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Coleman offers a complete line of natural and organic pork, chicken, lamb, and prepared foods made with our pioneering protocols: raised with no antibiotics, no added hormones or preservatives EVER, and always 100% vegetarian fed. Since Coleman started selling natural meats in 1979, we’ve led the way in defining “natural” and “organic” raising practices, which now represent the highest standard for meat raising and production in the today.
At Coleman we not only follow humane and sustainable raising practices, we created them. Our heritage and values grew out of several small natural and organic companies that pioneered and created the meat and poultry definitions for organic, free-range and Coleman’s definition of natural, decades before these labels became vogue. Our business is built around the core value of integrity, never using antibiotics, growth hormones, preservatives or artificial ingredients, and raising animals on a healthy, strictly vegetarian diet in a humane environment.
Coleman Natural Foods strives to provide the safest, best quality meat products, while adhering to the highest industry standards pertaining to the humane treatment and handling of animals. Following is a list of frequently asked questions... About Natural and Organic: Why should I buy organic? Is organic food healthier? What does Antibiotic-Free mean? Since antibiotics are not used, how can I be sure my organic chicken is healthy and free of harmful bacteria? Are vaccines the same as antibiotics? Why is organic food more expensive? Are products labeled “natural” the same as “organic?” How were standards set for raising an organic chicken? Who is Oregon Tilth? How does Coleman define "natural" chicken? What does free range mean? What is the difference between free range chickens and conventional chickens? Why do we not use antibiotics in our poultry? What do you do mean when you say no added hormones? Chicken: Who raises your chickens and how are they raised? What does free range mean? What is the difference between free range chickens and conventional chickens?
What types of feed are chickens fed and what is a vegetable diet? Why do some chickens have yellow colored skin and some have white skin? Are chickens fed hormones? How does Coleman define "natural" chicken? Why do we not use antibiotics in our poultry? What are your Organic Chickens washed in during processing? How are your organic chickens raised? How do they get their old-fashioned chicken flavor? Is your organic chicken free range? Pork and lamb: Where are your hogs raised? What do your lambs eat? Prepared products: Are your products gluten-free? Are your products dairy/casein free? What is lactic acid starter culture/where does it come from? Why is the lactic acid starter culture used? What is the skin on your hot dogs made of?
How long after I open my bacon/hot dogs/sausage can I leave it in the fridge? How long can I keep my frozen product frozen? Sustainability: What do you do with waste water from your chicken plants? Do you have a certification in sustainability management systems? What do you do with chicken waste?
Why should I buy organic? Is organic food healthier?
Organic foods and fiber are spared the application of toxic and persistent insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and fertilizers. Many EPA-approved pesticides were registered long before extensive research linked these chemicals to cancer and other diseases. In the long run, organic farming techniques provide a safer, more sustainable environment for everyone.
Source: Organic Trade Association Organic food contains the same level of nutrients as their conventional counterparts, the health benefits lie in the absence of chemicals.
Back to top Why is organic food more expensive?
Prices for organic foods reflect many of the same costs as conventional items in terms of growing, harvesting, transportation and storage. Organically produced foods must meet stricter regulations governing all of these steps, so the process is often more labor- and management-intensive, and farming tends to be on a smaller scale. Because we give our livestock more space to grow at their natural rate (never EVER administered any hormones or growth promoters), they naturally cost more money to raise. Along with resulting in tastier meat, we believe in humane practices. There is also mounting evidence that if all the indirect costs of conventional food production—cleanup of polluted water, replacement of eroded soils, costs of health care for farmers and their workers—were factored into the price of food, organic foods would cost the same or, more likely, be cheaper.
Source: Organic Trade Association
Back to top Are products labeled “natural” the same as “organic?” No. The term “natural” suggests that products have been minimally processed or are free from synthetic ingredients. Natural and organic are not interchangeable. Only products labeled "organic" have been certified as meeting USDA organic standards. Other claims, such as free-range, hormone-free, and natural can still appear on product labels. However, such claims should not be confused with the term "organic.”
Back to top How does Coleman Natural define "natural" chicken? Natural chickens are found in many stores across the country and meet the broadly-defined USDA guidelines for using the word "natural" on their label. These guidelines state that any product may be labeled natural if it does not contain any artificial flavoring, coloring ingredients, chemical preservatives or any other synthetic ingredients, and the product is minimally processed.
