Harris Farm Markets says its move to eliminate foods with artificial colours from its shelves has been a five-year process with suppliers, and involved changing its sourcing policy. The company says it’s the only major grocery provider in the country to do so.
Harris Farm Markets co-CEO Tristan Harris said to achieve its Coloured by Nature commitment the process was highly involved for the company and its suppliers.
“For the past five years, we have been working with our suppliers to find new methods of production if needed and alternative ingredients if required. Our pasta sauces, dips, juices, peanut butter, cookie dough, curry pastes, chocolates, soups, noodles and even orange juices just to name a few, are now all free of artificial colouring,” Harris said.
“Lots of suppliers told us they had wanted to take artificial colours out of their businesses for a long time, so our decision sped up theirs. We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved with suppliers like The Market Grocer, Koko Black, Fresh Fodder, Salumi and pastry chef, Anna Polyviou.”
The change has meant that some product lines have had to be eliminated.
“We take immense pride in what we sell, and even more pride in what we don’t sell; there’s no more Erythrosine, no more Tartrazine E102, no more weird compounds added to make food look more ‘appealing’. Anything artificial colours can do, nature can do bette,” he said.
Harris said the pandemic fine-focused Australians on health and immunity, and has instigated a return to home cooking, which in turn has increased everyone’s understanding of how foods impact health.
“There’s more reading of labels, more questioning of provenance, and a much deeper understanding of where food comes from now. We applaud this; our new Sourcing Policy means a healthier and cleaner alternative for families every day. It means we are now both driven and coloured by nature,” said Harris.
Harris added that transparency in 2023 was important.
“In an increasingly hyper-sensitive price-driven economy, we want to show the ‘how’ and ‘why’ behind our products and their pricing, and to encourage customers to embrace value, with values. Eliminating artificial colours, treating farmers and suppliers fairly and as partners, supporting ethical farming and food management practices, and championing Imperfect Picks are all key initiatives for us.”
Award-winning pastry chef Anna Polyviou said being part of Harris Farms’ Coloured by Nature commitment meant a whole new challenging journey for her and her team.
“I learnt of Harris Farms’ Coloured by Nature commitment when I first tried to get my products on their shelves. By being knocked back initially, I learnt about Harris Farms’ standards, and if I wanted to be a supplier, I needed to meet those. It was a whole new ballgame for me and my team.
Polyviou said for her Triple Choc and Choc Brownie Cookie Dough products, the white chocolate used had to be changed to one that was completely natural.
“Even though it was a tiny additive that was the issue, it was still an issue. It was the same with the Peanut Butter we used for our Peanut Butter Fudge.”
“The team at Harris Farm worked with us, they nurtured us, they said ‘allow us to help you’ which was unique. It also started a domino effect, and made us research more about ingredients, and about the products that go into our products. The result is a product that is loved by everybody,” said Polyviou.
Koko Black product development manager Remco Brigou, said when Harris Farm Markets approached them about the journey to eliminate artificially coloured ingredients from their product, they had already begun their own journey to being 100 per cent natural.
“For us it’s very important that all our chocolates are 100 per cent natural with no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. So, the Coloured by Nature commitment from Harris Farm Markets felt perfect for us.
“The transformation to 100 per cent natural was a very difficult process, even though many people assume it’s straight forward – it’s not. It required us to research not only our suppliers, but also the suppliers of our suppliers, and check that all their raw materials were also 100 per cent natural – we had to trace back all the way to the source.
“It was very involved and challenging but at the end, very rewarding to have an entire range of products that are handcrafted with only 100 per cent natural ingredients, and made with 100 per cent sustainably sourced cocoa,” Brigou said.
Brigou says one product that proved challenging was Koko Black’s popular chocolate freckles and its coloured sprinkles. While refining its natural ingredients list, the team uncovered an issue with the white sprinkle, and had to find a new supplier that would make the white sprinkle 100 per cent naturally.
Harris Farms says that one of the most difficult replacements has been to find a 100 per cent natural liquorice that can be used in its products; one that fits with the quality and style of our products. The search will continue as the supermarket tries to add liquorice products back into its range.
In 2020, confectioner Darrell Lea announced it was palm oil free after a two year process.
