Mclean Organic Foods Ingredients

Mclean proudcts are primarily made up of: meat, salt, sugar and spice. Spices range from herbs and seasonings to carrageenan (a product made from sea weed) and sodium lactate (a type of salt made from fermented sugar).

Each product recipe has a custom spice blend that must adhere to strict food safety and allergen controls. Mclean purchases these spice blends from Canadian companies that demonstrate accredited and certified Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPS), plus Food Security and Allergen Controls.

With our goal to 'buy local,' the majority spices come from Canada and the United States. The organic sugar used in our products comes from Peru, the sea salt comes from the USA and the Carrageenan comes from Canada.

CARRAGEENAN

Carrageenan comes from algae or seaweed, and can be used as a thickening agent in place of animal-based products like gelatin, which is extracted from animal bones. It is usually derived from either red alga, sometimes called Irish moss. Carrageenan is a common ingredient in many foods, such as milk products like yogurt and chocolate milk.

SODIUM LACTATE

What is it?

Sodium lactate is natural salt that is derived from a natural fermentation product, lactic acid. Lactic acid is produced naturally in foods such as cheese, yogurt, hard salami, pepperoni, sour dough bread and many others by the action of lactic acid starter cultures on the sugars that are naturally present in the food products.

How is it made?

Sodium lactate is produced by the natural fermentation of the sugars from corn or beets. These sugars are fermented with lactic acid starter culture, similar to those used for cheese or yogurt production. The sodium lactate used in Mclean products is derived from fermented corn sugar.

What does it do?

Sodium Lactate gives us the pathogen inhibiting characteristics needed to help shelf life, while at the same time keeping sodium levels low. This is a valuable advantage over most deli meat products sold in stores where salt levels exceed most daily recommended doses.

Is it Organic approved?

The European Union, the United States and Canada all accept sodium lactate under their organic standards as an approved non-organic ingredient.

Is it dairy and gluten free?

Yes.

Where is it made?

There are numerous companies world wide that product sodium lactate with the majority based in the United States. The sodium lactate used in Mclean products originates from the United States.

Does ‘lactate’ mean that there is dairy in it?

No. The word lactate is from lactic acid. Sodium Lactate should not be confused with lactose, the sugar found in milk products. Unless otherwise marked on the label, Mclean products do not contain dairy.

Example of food products that readily contain sodium lactate:

• Dairy based drinks (ie: chocolate milk, eggnog, yoghurt beverages)
• Cheeses (un-ripened, ripened and processed)
• Breakfast cereals
• Processed or cooked meat products
• Vinegars & mustards
• Yeast and like products (including beer and malt beverages)
• Soups & broths
• Fruit wines (that are not made from grapes)