Wedge Deli Now Certified Organic

By Elizabeth Archerd, Member Services Manager

The Wedge Deli passed its first organic certification inspection with flying colors in February. Deli Manager Mary Lou Williams and Assistant Manager Cathy Lockyear answered questions about this achievement.

How long has the Deli been preparing for the organic certification inspection?

Mary Lou: For almost a year! It seemed like a long time because our handling plan was done and we were ready long before the actual inspection date. We were very anxious and excited to be a certified organic department.

What changed in the way you do things from day to day?

Mary Lou: To be honest, we already had many systems and standards in place that were routine, like how we receive and handle ingredients, how we prepare and cook the food and and our cleaning processes. They were already done to the highest standards because we care about those things. Safe food handling, health department regulations and keeping the vegan and gluten-free items separate from other products were already second nature. So really, what changed for organic certification seemed minimal.

Cathy: Most of what changed is record keeping and a few storage practices. Organic ingredients have a designated storage area that is clearly marked organic. And we do some paperwork. For example, every time a cook makes an organic recipe, we log every ingredient with its receipt (invoice) date, so all of it can be tracked.

Mary Lou: We also keep a cleaning log, and organic audits are done monthly to check and recheck that the handling plan is being followed.

Who wrote the handling plan?

Mary Lou: Susan Stewart, our Organic Certification Coordinator, wrote the plan with plenty of input from the deli management staff. We worked on it for a few months as we improved systems, researched organic ingredients, or found better ways to do things. We added the new policies and procedures until we had a very solid handling plan.

What's in your handling plan?

Cathy: First we make sure all of our organic ingredients have organic certification. When we receive product, we inspect it thoroughly, record the invoices and dates, and put it away in its proper place. We have quarantine procedures for anything that has been compromised.

Mary Lou: We have clear step-by-step procedures for how we prep and cook organic items, how we store all prepared foods, how we package and label dishes, and how we document all of that. Everything we do is in our handling plan, from using approved cleaning products to where organic items are placed in our cases.

Who trained staff?

Cathy: Our managers and shift leads. We had meetings and on-the-job training. Everyone on staff was totally involved in the process. This is also an ongoing project, because we will train and update on a regular basis.

How receptive were staff to the idea?

Mary Lou: Everyone (and there are 56 of us in the deli, cheese, and juice bar) was excited to be a part of the certification. People here are passionate about things like this. It's what makes us The Wedge!

Anything else Wedge members should know?

Cathy: Yes. We currently have nine recipes that are certified 100% organic. Since we use so many organic ingredients in our kitchen, we are looking at other recipes we can submit to MOSA* for certification. Converting recipes to all organic can be tricky, because of the cost and ingredient availability. Plus, we want to make sure all of our organic recipes are affordable to everyone.

How proud of Wedge deli staff are you?!

Mary Lou: I am super proud of our entire staff! I actually feel very honored to work with such a wonderful group of people and in such a great place—people who care so much about the food we prepare. Its an amazing group of hardworking and dedicated people.

* Midwest Organic Services Association - See Susan Stewart's article about MOSA in this issue.