certain items like the Hearts of Palm or the Roasted Ramon are not. Our goal is not to be a 100% raw company; rather it is to provide people with some of the healthiest, ecologically sound foods available. Projects like those where the Ramon or the Hearts of Palm take place are so wonderful for the people of the region and so in need of continued support, we feel a profound obligation to help them. With that said, we have a great deal of affinity for the enzyme theory of health and nutrition and keep it in mind when producing anything. Products in our store that are raw are labeled as such.

Do I have to order online or can I place an order over the phone?

Orders can be placed online or by calling (805)528-4176 (M-F 9am-6pm PCT). We welcome people to place orders in whatever way is most comfortable to them. With that said, keep in mind that we have a very small staff and our online orders are “pre-processed” helping them to get shipped a little sooner.

Why can't I buy Raw Organic Cacao from your company directly?

We are focused on purely importing and supplying Raw Organic Cacao. There are some really wonderful companies putting a great deal of time and energy into marketing and raising awareness for this wonderful food. Rather than undermine their efforts, we have chosen to support them on the supply side and avoid competition in this market place. We encourage you to buy from them as they all offer both retail and wholesale.

What's the difference between your Maca and the others on the market?

The issue of uniformity or standardization in real organic natural functional foods is very problematic, especially under the tradition created by the conventional agriculture, food and pharmaceutical industry. As you know, briefly, conventional agriculture has moved to specialization of farms, homogenization of varieties and products (shape, colors, size, taste), monocultures, high yield, big size of farm, etc, all mainly based on mechanization and availability of agrochemicals and artificial fertilizer; another factor is whatever facilitates transport and the processing of a product; another factor is publicity. In this context, there are problems when you try to process maca and yacón products which are as natural as possible like ours, where we use low temperatures in the processing of the powder.. Traditionally mixed crops were grown together, with several varieties of each plant also present as each was naturally resistant to different types of pest or fungus (synergy). Maca varies from white, through red to black in color. The color and taste of the maca powder vary, depending on the proportion of varieties. The quantity of sun/hours that the roots have received in the process of drying naturally, helps to produce sugar specially fructose. With the global warming phenomenon the Altiplano of Junin has changed its climate; the temperature is higher allowing more agriculture than before. Over the last few years the seasons have become less clearly marked and rain is now more frequent and occurs throughout the year rather than being only at a specific period. Right now we are having frequent rains and the last 2 weeks there was snow creating problems for drying. This means that there are fewer hours of sun and so the maca cannot achieve the same degree of sweetness as before. 

Do product orders ship the same day?

Barring extreme circumstances, all of our orders ship by the next business day. Our pickup is fairly early in the day so it is pretty difficult to get orders out same day. This means that an order placed Monday will go out Tuesday, etc.

Are all of your olives raw?

While all of our olives are un-pasteurized, our green olives contain minute amounts of citric acid, which is not raw. Citric acid is a distilled by product of citrus fruit that acts as a natural preservative.

Why are certain products frequently out of stock?

Some of out items come from rather small farms and their production capacity is sometimes unable to meet the rapidly growing demand. We are doing our best to help our farmers and partners increase the production and yields in a way that benefits both the consumer and the ecology of the region. We appreciate your patience in this matter!

Is there a waiting list for you out of stock items?

We currently do not have a waiting list for items that are out of stock. We feel the fairest thing to do is have you leave a message expressing you'd like to be notified when something arrives. As soon as it arrives, we will send an email notification that the item is ‘in stock'.

What is Fair Trade and how does it apply to your products?

Please read more about our Conscious Consumer Mission

What are NGO's and what do they do?

NGO's as vendors of goods and services on the basis of contract:

They are the market oriented, non-profit public services. They are called the Public Service Contractors (PSC). Here they have tie ups with the large funding agencies like UN, International Banks or closer to home the Department Of Social Welfare, Department of Child and Women Development, Department Of Environment Protection. These organizations work at different levels of association. Some of these bodies play the role of funding agency, where the goal setting and the operative framework is developed and executed by the NGO itself.

On the other hand, there are NGO's driven more by concern with values than with bottom lines and markets. They are called the private voluntary organization (PVO). These organizations have their own self-developed framework and goals. They generate their own funds and finance. These organizations require employees with immense motivation and drive to run the set-up smoothly and successfully.