Open Nature Meat Options

[#1]

I was very excited when just over a year ago Safeway launched the Open Nature brand and introduced several items in the meat department.  The term Natural is used on many products these days, but once you start reading ingredients you realize they shouldn’t really be labeled as Natural.  At Safeway, the Open Nature brand has an extremely strict set of guidelines making sure our items are in fact 100% Natural and raised without antibiotics, have no added hormones, fed an all vegetarian diet and contain no artificial preservatives. 

Listed below are some of our current item offerings which offer a nice alternative for our customers which are looking for high quality yet affordable natural options for their families:

Bacon

Chicken Sausage

Hot Dogs

Fresh Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

Fresh Pork

Fresh Lamb

Fresh Beef (available in select stores)

And the list just keeps growing.  We recently introduced several new items including two flavors of meatballs and two pork dinner sausages. Great for entertaining – it’s March Madness time and these will surely be a hit with your guests. Pair the meatballs with our Open Nature pasta for a quick and easy dinner.  The sausage is delicious in our Open Nature buns.  With Easter right around the corner make sure to pick up our Open Nature Leg of Lamb. All Open Nature meat items are available in your local Safeway’s meat department. Keep your eyes open for more new items coming soon to a store near you.

[#2]

Does Safeway use pink slime in their all natural like they do their other ground meat?

[#3]

Hi Julie, we offer our customers a choice of 100% USDA-approved ground beef products that do not contain Lean Finely Textured Beef. Both the 80% Lean Market Trim, which is ground fresh on site, and our  Natural Ground Beef, which contains no antibiotics, added hormones or artificial ingredients and is minimally processed, are made without Lean Finely Textured Beef. We also sell traditional ground beef, which may include Lean Finely Textured Beef. Our ground beef products undergo rigorous inspections to ensure that they meet the highest standards for quality and food safety in the industry.

[#4]

Are Open Nature offerings produced without feed containing genetically engineered corn, soy, or cottonseed?

Are Open Nature bacon, sausage, and ham prepared without addition of nitrates or nitrates?

If you answered yes to the last question, do you plan to add ham or corned beef to the line-up?

Thanks!

[#5]

My preschooler is a hot dog fiend, and I was happy to find the Open Nature hot dogs awhile ago at our local Safeway stores (San Jose, CA).  Thank you for having these as an option!  Lately, however, they have been out of stock at the Midtown store (San Carlos and Meridian) and the Willow Glen store (Hamilton and Meridian).  I hope there is not a problem with supply!

[#6]

Thank you for the inquiry Laura! The only way to ensure products have not been fed GMO feed is to purchase our O Organic line. We share and actively support our customers’ interests in food safety. We also believe consumers have a right to relevant information about the food they buy, so they can make informed purchasing decisions. However, as a retailer, we are neither qualified nor entitled to promulgate food regulations and labeling requirements. That responsibility properly lies with the governmental agencies established for those purposes. As you may know, all new foods sold in the U.S, including those derived or improved through biotechnology, are subject to review and regulation by the federal Food and Drug Administration. The FDA currently requires any foods produced through biotechnology to be labeled when the new product has a “material change.”  We believe that the FDA’s regulations on biotechnology are based on sound scientific principles, and that they possess the best available safety and risk assessment procedures. If you have not expressed your views to the FDA, we encourage you to do so. As we hope you will understand, we don’t make the rules, we just do our best to abide by them. Uncured meats have no added nitrites or nitrates in the product. Instead, we use celery juice or powder, a source of naturally occurring nitrates. Our Open Nature line is always expanding. Be sure to keep a look out for new items in your local store!

[#7]

Rebecca, we show sales of our Open Nature Hot Dogs at both Safeway locations you mentioned. It is possible they may have been temporarily out of stock or not in the area you were looking. We have notified our buyers that you would like to continue to see the Hot Dogs available. Also, if you have any problems locating them next time you’re in, please feel free to ask a Store Associate for assistance. They’d be happy to help you. 

[#8]

Hi, Thanks for having this blog. Never noticed if any other stores had one, so it is appreciated. I recently heard that Safeway was planning to stop the use of the infamous "pink slime". I stopped purchasing ground beef after I saw the article on pink slime and refuse to purchase ground beef from anyplace that uses it. Can you confirm that Safeway ground beef no longer contains the vile stuff? Thanks, Joe

[#9]

Hi Joe Jones, while the USDA and food experts confirm that lean, finely textured beef is a safe product, your concerns matter to us. That’s why we have announced that the meat departments in our stores will no longer purchase fresh ground beef or frozen ground beef patties containing this product.

