Removed Oxygen is a Barrier to Nutrition and Color Loss

For more than 80 years, quality green brands utilized a process that removed oxygen from amber glass bottles. That process requires special metal caps to seal the oxygen-free atmosphere.  This kept green products fresh and vibrant with a bright color.  Today, most companies package in plastic, which allows for the greens to lose value and color.  Only Pines continues using removed oxygen from glass bottles with special metal caps to keep our products vibrant and fresh.

Removing Oxygen from Containers Extends Freshness

We need oxygen.  It is essential for life.  That's because our bodies use it to convert food into energy.  Therefore, oxygen is essential for life.  Even so, when in contact with wheatgrass powder or other highly-pigmented superfoods, nutrients slowly devitalize through oxidation.   That's why removed oxygen keeps our products vibrant.

The Father of Wheatgrass Always Removed Oxygen

By volume, air contains 21% oxygen. That's why highly pigmented superfoods like wheatgrass powder, packaged in containers filled with air, slowly oxidizes.  That means it loses nutrition while in transit, while it sits in a warehouse and while it sits on a store’s shelf.  Over the course of months, oxidation devitalizes and deteriorates some of the most valuable nutrients in a green food. That's why Charles Schnabel and other scientists removed the oxygen from the glass bottles sent to doctors and hospitals in the 1930s and 1940s.  Authors such as Ann Wigmore praised their research in her books. For website one- fixed right You can see the difference in these pictures of "green" foods in plastic compared to Pines oxygen-free glass bottles The effect of oxidation on wheatgrass and other highly pigmented superfoods was a great concern for Dr. Charles Schnabel. That’s why in 1937, Dr. Schnabel packaged his wheatgrass powder in amber glass bottles with specially-designed metal caps. That packaging allowed Dr. Schnabel to remove the air from each bottle and replace the air with nitrogen.  The result was a body of research that inspired Ann Wigmore and other authors. Because of his work, Steve Meyerowitz called Schnabel called “the father of wheatgrass” in his dedication to "Wheatgrass: Nature’s Finest Medicine."

How Do We Do It?

Quality green superfood companies have used Dr. Schnabel’s standards since 1937.  That's why in the 40 years since established in 1976, Pines removes oxygen to follow Dr. Schnabel’s packaging standards. We also follow his growing and harvesting standards. nitro 1 First, we put the filled bottles with the special metal caps into a vacuum chamber with the caps not quite screwed down tightly. nitro 2 After we fill the vacuum chamber with bottles, we tightly seal the metal caps. Then, a vacuum pump removes nearly all the air from the chamber, including the air inside each bottle. The air normally contains 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen. We replace it with >98% nitrogen and <2% oxygen.  That means the bottles are essentially "oxygen free." Nitro 3 After that, we remove the bottles from the chamber with the nitrogen atmosphere in the bottles.  The pressure in the bottles is the same as the surrounding air.  As a result, the nitrogen stays in the bottle long enough to go through a cap tightening machine to tightly screw down the metal caps.  The special seal inside each cap prevents the outside air and humidity from ever entering the bottle. After you bring the bottle home and open it, the tight fitting seal helps to keep the product fresh between uses. Thus, when you open any bottle from Pines, the contents remain as fresh as the day as when packaged. That's because of the oxygen-free protection, the glass bottles and the special metal caps.

Pines' Green Superfoods are Organic and Non GMO

All Pines' products are Certified Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, gluten free and Kosher. They are available at leading natural food stores or direct through our shopping cart. novelist