Open Up to Open Nature

[#1]

If your New Year’s resolution is to eat better, then keep your eyes open for our new line of great-tasting Open Nature™ foods, landing on store shelves now. Open Nature ™ uses 100% natural ingredients with nothing artificial added and with as little processing as possible, so you can taste the honest-to-goodness flavor in every delicious bite. We have several new items on their way, but a great place to start now is in the meat department with the following:
•    Open Nature ™ Fresh Chicken
•    Open Nature ™ Sausage, Bacon & Hot Dogs
•    Open Nature ™ Natural Angus Beef – select stores
•    Open Nature ™ Fresh Pork – select stores

Open Nature ™ meats are:
•    100% Natural
•    Raised Without Antibiotics
•    No Added Hormones*
•    All Vegetarian Fed
•    No Artificial Ingredients
•    Minimally Processed

*Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones in raising pork and poultry.

Let us know what you think about Open Nature™

[#2]

I am totally disappointed in your new Open Nature product.  I have been a consumer of "organic" chicken and have purchased this product at your Carrs stores.  I recently see that you no longer carry organic chicken and are substituting "natural" chicken in organics place.  I purchased 2 packages of the Open Nature thighs on 1/18/2011. One package was dated 1/20/20 and the other was dated 1/27/2011.  I purchased from Anchorage Carrs on Minnesota/Northern Lights.  I open both packages and the smell was overwhelming bad.  Both packages were spoiled!  The amount of fat on the chicken was a lot too.  I was so disgusted with this product that I will NEVER purchase again.  I did some research and found out that "Natural" means NOTHING.  It is NOT FEDERALLY regulated.  No added Hormones* - means nothing was added AFTER the bird was processed.  It still got hormones and steroids!  Organic chicken is federally regulated with STRICT regulations.  I want organic chicken and will pay the price for organic chicken.  There is a difference between Natural and Organic, and it is a HUGE difference!  Companies that market chicken as Natural are deceiving the consumer in thinking they are getting a hormone/steroid free product.   Please take this horrible product off the shelf if that is what Safeway intends to do by "replacing" organic with this trumped up joke of a product claiming to be "natural", "wholesome", "better for you".  If Safeway plans to keep Open Nature products then please bring back organic (Organic labeled) chicken so I, and other consumers, have a choice!

[#3]

Thank you for sharing your feedback regarding our Open Nature chicken Mona. To learn more about how we define natural, please visit our website at http://www.safeway.com/IFL/Grocery/Open-Nature and especially our detailed FAQ section. We will submit a formal product request for Organic chicken on your behalf. We apologize for the inconvenience and suggest that you visit the Customer Service Desk in your local store for a refund on the unsatisfactory item you purchased. Also, feel free to use the “Contact Us” link if you have more questions. While the term “natural” is not currently regulated, we hold ourselves to a very high standard that we want to clearly communicate to our shoppers. Please contact our Corporate Brands Department directly at 888-723-3929 so that we can assist you further regarding the chicken that you purchased. Thank you for your feedback

[#4]

I just tried your Open Nature chicken breast tenders and I thought they were great. No, they don't compare to organic, which I always ate before I lost my job, but they are definitely an improvement over those nasty Tyson and Pilgrim's pride products.  Tyson and Pilgrim's Pride load their feed with antibiotics and arsenic, among other things, then pump the chicken meat with a salt/flavor enhanced solution to try to mask the nastiness of their meat and increase the weight. At least with Open Nature I know that these products are antiobiotic free, that no chicken by products are fed to them, and that no water or flavor enhancers have been added. 

I have a couple of questions though - do you know if the chicken is rinsed or soaked in any ammonia or chlorine products to kill germs when processing? Also, can you confirm that no arsenic is given to chickens that are part of the Open Nature line?

Thanks,

Thrifty

[#5]

Thank you for your comments regarding our Open Nature products Thrifty. No feed additives containing arsenic are used and the Open Nature product line does use chlorinated water during rinsing, at levels within USDA standards. We appreciate your feedback and thank you for the inquiry!

[#6]

why do you not carry organic chicken?  I am in West Seattle and shop at your stores on 42nd SW at alaska, and at Roxbury.

[#7]

Huey, we would be happy to submit an official product request for your store. Thanks for the request!

[#8]

I am concerned about the word "natural" in the title because I feel I have already been tricked by the word. I had purchasing "organic" chicken broth (from a different retailer I trusted) that contained "natural flavoring" as one of the four ingredients. Only to find out the "natural flavoring" contains up to 20% MSG.

Not to get to personal but MSG makes me very ill. I was using this product on a regular basis and continued to make myself ill for over a month because I did not know what the "natural flavoring" really was. By eliminating this product from my diet that is how I realized this was the cause of my persistent symptoms. My Doctor suggested chicken broth as a remedy to my symptoms and I am really sad that suggestion kept me ill for so long.

