Unique soil gives family’s organic garlic an extra kick

University tests showed there is something unique about Bay Organic’s aromatic line of products

By Courtney Denard, Ontario Farmer

Bay Organics is Canada’s only producer and processor of gourmet organic garlic making it an innovative business that offers a truly unique product.

David and Lynn Freeman, who own and operate the farm, say they never really planned on getting into the garlic business, it sort of just happened.

The Freeman’s moved to Meaford in 1986 leaving their city life in Mississauga behind.  David worked full time as an Organic Tree Arbourist planting and growing trees in a natural way.  The couple started a family and enjoyed their new life on the farm. 

Over the years, David and Lynn dabbled in garlic growing but really only produced enough for the family to enjoy.  In 2000 that changed.

“Friends and neighbours were always commenting on how good our garlic tasted so that got me thinking,” David says.

The Freeman’s took the garlic to Dr. Chung-ja Choi Jackson, a researcher at the University of Guelph’s Centre for Functional Foods, to have it tested. David knew that garlic produced a strong medicinal compound known as allicin but he wanted to know how much of it his garlic contained.  The results were more than expected.

“Dr. Jackson told us that thanks to the heavy mineral and clay content in our soil, our garlic had the highest level of allicin than any other plant she had tested in 20 years,” says Lynn.

The test results confirmed that the Freeman’s had a niche product.

The following season saw more research with the University of Guelph completed.  The Freeman’s wanted to know if there was any way to naturally maintain an even higher level of allicin in their garlic. They found out that freeze drying the garlic worked best as it retained about 80 per cent of the plant’s natural allicin content.

The next step was to take things to a larger scale. Because there were no other farms in Canada freeze drying garlic, the Freeman’s travelled to the U.S. for more information and to gather construction ideas.

Eventually a plan was developed and work began on building an industrial sized, pharmaceutical grade freeze dryer and processing factory on the farm.

Today, the farm processes about 160,000 pounds of garlic per year making a cutting edge freeze-dried dehydrated garlic product.

The organically grown garlic is picked from the field and immediately hung to dry for three to four weeks.  David says hanging the garlic is more beneficial than placing it in a box where it can lose 25 per cent of its natural strength.

After it’s hung, the garlic is cut, cleaned and stored in garlic bins and transported into the factory for processing.  The bins are placed in a hopper, which feeds the materials into the cracker where the garlic bulbs are separated into cloves.

The cloves are then moved down a conveyor belt into the blanching tank where they’re covered in water and hydrogen peroxide to kill off any bacteria. At this point, the garlic is dropped onto garlic trays where it is chopped.

Next, the garlic moves through the -80˚Celsius freeze funnel for a fast freeze. This is an extremely important part of the process because it recovers any allicin that may have been lost and seals it in. 

After the fast freeze, there’s still more freezing to do. The garlic is placed in a walk-in freezer that is -40˚Celsius until it is ready to go in the actual freeze dryer.

The freeze drying process takes 24 hours and it works by repeatedly heating and ­freezing the garlic at extreme temperatures. This removes all of the moisture and the garlic ends up looking like a crisp wafer.

In the final stage of the process, the wafer like garlic is put through a rough grinder and then moved up an auger to a pin grinder where it is turned into a fine smooth powder. The finished product is then ready for packaging.

“It took about a year to get the factory together. Since there are no other operations like this in Canada we really just took the ideas right out of our heads,” says David.

Although, overall, things have run pretty smoothly for the Freeman’s, Lynn says there have certainly been some challenges along the way. 

Building the factory was a huge investment. Finding someone to ship the product hasn’t been easy either.  Running a ­full-time farm is a lot of work especially when you’re starting a new venture.

To ease some of the workload, the Freeman’s three sons Ryan, Luke and Arthur all work full-time on the farm.  Off-shore workers from Jamaica work on the farm ­during the busy season too.

Marketing their product is the next big step for Bay Organics.

“We just got the website up so we’re really happy about that,” says Lynn.  “We want people to become familiar with who we are and what makes our product special.”

One of the most important messages the Freeman’s want people to know is that their garlic is 100 per cent certified organic and all natural.  The farm places a strong emphasis on sustainable farming and believes what you put into the ground is just as important as what you take out.

Bay Organics’ target market includes both people and animals. Their freeze dried garlic can be used to enhance a delicious meal or to supplement livestock feed.

“Because garlic is an immune system supporter, it’s a valuable additive to any diet- human or animal.  And because it is freeze dried, it’s just like eating fresh garlic, you’re getting all of the minerals and nutrients,” says David.

The farm has completed years of research with the University of Guelph to determine the garlic’s health benefits on animals. Anecdotal results have shown that beef cattle eating a ration supplemented with the garlic powder had higher pregnancy rates and lower levels of parasites. Horses fed the freeze-dried garlic had a fewer respiratory problems.

For the dinner table, Bay Organics has created three spices, along with gourmet garlic powder and garlic scape powder.

“The key is not to cook our freeze-dried garlic, heating it will take away its healthy qualities,” Lynn says.

All of the Freeman’s hard work was recognized in 2007 when they were honoured with the Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence, an award handed out annually to innovative leaders and stakeholders in the agriculture and food industry.

Bay Organics’ freeze-dried garlic powder can be ordered online at www.cheforganics.com, picked up right at the Freeman’s farm in Meaford or at Spice Trader in Toronto.


This article initially appeared in the September 14, 2010 issue of Ontario Farmer. OACC thanks Ontario Farmer for permission to post this article.


Posted September 2010