Ceres Organics

Yes. Ceres Organics is a New Zealand company that has been supplying organic food for more than 40 years, and it runs as a social enterprise that puts social and environmental outcomes ahead of profit. Many of its products also carry B Corp certification.

Ceres also distribute other organic brands in New Zealand, including Mitoku miso, Pureharvest soy milk, Oqua coconut water and Hiltona prunes. Those are listed under their own brand names rather than here.

Look for the BioGro logo on the pack. BioGro is New Zealand's main organic certifier, and Ceres Organics products carry certification number 4310.

Certification is audited by a third party and traces the product from the farm to the store. Ceres also ban more than 700 synthetic chemicals and additives across the range and prohibit GE ingredients and processes.

Wherever the crop grows best, and packed in New Zealand where it makes sense. The canned beans and tomatoes are made in Italy, the rice crackers in Thailand, the nori in South Korea, the tamari and miso in Japan, the sauerkraut and gherkins in Germany, and the apple cider vinegar and kelp salt in New Zealand. Each product page lists its origin.

Where a product has several ingredients or several possible sources, Ceres state where it was made and that it uses imported ingredients. They will confirm the exact origin if you give them the batch number from the pack.

Yes. The canned beans, lentils, chickpeas, tomatoes, coconut milk and coconut cream are packed in cans with a BPA-free lining, and the product pages say so under certification.

Because there is nothing in it to stop it. Ceres coconut milk and cream are coconut and water only, with no gums, thickeners or emulsifiers, so the fat rises and can set firm when it is cold.

Shake the can well, or warm it gently and stir. It comes back together and the flavour and quality are unaffected.

Tamari is a Japanese soy sauce made without wheat, so it is gluten free, and Ceres ferment theirs for up to six months in wooden casks. It tastes like a rich, rounded soy sauce.

Coconut aminos is made from fermented coconut blossom sap instead of soy. It is milder and a little sweeter, and it suits anyone avoiding soy, or following a paleo diet. Both work in stir-fries, marinades and dressings.

Unpasteurised miso, like the Ceres brown rice genmai shiro, has not been heat treated, so the ferment is still live. It is best stirred into soup and dressings off the boil.

Pasteurised miso, like the Mitoku shiro, has been heat treated. It keeps well and is happy in a hot pan, which makes it the easier one for glazes and cooked sauces. Both are white miso with a mellow, savoury flavour.

Yes. The rice crackers and rice cakes are made from rice and carry a gluten-free claim.

Vegan is a different question. The rice cakes and the sea salt and black sesame rice crackers are vegan. The brown and black rice crackers are made on equipment that also handles milk, sesame and soy, and Ceres do not list them as vegan, while the sour cream and chive crackers contain milk. Read the allergen line if you are managing an allergy.