CAMARILLO, CA – Houweling’s Tomatoes, which was among a group of top produce suppliers invited by Whole Foods Market to hear the retailer’s plan to launch a Responsibly Grown rating system, has earned a “Best” rating for its Camarillo farm tomatoes.
“When we first leaned of the program we were excited,” said David Bell, CMO for Houweling’s Tomatoes. “As a sustainable greenhouse farming leader, many of the measurements identified by Whole Foods Market’s Responsibly Grown program include air, energy, waste, farmworker welfare, water conservation, pest management, etc. were already in place within our operation. This allowed us to efficiently go through the program and achieve the ‘Best’ rating for our Camarillo farm.”
According to a press release, the Houweling’s Delta, BC farm is currently navigating the rating system, and the company expects it to achieve a top rating in the next few weeks.
“Unique to Houweling’s, we have complete control from seed through harvest, as a result of our specialized seedling propagation division. This point of difference contributed to Houweling’s commitment to only pack product grown on our farms under the Houweling’s label. This dovetails well with the Whole Foods Market program as systems were already in place ensuring transparency,” Bell added.
The Whole Foods Market Responsibly Grown program was designed to help create transparency as companies submit different units for each farming location. For a more detailed look at the program, click here to read our previous article.
Congratulations on achieving the ‘Best’ rating, Houweling’s!
