Product Research - Garden of Eatin' Tortilla Chips

Research:

1. What is "blue corn"? - "This saying holds true in the corn arena: Blue corn does contain more of the amino acid lysine and the antioxidant anthocyanin than "regular" yellow corn, however loses much of these nutrients when it's processed into a chip. Blue corn chips may be slightly more nutritious in this sense, but if you're trying to increase the amounts of lysine or antioxidants in your diet, fresh and whole fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins are much better sources." - goaskalice.com

- it seems that blue corn is technically better for you but making it into a chip, which means frying it, takes away most of its health value. 

2. Where does Garden of Eatin' get its corn from? - I wrote to the company and am waiting for a reply. I haven't really found any good information about this on the web.

3. Who started the company? - From the website, it seems that a man from Pennsylvania named Al Jacobson started the company. Born in the early 1900s, Al lived on a farm through his childhood, according to the website. He started the health food company in the 1970s. One interesting point - as a young man he worked for a company called "Hain Pure Foods", an organic company on the West Coast. I wonder if this company is related to Hain Celestial Group, which eventually bought Garden of Eatin'.

4. What are "corn syrup solids"? - "Dried corn syrup (derived from corn starch) is referred to as corn syrup solids. It has a relatively low level of sweetness (dextrose equivalent of 24) and bland flavor making it useful in blended mixes. Corn syrup solids are added as a flavor enhancer, stabilizer (to reduce product separation during shipping, storage, etc.), and thickener. Corn syrup solids are used in many food applicatons; baked goods, candy, ice cream, jellies, condiments, powdered sugar, and numerous beverages." - from frontiercoop.com

This website, one that focuses on organic products, does not say whether this is a good or bad thing.

Other information:
1. According to goodguide.com, a large database that provides information on the health, environmental, and social impacts of various products, Garden of Eatin' chips received a 6.9 out of 10. The product received a 10 out of 10 for health, 5.1/10 for environment, and 5.7/10 for society. It scored particularly low on quality management (4.6) and for not having many minorities or women on its board of directors (4.6). I compared its scores to other chips and found that Garden of Eatin' is kind of in the middle. While the product is quite healthy, its actions as a company (how it treats its workers and how it uses energy) is not so hot. However, as always, I wonder how these numbers are calculated. I wish this website provided more information to explain what they mean by "quality management".

2. Hain Celestial Group - Turns out it is totally separate from Hain Celestial Group. This company was actually bought by the H.J. Heinz Company (known for its ketchup) in 2000. The company owns many, many smaller brands, like Garden of Eatin'.