I will have to try looking for this brand re sesame seeds. The last bags I got from an ethnic market were definitely stale, so thanks for the tip about It's Delish!

I bought sesame seeds at a Syrian/Lebanese market on Venice Blvd across the street from Culver Center, and they were very fresh, but I store them in the freezer. They have a very high turnover in this market because everything is so reasonably priced. This is also where I buy basmati rice in 10 pound bags. They have a lot of Indian items, and there are some other Indian markets in this neighborhood.

Thank you for the tip on the freshness of this brand. I'll have to give it a try.

I think you got lucky. Horrendous reviews. They make a bunch of junk in a warehouse. Hardly a local sweet company. Basically a transfer station for stuff from China. And not at all transparent. Use the word 'gourmet' over and over but not much on sourcing and ingredients. Waxy cheap chocolates. Junk candy.

And over-priced. Bob'sRedMill is under 5$ for a pound raw for sesame seed. MRH is 9$ for an organic pound sourced FairTrade company.

Sesame seed is the most re-called seed the past ten years. World wide issue. Best to buy organic fresh raw and toast your own. Takes a passive 10 minutes back burner. Keep in the fridge/freezer for freshness.

I call BS. It is hard enough to source honesty/transarency...but that is off the charts.

Interesting. I've used their products for years and what I've had has always been good. I wouldn't know about the candy, but kosher chocolates are rarely good. I don't know why. As to the rest, thank-you for pointing it out.

Anything that's certified kosher, especially by OU, is going to cost more (whole individual foods, like the currants, sesame seeds and pistachios don't require certification--they're kosher by nature--but people like to be reassured, and you do pay for the rabbinic imprimatur). I tried just now to find all the bad reviews, but only found a few compared to many positive, so thank-you even more, Sleevendog, for pointing them out and the downsides. I don't want to mislead anybody. I was just really thrilled to find just how fresh the pistachios were, especially, because they stale so easily. They are a Southern California company, so local to me.

We also buy pistachios at West L.A. International Market on Venice Blvd. I especially like this market because it often has fresh fava beans.

I used to shop at Elat Market on Pico Blvd when I lived in Culver City, but now it is a bit further than I want do go, since I can go to other markets in Palms that I like better.

I've been buying in bulk for many years now. I buy organic whole raw sesame seeds from local natural foods/bulk foods stores for around $3.50/#, hulled seeds cost slightly more.

I got some ”tomato flakes” from It's Delish. Also super fresh. They're dried tomato pieces, but slightly chewy dry, bot rock hard. They have the intense tomato flavor one expects of dried tomatos, but not to the extreme of whole sundried tomatoes. More like tomato paste with texture. They also have tomato powder, which used to be a CF favorite.

I will be endlessly shocked and surprised that an intelligent consumer is clueless about organic and fair trade purchasing. It exists. Support it. The only way we can zero out the fakes is to not support them. I do not want chemicals/pesticides in my spices. Pesticides have no taste/flavor. But are in your foods/spices.

My MIL, an intellengent author of a dozen books, sipped the Penzy cool-aid 30 years ago. Addicted to the lagniappe. The mini freebies. That are already charged in the over-priced spices to begin with. She has 30 years of tid-bit spices. Who pays for all the cute mall stores. The consumer. Such a rip-off. My BIL finally said to stop sending us the salt-lick tiny gift boxes. Over-priced and horrid. Research and support good companies.

Interesting what you say about Penzy's I use to LOVE to go to their original store on Old World 3rd Street in Milwaukee, WI with the big bins and barrels of incredibly fresh spices ready for you to scoop what you wanted into a paper bag. In later years I went to the store in Santa Monica, CA and was sooooo disappointed. I don't think I've ordered much from them since.

I've discovered new, better sources from so many of you right here at the Cooking Forum.

Such bitterness and scorn is unnecessary. I like the quality and freshness. I like the purity. I support your right not to, but let’s be civil. About 90% of the food I buy is organic, which I choose for sustainabiliy, but I'm not rabid about it. Quality and variety come first. If you have better sources for similar quality, please post them.

ordered a bag of sea salt pumpkin seeds. got here in no time. pleased.

And then i saw the best if used by sept. 1, 2021 date on it ...

i emailed the company ... but don't expect a reply

You're sure it's not the date it was packaged?

I have posted about researched transparency for eons.

Especially sesame products. They seem to be the most recalled product on the spice isle. (i know it is not a spice but is often found there). I have posted once, sometimes twice a year. Two more investigations recently but mostly affecting europe and canada for now.

And what to look for. Buy raw seed, from a trusted source, organic, and toast at home---low and slow to kill off bacteria. Make your own tahini and humus. Commercial tahini and humus are endlessly recalled.

The investigation now is the chemical ethylene oxide. Ethylene oxide was used to inhibit the growth of Salmonella during the storage of sesame seeds in India.

High-level contamination
In September, very high levels of ethylene oxide were notified through RASFF in certain batches of sesame seeds originating in or sent from India and having entered the EU. Those results exceed more than 1,000 times the maximum residue limit (MRL) of 0.05 milligrams per kilogram for ethylene oxide set by regulation. Ethylene oxide is also not approved as an active substance for use in plant protection products.---HERE

Thanks for the sesame info, but, as I said, I already had the sesame seeds, which I bought at the grocery store. I only posted it for a picture of the label. I don't read all threads, so before this I hadn't seen all the repetitions of your sesame posts, and if I saw it once or twice, I didn't internalize it. I wish I'd posted a parsley picture instead. I go through a lot of their dried parsley.

What I was talking about in my top post was that I got 1 pound packages of **currants** and **pistachios** which I posted about because they were remarkably fresh. Not just fresh, but much moreso than I was used to from other sources, and much much better than what has been available through regular grocery delivery. Then I got a pound of **tomato flakes**, which were also remarkably fresh, and I haven't seen those from other sources.

Do you have better sources for those?

"What I was talking about in my top post was that I got 1 pound packages of **currants** and **pistachios** which I posted about because they were remarkably fresh. Not just fresh, but much moreso than I was used to from other sources, and much much better than what has been available through regular grocery delivery. Then I got a pound of **tomato flakes**, which were also remarkably fresh, and I haven't seen those from other sources."

^^^Then stick with that if it pleases you.

My sourcing goes back over ten year bouncing back and forth with Grainlady.

I stopped posting organic sources a while ago being stalked or maybe a 'certain' supplier kept flagging my sources. (many of my sourcing posts have been flagged)

If you are happy with your purchases no big deal. I feel obligated to inform, for those that care, about transparency, organic, and fair trade.

I can't post names but a no brainer....MRH organic fair trade 3 bucks for 4 ounces, 'P' 3.6 ounces for 7.49.....

I have a desktop file of heavily researched producers----waste of time to post if someone keeps flagging....

Wow! I'm sorry that happened to you!