The USDA natural claim represents little more than a minimal standard. Specifically, it does not address growing methods and in particular, the use of antibiotics or growth enhancers for livestock and poultry. And, even with a USDA natural label, it is legally possible to offer naturally grown livestock or chickens that have been fed antibiotics. In fact, any conventionally grown chicken can qualify for this natural claim as stated in the USDA guidelines.
Coleman Natural and Petaluma Poultry define a "natural" chicken as one that is raised without antibiotics for its entire life, fed a vegetarian diet without the use of animal fat or animal by-products, raised in a stress-free environment and treated in a humane manner at all times.
Certified organic chicken takes the raising of chickens to a new level and creates an entirely new category of products for the consumer. "Certified organic" chickens are different from "natural" chickens because they are fed a certified organic diet, raised without antibiotics and use a third party certifier to verify the manner in which they are raised. Our Coleman Organic chickens and Rosie chickens offers the consumer another choice responding to the growing awareness and demand for organic products.
Back to top Who raises your chickens and how are they raised?
Our chickens are raised on various California ranches throughout Sonoma and Marin Counties, California's Central Valley, Oregon, Washington as well as on ranches in Pennsylvania.
They are raised on a soft bed of rice hulls, approximately 6 inches to 8 inches thick. All of our chickens are given approximately one square foot per bird in which to roam freely in the poultry house, and the outdoor pen space is 50% to 100% the size of the inside houses. This is significantly more growing space than conventional chickens.
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What does free range mean? What is the difference between free range chickens and conventional chickens?
Coleman Natural chickens get approximately one square foot per bird, which is significantly more space per bird than those raised in conventional poultry operations. Depending upon the ranch, the pens outside are 50% to 100% of the size of the inside houses.
Beginning at approximately four weeks of age, when the birds are fully feathered and able to withstand both exposure to the sun and cooler outside temperatures, the birds are allowed to roam outside of the house beginning about mid-morning, and are then ushered back inside the house around 5 pm. They are locked inside the house at night to protect them from predators. There are multiple outside access doors on the sides of the house for the chickens to use the outdoor pen during the day.
Back to top What are the key differences between Coleman Natural and Rocky chickens and conventionally grown chickens?
We strongly feel that the flavor of chicken comes from the feed that it eats. Our chickens have old fashioned chicken flavor because they eat a high quality, flavor-enhancing corn and soy diet. Our chickens are never fed any animal by-products or animal fat. Also, Petaluma Poultry’s Rocky the Range Chicken is grown for a longer period (9 to 10 weeks) to gain flavor and size. Conventional chickens are typically grown for 7 weeks and they are fed animal fat and animal by-products, resulting in diminished chicken flavor.
None of our chickens are never fed antibiotics during their entire life …ever. Conventional chickens are fed antibiotics to enhance growth and treat diseases when they occur.
Our chickens are humanely raised in a stress-free environment in spacious, uncrowded houses with extra floor space to grow. Conventional chickens are grown under more crowded conditions. In most instances, they are given one half the growing house space when compared to our chickens and are not allowed outdoor access.
Our chickens are grown, processed and distributed by one integrated company. Our company has complete control from hatching egg through store delivery. If any of our chickens do get sick, antibiotics are used and the entire flock is removed from the program and sold as conventional chickens.
Back to top What types of feed are chickens fed and what is a vegetable diet?
We strongly believe that the flavor of the chickens comes from the feed that they eat. All of our natural chickens are fed the same feed made from high quality, nutritionally balanced feed ingredients. The feed is composed of approximately 70% corn and corn gluten meal and 15-18% soybean meal, with the balance of the diet made up of salt, vitamins, and minerals. The diet is called a vegetable diet because the protein and energy sources; corn and soybean meal, are all vegetable in origin. NO animal by-products or animal fat are used in the chicken feed.
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Why do some chickens have yellow colored skin and some have white skin?
The yellow pigmentation in the skin of chickens is derived from xanthophyll, which naturally occurs in yellow corn. Chickens fed a high level of corn and corn gluten meal will have a naturally yellow colored skin. Chickens fed grains such as wheat, oats or barley that do not contain xanthophyll will not have yellow skin.