[#10]

I am so happy to find the Open Nature brand.  I'm trying very hard to use meats that are nitrite free.  My husband actually found your bacon and got me using this brand.

Thanks!

[#11]

Liz, we’re glad to hear that you’re enjoying our wide selection of Open Nature products! Enjoy!

[#12]

I am sad that I have to go to another grocery store for fresh beef after buying 90% of my week's food at Safeway.

But there is no getting around the fact that Safeway's beef is NOT very good. No marbling in the ribeyes and T-bones. So the steaks have no real flavor characteristic of the that wonderful fat marbling that gourmets love to eat and serve their friends at weekends' BBQ's. 

And from what I've heard from employees, there is nothing Safeway can do about it at the store level. Thank goodness for real butchers! Oh...and Whole Foods.

[#13]

We appreciate your feedback, Thomas and thank you for sharing. Hearing directly from our customers gives the opportunity to improve and provide the service you expect. Your comments will be directed to our Corporate Brands Team for further review and consideration.

[#14]

We usually don’t buy beef because I work in a restaurant and have access to choice prime rib or better, so I try to limit how much beef I buy for home use, mainly for health reasons. I would like to add that I do appreciate the all natural pork loins that Safeway offers. I find it to be a good value. I am very sensitive to preservatives so always look at labels.

         Other products we appreciate are the open nature bacon and hot dogs I have found these products to be of good quality and flavor at an acceptable price. My Safeway has also allowed me a good value on the Hormel lunch meats which are also preservative free. We would love to see more products added to the open nature line such as Almond butter at an affordable price.

MK    

[#15]

Thank you for sharing your feedback, MK! We’re glad to hear you’re enjoying our products and the selection available at your local store. Your comments will be sent to our Corporate Brands Team as well as our Pricing Department for further review.

[#16]

Our local Safeway in Sammamish, WA is now carrying the Open Nature pork and I bought a package this weekend and made it for dinner tonight. It was the best pork that I have bought in a grocery store in ages, if ever! It was flavorful and meaty and tender. I put it in a crock pot with perhaps a quarter cup of water and a quarter cup of barbeque sauce.  It is now a memory that ranks right up there with one about 5 years ago when I bought a large prime rib roast at Safeway to make for Christmas dinner.  I used Paula Deen's oven method but my own seasoning and it was fabuluous! It was much better than any restaurant prime rib except for possibly one.  Thank you for offering us quality meat at reasonable prices!

Oh, by the way, I'm allergic to sulfates and nitrates so I can only buy certain meat products. Thanks again!

[#17]

Thank you for sharing the wonderful compliments, Karen! We’re so happy to hear you enjoy these products from your local store. Your feedback will be sent to the Store Manager as well as our Corporate Brands Team for further review. Have a great day and happy shopping! 

[#18]

So I read your response about the Open Nature chicken and Open Nature Turkey...

by Heather-Meat on ‎03-19-2012 03:23 PM  "The only way to ensure products have not been fed GMO feed is to purchase our O Organic line."

So what you're saying is because it does not say organic, it could have been fed genetically modified food?  I am currently chemically intolerant and I have and open natured chicken in my refrigerator that I just purchased.  Does this mean I can't eat it?  Or if I do when I get ill?  I realize those are questions you cannot answer, but it has been very frustrating, because many of the issues that I have are because of what our country is allowing to go into our food.  I cannot eat any foods that have been fed or consist of genetically modified anything.  Can you tell me if your chicken or turkey has any other additives in it?  

You stated "We believe that the FDA’s regulations on biotechnology are based on sound scientific principles, and that they possess the best available safety and risk assessment procedures."

However the FDA is currently being suedfor withholding data about how many foods are being inoculated with antibiotics.  http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/12/19/gap-sues-fda.aspx?e_cid=20121219_DNL_a...

Does your O organics line have any chicken or turkey that are actually organic?  Is there any way to know just how bad the contamination is of your open natured chickens I can't afford to throw that away.  I know I could give it to a neighbor or someone that he does not have that bad of affect on, but I don't know if I could morally do that at this point.  Please let me know

[#19]

Rachel, our O Organic Products do not contain any GMOs.  In reference to any additional questions that you have, please also understand that Safeway has over 6,000 products in their private label line; the majority of these are produced by various outside suppliers who, in turn, also source their ingredients from various suppliers.  Therefore, I’m sure you realize how difficult it would be to compile a ‘voluntary’ list of GM foods.