I was discouraged to read all the requests for "organic" chicken when "organic" does not mean there are no preservatives added! I am disappointed by the misleading labels on products and I would like to see more honest labeling on foods. I'm educating myself as much as possible as to what the actual meanings of the ingredients listed on products truly are.

I'm sorry the lady had accidental purchased spoiled products. I have had that happened to me before and the store willingly gave me the options of refunding my money or replacing the item with a big apology.

Please advise as to if there is any "natural flavoring" contained in the chicken and other meat products? I am unable to find the ingredients listed on the website. While I was searching I found this blog. I want to make my own chicken broth because there are not prepacked ones I have found that I can have. Thank you!

[#9]

Just bought this product . Started slicing it to make for dinner but my hands smelled awful, so I smelled the sauasage.. gross it smells fishy and it was all slimy. Never again. We tossed it out and made something else, what a waste of money. 

[#10]

Hi Dawn, our Open Nature chicken products do not have hormones, any natural flavorings and definitely no MSG. If there are any other specific Open Nature products you would like information on, please feel free to contact Our Corporate Brands Department at 1-888-723-3929 and they will be happy to answer any questions you may have. 

[#11]

We’re sorry to hear that Cyndi! We are always looking for feedback regarding our products. We will be sure to inform our Corporate Brands Department of your comments.

[#12]

I purchased your uncured bacon and was looking forward all day to the beautiful BLT for dinner...vine-ripe tomatoes, hydrophonic butter lettuce, whole grain bread...and pachaged FAT with a sliver of meat on it. Amazing how you managed to package this bacon so only the meat shows. I've NEVER seen such poor quality bacon, and when I pay a premium for "natural bacon" I expect higher quality. I had to cook the entire package (or rather, simmer in the 2 inches of liquid grease it produced) in order to get enough to make the sandwich...still couldn't eat it as there was no flavor other than fat. I am so disappointed. I have pictures and plan to use them!!!

[#13]

Are Open Nature beef and chicken given any steriods at any time?

[#14]

We appreciate your feedback regarding our product BLT. We’re always looking for comments regarding the products we sell and your concerns will be sent to the Corporate Brands Department for further review. If you would like to provide more detail regarding your experience, please contact our Corporate Brands Department at 1-877-723-3929 for additional assistance.

[#15]

Thank you for the inquiry Cathy. The beef and chicken in our Open Nature products are 100% natural, and are never given antibiotics, hormones, or steroids.

[#16]

I have recently come across the Open Nature Brand products in my Save-A-Lot store but they are not selling in anymore.

What other stores can I purchase this brand in the State of Michigan.

[#17]

Thanks for the inquiry Marilyn! Please contact us directly at safewaysocialmedia@safeway.com or 1-888-723-3929 with some additional details, so we may research where these products are available in your area.

[#18]

Does anyone know whether the open nature chicken is fed anything with arsenic in it?  or, are the chickens ever given roxarsone?  Other chicken producers give roxarsone so that the breast meat is pinker, more blood.  Arsenic is a carcenogenic.  I just want to feed my family safe food.  Thank you.

[#19]

Thank you for the inquiry, Betty. The chicken in our Open Nature products are 100% natural, and are never given antibiotics, hormones, arsenic substances or steroids.

[#20]

Does your Open Nature chicken start with antibiotic free chicken eggs, or are your eggs injected with antibiotics like any other chicken egg?  The label states "no added antibiotics".  Does that mean starting from the egg?  Is the chicken feed antibiotic free as well?  Is the chicken feed GMO free as well?  These questions are important to me and my health, so I would really like an answer.  Thank you.

[#21]

Dayhikr, antibiotics are one of the artificial ingredients you will never find in our Open Nature products. For more information, please visit www.Safeway.com, and click on the Open Nature link at the bottom of the page. We hope this helps!

[#22]

I would highly appreciate it if safeway had organic meats in their store. I also would appreciate if the package did not say minimally processed. I want totally non-processed food. Look, I am tired of poisoned food in the grocery store market. All I want is for me and family to endulge in the proper human diet; however, that seems like task in this country.

In every other country, besides some of the european continents, all the food is organic and naturally. In fact, the processed food is more expenisve in other countries. So what is the deal in the U.S. 

Safeway should concern itself less with money  and profits, and more with giving the commmunity healthy foods. There are customers who will spend the extra dollars for truely organic food. Trust me. 

If I feel bad after eating your foods, I will notice, and I will not continue to buy. 

The open nature is very decieving and has ill effects on people. I think totally organic is the way to go, stick to that. Please and thank you. 

TIred of big corporations ruining everything for the dollar. 

[#23]

We appreciate your feedback, Alex. We will be sure to inform our Corporate Brands Team of your comments. We also recommend checking out our O Organics line. Our O Organics products are USDA certified organic with no synthetic pesticides, no genetic modification, no antibiotics and no growth hormones. For further inquiries regarding any of our products, please do not hesitate to contact our Corporate Brands Team directly at 1-888-723-3929 and they will be happy to answer any questions you may have.