Back to top Are chickens fed hormones?
Despite numerous marketing and labeling statements by some producers, hormones have not been used anywhere in the poultry industry for over 35 years. Prior to 1960 or so, before being replaced by selective breeding and feed revisions, hormones were used to aid in body conformation and for calming bird temperament.
Back to top What does Antibiotic-Free mean?
Antibiotic-free means that our chickens are NEVER fed antibiotics at anytime during their life. We are able to raise our chickens without antibiotics by focusing on good husbandry practices, such as increased growing space per bird, reduced stress and improved sanitation practices.
Back to top Are vaccines the same as antibiotics? They aren't anywhere close to the same. Vaccines elicit a natural immune response within the bird. In short, vaccines help a bird naturally protect itself from disease before the disease is present. For example, in humans, a flu vaccine is given before you get the flu not after. The vaccine helps the body strengthen the natural defense against illness. Once you have an illness, vaccines have little to no response.
Antibiotic are chemicals that are used primarily to kill microorganisms that cause disease and infection. These are typically given in low doses to keep an animal from getting infections. This is a very different mechanism than a natural immune response derived from a vaccine. The manufactured antibiotic chemically inhibits or kills the disease or infection that may be present. Once a disease or infection is present, antibiotics are typically used to kill the disease or infection through a chemical process, not typically a natural immune response.
We do not use antibiotics of any kind, not now, not before, not ever!
Back to top Why do we not use antibiotics in our poultry?
We believe that the long-term use of antibiotics represent a biological and environmental threat. The long-term usage of a particular antibiotic in food animals may allow the development of genetically specific resistant bacteria. If these resistant bacteria from the food supply are passed into bacteria that infect humans, usage of this particular antibiotic against cross resistant bacteria may become ineffective and could lead to prolonged sickness, slower recovery, and possible death.
Increased use of antibiotics in food animals has caused an increase in the overall resistance to antibiotics both in animals and human beings. It now takes a larger dosage of antibiotics to produce the same effect as a smaller dosage administered 20 years ago. This growing resistance is passed on to the succeeding generations, and thus becomes a self perpetuating cycle.
Secondly, and most importantly, chickens do not need antibiotics to grow and be healthy. We want our chickens to develop their own resistance to disease by raising them in a natural environment using better methods of poultry husbandry.
By more rigidly watching every aspect of our breeding stock, vaccination programs, ranch clean up and sanitation programs, as well as reducing stocking density (fewer chickens per square feet of living space), minimal stress, and having a nutritionally well-balanced feeding program, we are able to raise high quality chickens without the use of antibiotics.
Back to top How were standards set for raising an organic chicken? Who is Oregon Tilth?
The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) was formed ten years ago to advise the USDA on uniform standards for the production of all organic products. The NOSB Livestock Committee has developed standards for organic poultry along with the California Organic Food Advisory Board and the Organic Trade Association. Third-party certifiers verify that products labeled "organic" have met these strict standards.
Oregon Tilth is a nonprofit research and education organization dedicated to environmentally sound agriculture. They are among the 33 nationally accredited organizations that develop standards and procedures which meet the provisions of federal and state laws as well as the requirements for accreditation by the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM).
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How are your organic chickens raised? How do they get their old-fashioned chicken flavor?
Our ROSIE Chicken received the first United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) certified organic label for chickens. She is the latest introduction from Petaluma Poultry, a pioneer producer of healthy chicken products with old-fashioned chicken flavor.
Our organic chickens eat only 100% certified organic corn and soybean flakes which are grown on soil free of pesticides and commercial fertilizers for a period of at least three years. This vegetarian diet contains no antibiotics, animal fat or animal by-products. They are true free-range chickens that are allowed to roam and forage outdoors within a fenced pen. They are raised according to an organic growing protocol independently verified and certified by Oregon Tilth, a third-party certifier.
Because chickens taste like the feed they eat, our organic chicken old-fashioned chicken flavor comes from the organic vegetarian diet of corn and soybean flakes. They are never fed any animal fat or animal by-products so you get a true chicken flavor and taste in every chicken you purchase.
