St. Francis Herb Farm: A Unique Marriage of Wisdom and Quality
St. Francis Herb Farm: A Unique Marriage of Wisdom and Quality
A Family Business That’s 100% Canadian Owned and Canadian Operated
By: Angela MacNeil, MSc, ND
Issue: October 2011
St. Francis Herb Farm® began as a cottage industry, founded by its present owners, Jeremy and Monique Rivett-Carnac. Drawing on visionary resources of head and heart, the company has been serving the health needs of North Americans with superior products for almost a quarter of a century. In the early days, Jeremy and Monique learned the art of wildcrafting herbs in British Columbia and today, along with their three children and 27 employees, they operate a modern state-of-the-art facility and thriving herbal business in the Upper Ottawa Valley of Eastern Ontario.
In an increasingly hectic world, it is comforting to know that some things never change, especially good things. The staff at St. Francis Herb Farm® are strict believers in the principles and timeless truths of “herbal wisdom”. That is why they have dedicated themselves to providing natural remedies made from the finest quality herbs—herbs carefully harvested and processed in accordance with the practices of sustainable agriculture and fair trade. The primary focus of the company is the wellbeing of individuals utilizing their products and this drives the quest for quality that underlies every aspect of the production process “from the ground up”—from growing and harvesting the herbs to formulation and packaging of the final product. Sourcing of suppliers has always been a paramount concern; it is a key part of the way the company views the whole concept of corporate responsibility. Central to the ethical and philosophical vision of the company is their encouragement of and support for local Canadian organic growers. In this way, St. Francis has successfully stimulated employment and empowered fellow members of their community in the vital arena of prosperity and economic growth.
“Quality—Conscientiously Achieved®” serves as the company motto as St. Francis Herb Farm® recognizes the importance of properly grown and harvested raw herbs as the foundation for a quality finished product. St. Francis’ commitment to quality goes hand-in-hand with their holistic approach to health, harking back to a more traditional view of health and balance in the human body. This crucial concept underlies the second company motto: “Rediscover the Wisdom®”. The company strives to recover and make available some of the perennially valid ways of healing that have been lost or forgotten, while taking into account the latest scientific research and medical findings.
Because St. Francis has always set such a high premium on the excellence and quality of their products, the company has established many of the basic standards for the herbal industry across Canada. In fact, St. Francis was the first Canadian company in the herbal industry to identify its products as being truly “organic” and was one of the first herbal companies to use exclusively certified organic, organically grown, and wildcrafted herbs.
Over the years St. Francis has developed more than 200 products, ranging from single tinctures and combinations to oils, salves, lotions, and creams. The uncompromising quality of each product has helped St. Francis Herb Farm® retain its key role on the industry’s cutting edge. Formulas such as Deep Immune®, EchinaSeal®, HepatoDR® (Milk Thistle Combo), and Laprinol (Cleavers Combo) have been in use for almost two decades. Tried and true, they have withstood the test of time and will certainly remain useful for many more years to come.
Although the company specialized in liquid herbal extracts during its early years, more recently St. Francis has been expanding into the area of encapsulated powdered extracts, in recognition of the contemporary world’s desire for more convenient dosage forms. Modern-day, chronic “busy-ness” has brought with it a host of immune conditions and St. Francis Herb Farm acknowledges this connection by focusing intensely on their immune products, particularly Deep Immune®, which is a superbly crafted combination of traditional Chinese herbs and adaptogens. St. Francis has also been establishing a greater market presence in sports medicine with various topical creams and salves. Of course, true to their roots, St. Francis is continuing to create liquid formulations and hopes to create new formulas in the coming years, as the company matures and management is transitioned to Jeremy and Monique’s eldest son, Paul.
St. Francis Herb Farm Inc. has been a registered GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) manufacturer of quality herbal products since 2006. GMP is a process control quality system mandated by Health Canada that ensures manufacturing processes, documentation, and training result in consistent quality for every product made. In addition, St. Francis is now engaged in obtaining HACCP certification for early 2012. HACCP is an acronym for “hazardous analysis critical control points” and is a systematic, preventative approach to food safety; it is also applicable in the herbal product and pharmaceutical industries. HACCP addresses physical, chemical, and biological hazards in an effort to prevent contamination. By continually improving quality initiatives through GMP and HACCP, St. Francis provides customers with not only high quality herbal products but also uncompromised safety.
St. Francis continues to work diligently with the Natural Health Products Directorate (NHPD), making every effort to mesh its already high standards with those proposed by the agencies of government in the dynamic and growing Canadian natural health products industry. Such measures will ensure that quality continues to be the benchmark by which St. Francis Herb Farm, their manufacturing procedures, and final products are known.
St. Francis continues to set the standard for herbal medicines across Canada - to your good health!