GROWING

Mountain Bean Growers, Inc. is considered one of the largest production operations in Western North Carolina and heads up our farming operations in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. FLAVOR 1st is located within close proximity to the field, which allows for the freshest produce from the farm to be packed and shipped to your facility in the quickest time possible during the season. Our produce has been known to pick and ship the same day. Mountain Bean Growers and FLAVOR 1st are committed to growing the sweetest and best variety to ensure the freshest product to be picked and shipped to your store.

PACKING AND SHIPPING

We package our products with the latest equipment and techniques for proper handling and storage of your produce. Grading and packaging by hand is necessary in some cases and still done in our facility to ensure proper handling and the best quality.

FOOD SAFETY

FLAVOR 1st Growers & Packers want to make sure you are protected. Food safety and security is our priority. All staff, from the farm to the packinghouse, are trained in the HACCP principles and procedures. USDA/FDA policies and procedures are the outline of our program. We continually train to exceed our customers’ exceptions of food quality, safety, and security.

All of our facilities undergo an annual HACCP audit. Furthermore, we request audits from Primus and the USDA at each of the packing facilities and our farming operations. We encourage our direct customers to request an audit of their own. We are pleased to announce that our facilities continue to meet or exceed all audits.

Our Quality Assurance team is on site at every facility to ensure that the quality of the product is consistent. Furthermore, the packing equipment enables us to wash, color sort, and uniformly size the product.

SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICES

  • Specially designed chemical mixing stations on our farms to avoid runoff, contamination and load efficiency
  • High-tech antimicrobial sanitizer and disinfectant used in washing our produce, packing equipment and facilities, which do not produce trihalomenthanes (THMs)
  • Utilize the CHEP pallet program
  • Recycle all cardboard packing materials
  • Office recycling includes all paper, ink cartridges, plastic and glass products
  • Dumped product is donated to livestock facilities for feed
  • All facilities use a metered water system to monitor their use
  • All electric forklifts
  • Study underway to consider solar power conversion for cooling systems