Back to top Since antibiotics are not used, how can I be sure my organic chicken is healthy and free of harmful bacteria?
Chickens do not need antibiotics to grow and be healthy. The chickens at Petaluma Poultry and Coleman Natural are raised without the use of antibiotics and raised with excellent poultry husbandry practices. Chickens are grown in spacious housing with plenty of natural sunlight and fresh air and have sufficient room to move about the entire house. They are given also given outdoor access which helps contribute to a stress-free living environment.
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Is your organic chicken free range?
Yes, they are raised as a true free range chicken that is allowed to roam and forage outdoors within a fenced pen.
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Are your products gluten-free?
All fresh meats are gluten-free; hot dogs and bacon are gluten-free; most flavors of sausage are gluten-free; of the new cooked chicken line, only the Buffalo style wings are gluten-free
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Are your products dairy/casein free?
All fresh meats are dairy/casein-free; hot dogs and bacon are dairy/casein-free; some flavors of sausage are dairy/casein-free; the new organic cooked chicken line is dairy/casein-free
Back to top What is lactic acid starter culture/where does it come from?
The lactic acid culture starter (the sugar in the acid) is corn-derived, NOT milk derived.
Back to top Why is the lactic acid starter culture used?
In UNCURED food items like our delicious Hot Dogs and Bacon, the addition of lactic acid culture starter is necessary because acidification lowers the PH balance which inhibits the growth of spoilage agents. Proteinaceous bacteriocins are produced by several LAB (lactic acid bacteria) strains and provide an additional hurdle for spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms. They are considered safe due to their ubiquitous appearance in food.
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What is the skin on your hot dogs made of?
Our hot dogs are “skinless.” The hot dog is cooked in a cellulose (plant material) casing, that is removed. The term skinless frankfurter is something of a misnomer. It simply describes a product that has been stripped of its casing once a secondary skin made of coagulated sausage proteins has formed on the product's surface. The secondary skin is formed by a number of methods including traditional smoke curing and low temp drying.
Back to top Where are your hogs raised?
The Midwest region; Iowa and surrounding states
Back to top What do your lambs eat? Raised on family ranches in Colorado, Coleman Natural lambs are grain and pasture fed.
Back to top What are your Organic Chickens washed in during processing?
We use a proprietary blend of solutions in our production process, most commonly solutions with a lower pH, as they help control any bacteria that might be present.
Back to top How long after I open my bacon/hot dogs/sausage can I leave it in the fridge?
Either use or freeze the uneaten portion within 3 – 4 days after opening.
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How long can I keep my frozen product frozen?
As long as the product was frozen by the Use or Freeze By date, the product can be used after being frozen for a long time. For optimum quality and taste, we recommend using it within 6 – 12 months after freezing. It is a quality/taste issue, not a food safety issue. Always trust your nose, if it smells funny, throw it out. If a package is bloated, that is a sign of bad bacteria growing and you are best throwing it out.
Back to top What do you do with waste water from your chicken plants?
We utilize ozone as a sanitizing agent in our processing plant, eliminating the use of chlorine and reducing by 85% the use of water. In addition, all water used during the water emersion chilling system is recycled.
Back to top Do you have a certification in sustainability management systems?
We were the first food company in the world to earn the ISO 14001 environmental certification in 2004 (renewed several times since, each year showing improvement). We were also named 2002 Environmental Business of the Year by the Sonoma County Conservation Council and received the WRAP award from the State of California for exemplary resource conservation.
Back to top What do you do with chicken waste?
As part of the company’s recycling program we send chicken manure to rice farmers who, in turn, provide us hulls to spread over the earthen floors of our poultry houses.
Back to top What do you do mean when you say no added hormones? We never EVER feed, inject or otherwise administer hormones to any of our livestock. It's actually illegal to administer hormones to chicken. As hormones are naturally occurring in every living being to stimulate growth, we cannot say “no hormones,” as that would be impossible. All meat contain natural hormones. That is what makes animals grow.
Unfortunately many companies administer hormones to make their livestock grow faster and thus make more profit. We believe in giving our livestock space to grow at their natural rate. Along with being the right thing to do, it also results, we think, in tastier meat.
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