About Us

A brief history of Gold Mine….

Out of a dream for “right livelihood” and a desire to spread the word about the healing powers of good food, Gold Mine was started in 1985 on a $300 loan. We began as a small family business in a gold mining town in the mountains, but we quickly outgrew our cabin and moved the business to San Diego.

By distributing traditional macrobiotic foods and hard-to-find organic, heirloom quality grains, beans, and seeds, we developed a network of friends and local businesses that were eager to obtain these high quality products.

In 1988, we published our first national mail order catalog, which brought us to a wider audience, but immediately got us into hot water with the F.D.A. We had naively made reference to “oriental folklore,” claiming that “adzuki beans are said to be healing to [certain organs].” So the FDA “busted” us for selling an “unapproved new drug” and “practicing medicine without a license.” They embargoed our adzuki beans and threatened to padlock our doors. That hard but valuable lesson has stayed with us. Since then, we’ve been more careful in our choice of words – careful as we are in the selection of our products.

By the early 1990’s, many of our Ohsawa® products were in available in natural food stores throughout the country. Ohsawa® Organic Nama® Shoyu quickly became our #1 bestseller – and remains so to this day.

From the very beginning, we had always offered our own handcrafted organic, raw sauerkraut. But when the raw food movement took off a few years ago, even more people became aware of the health benefits of freshly made, naturally fermented sauerkraut. Now, it’s our #2 bestseller!

Today, many Ohsawa® brand and Gold Mine™ brand products are available in stores around the country. If you would like your favorite natural food store to carry our products, please ask them to contact us, or send us an email and we will be happy to contact them.

About Jean Richardson, Founder & Owner
My early awareness of health was sparked as a young teen watching family members succumb to cancer and vowing to find “a cure.” The light bulb got turned on when the news broke in 1969 that there were carcinogens in our Kool Aid. (Remember cyclamates?) Since then, I have pursued my lifelong dream of learning about the healing power of food and of helping myself and others get well and stay well, using food as medicine. I experienced a gradual awakening to food consciousness that has taken me over the years from crunchy granola and homemade whole wheat bread to juice fasting, raw foods and beyond. I have been practicing Macrobiotics, sometimes less than perfectly, since 1976. This quest has led me on a mission to find and assemble some of the most valuable healing foods from around the world. In 1985, as I was starting my family and expecting my first child, I founded Gold Mine with the intention of sharing the healing power of food with an ever widening community of like-minded friends. Since then, I have been grateful for the opportunity to share this dream of good health and these precious foods with you.

Here’s to your eating enjoyment and good health!

Jean Richardson
Founder and Owner

Enjoy the Best There Is: Ohsawa®
Founded by George and Lima Ohsawa more than 50 years ago, Ohsawa® brand products are recognized as the standard of excellence in traditional macrobiotic Japanese foods. The macrobiotic diet is based on the use of whole cereal grains, beans, fresh local vegetables and fruits, sea vegetables, and other whole, natural foods. It is low in fat and cholesterol, and high in complex carbohydrates and fiber. Essentially, it’s the kind of healthy diet that’s recommended by many health professionals today.

Ohsawa® brand products are grown and processed without the use of chemicals, artificial fertilizers or pesticides. Only the best-quality ingredients and careful hand labor using traditional methods are used to make Ohsawa® brand products. Most of the Ohsawa® brand suppliers are small, family-run businesses that have been producing top-quality products in traditional, natural ways for many generations.

Gold Mine Natural Food Company is the exclusive importer of Ohsawa® brand products. Ohsawa® is a federally registered trademark of Gold Mine Natural Food Company.

Our Pledge

Our job is to make sure you get the good food you need to get and stay healthy. We are committed to providing you with exceptional products and service. Your satisfaction is guaranteed!

We never have and never will knowingly sell foods that contain or are derived from genetically engineered ingredients (GMO’s or GEO’s), irradiated foods, or foods that contain pesticides, chemical additives, colorings, preservatives, artificial ingredients, trans-fats, refined oils, flours or sweeteners.

Heirloom Quality™ Varieties Mean Superior Taste and Nutrition
Gold Mine specializes in the highest quality heirloom varieties of organically grown grains, beans and seeds. Heirloom varieties are traditional varieties that have been grown for many generations, without hybridizations of the strain or genetic alterations.

In today’s “rush” to get more fiber and whole grains into their diet, many consumers are seeking nutritional satisfaction from an ever-expanding array of hybridized or genetically engineered commercial foods. Unfortunately, these synthetic “foods” inevitably leave consumers feeling empty and incomplete because the food itself is lacking. Many times these products are produced from genetically altered seed that is grown in depleted, chemically contaminated soil, and then processed until they’re almost completely devoid of nutrition. No wonder people are always looking for something else to munch on. At the cellular level, they can’t get any satisfaction!

At Gold Mine, we know how essential it is for people to eat a variety of whole foods, whose nutritional value hasn’t been engineered away. Eating a variety of heirloom foods provides more biodiversity in one’s diet – more essential trace nutrients in their natural state. By supporting the farmers who provide us with these exceptional heirloom products, you help preserve this diversity for future generations.

Many products on our website are designated as “Heirloom Quality™.”

“Certified Organic” Means Quality You Can Trust
Gold Mine Natural Food Company is independently 3rd party certified as an Organic Producer by Organic Certifiers and meets or exceeds the standards of the US Department of Agriculture National Organic Program (USDA NOP). These standards require growers to abstain from the application of prohibited materials, including synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for 3 years prior to certification and throughout the certification period. Additionally, organic food handlers avoid contamination during the processing of organic products. Genetically modified organisms and irradiation are strictly prohibited. Organic farmers employ positive soil building, conservation and crop rotation practices. Organic products grown in healthier soil contain higher levels of nutrients, and taste better than their conventional counterparts. In addition to the tremendous health benefits, people choose organic foods as a way of supporting responsible business, strong communities, and local farms, while protecting the natural environment.

Kosher
Many products offered by Gold Mine, including our own Organic Raw Sauerkraut, are certified kosher by KOF-K KOSHER SUPERVISION, an organization of Orthodox rabbis involved in an international program of kosher certification. The KOF-K emblem is a registered trademark of KOF-K KOSHER SUPERVISION. This symbol guarantees the product meets the highest standards of kosher certification.