Saturday

Clean Meat Orders

Discerning customers of Co-op Stop Australia have requested clean meat supply. As the agricultural industry standards of Australia slip into the same damaging and intentional direction as our medical system, we needmore options.

Our farmers have regenerative or biodynamic land practices. Creating strong and healthy animals without the need for chemical inputs, even industry basics such as drenching for ticks. 

The quality is incredible! No junk, just beautifully tasting high quality meat. Cryovacced, labelled and delivered to the Upper Northern Suburbs of Sydney. 

There are limited spaces available in our periodic orders so please email us if you are serious about ordering and are willing to collect on  Thursday evening from Hornsby shire. 

Contact us for an info sheet written all the details.

Co.opstopaustralia@gmail.com

Wednesday


18 years of Co-op Stop Australia!

2022 also marks a renewed interest in Self Reliance in the community. Emergency Prep classes are now available*


Thank you to all the continued support and volunteer service over the years - keeping affordable health food available for our communities.

Not to mention the many private co-op groups around the state, Thank you to our current and previous co-op managers for all your hard work and dedication:

Kerry Watson – Newcastle/Hunter 

Emma Watts - Newcastle
emmalouwatts@hotmail.com

Amber Cardozo – Central Coast
pulsecoop@gmail.com

Suzi Perryman – Upper North Shore
co.opstopaustralia@gmail.com

Amanda Varley – Blue Mountains
coop.nepeanbluemountains@gmail.com

Laura Jacobsen – Hills Shire
laura@jaredjacobsen.com

Tammy Lyne – Blacktown
blayneycoopstop@gmail.com

Heather - Liverpool 

Sarah - Southern Highlands x2


QLD

Sally Smith – South Brisbane
co.opstopbrisbance@gmail.com



Over time, orders, products and requirements have changed. Some of these have been: 

Organic Health foods
Honey – raw and pesticide free
Eco friendly Norwex products
Organic Artisan Soap
Water storage barrels
Nutrient dense free range eggs
Patritti juices

Who Gives a Crap - recycled toilet paper
Organic meat orders - whole lamb and chicken
Pesticide free beef

Wholesale Goods


*email co.opstopaustralia@gmail.com for more information on emergency prep classes in your area.

Friday

Bulk Raw Honey Orders


We've been getting plenty of requests for bulk honey, so lets go!


15 kilo tubs that you can use and store or split into jars etc. We don't recommend putting a tap on your bucket as our honey is raw and will thicken and candy.
Honey never goes out of date! If you can pick up from the Sydney or Central Coast region then you are welcome to purchase. Prices haven't dropped as we'd hoped :( but on the up side they're still HEAPS cheaper than anywhere else!

I do ensure each batch/type of honey is tasted to make sure it's up to scratch. I do ask you your preference JUST IN CASE we get a choice but it's not always an option.

Message me or email at co.opstopaustralia@gmail.com and include whether your favourite is
light and mild, busy and floral or strong and hits the back of your throat. :)

(Always read the conditions of membership on our blog before ordering. There will be no assistance in lifting your honey tubs, you must bring muscles with you!).






TIPS TO MAKE SURE YOU BUY THE  *RIGHT*  HONEY:

1. Ask when the honey was extracted. If they  don't know, or can't remember, chances are it's old - which is fine if it's candied or creamed, but not if it's runny! They could have been heated at high temps to make it runny for sale. Honey usually starts to thicken and candy within 3 months, sooner in winter. So if the seller says it will stay runny - those are your alarm bells!

2. Ask how it's been filtered. If the honey has been cold filtered (or heated to 45C which is classed as raw) the enzymes are still in tact and the honey will candy over time.

3. Ask where the honey was harvested from. If it's "local" honey in a suburban area there's more likelihood of it being contaminated slightly with petrol fumes from wayside flowers etc. Although, if you're taking honey to combat hayfever, then this might be best option to help combat that - local pollen for local honey.

In some cases you may come across honey from a ground crop farming area.  You will know when your honey has been "finished off" or bulked up by feeding the bees on Canola flowers, because you'll find the honey will candy super hard and fast! The granules will be super fine and pale. This is NOT good quality honey. Yes, it will store for a long time, but your chances of having pesticide residue is quite high. Canola also takes on the flavour of bush honey quite easily, so it's a trick to start the bees on Yellow Box (high quality low GI honey) and then for the rest of the season fed them on Canola/farming areas. Always ask for BUSH HONEY!

4. Ask what they use to stop beetles from damaging the hive. If they are a commercial beekeeper, surprisingly they're more likely NOT to use chemical strips or cartridges.
Using a chux cloth at the base of the hive has worked in the past as it tangles the beetle's legs and they can't escape or get up to the honeycomb.
However, beetle conditions have been worsening in the past few years and chux often isn't enough. Pesticide cartridges containing a milk poison, act as a trap that attract the beetles. They fall in and can't get out. No pesticide touches the bees or is exposed to the hive. However, Co-op Stop Australia aim to provide honey from only hives that have used chux to claim as close to Organic as possible.

DO NOT buy honey that has had pesticide STRIPS in the hive. These do have contact with the bees and the honey and are not safe.

5. Beware of honey that has been boiled, it will be super runny, darker in colour (as the sugars caramelise) and has no enzymes so will never candy. Sometimes a beekeeper will boil the honey so it looks fresh and runny which is appealing to retail customers.
It is totally fine to slowly re-warm honey, as long as the temperate never exceeds 45C. The more you do this, the stronger the flavour will be and darker the colour. Note: some honey that is super fresh is still dark, depending on the type of flowers the bees fed on.
A honey supplier may warm candied honey in a large freezer with light bulbs installed to heat up the buckets (raised off the floor with more lights underneath). This takes a few days and it fine.
At home, it's always best to put a jar in the sun and turn periodically, or immerse the jar in tap hot water. Never microwave your honey if you want to retain the "raw" status.
Keep in mind, a re-warmed honey will candy faster than fresh honey.

* If you have any more questions, please contact me at co.opstopaustralia@gmail.com 



Saturday

Signs of Spoilage



It's Summer - Watch out for spoilage!  
Regardless of where you buy your food, the warm conditions in summer usually bring some sort of spoilage.  I'm talking moths and weevils!

If you are unable to store them adequately (read below) then it may be more practical to buy those items in smaller amounts or split large bags with friends. This way you'll be eating what you need within the month and have less likelihood for spoilage.

However, if you do have a large fridge, freezer of any kind or access to oxygen absorbers, things will be a little easier.


Here are the most common culprits and the signs:


MEAL MOTHS - Small, slim grey moths. You may find adult moths flying out of your container, munching evidence, tiny white grubs, webbing (any grains that look like they're sticking together when you roll the container around to look).

Treatment - Prevent them! Wipe down shelves with hot water. I use a wet Norwex cloth to make sure I'm picking up all the unseen bits and pieces.  Ensure all food is stored in air-tight containers before returning to the cupboard. Even gaps of 3mm can enable them to wiggle through and lay eggs. NEVER keep opened packets or bags of food in your cupboard. ALWAYS keep in air tight containers. Some say freezing packets kills the eggs. I haven't seen any evidence to support this.


WEEVILS
- Little black insects that eat their way out of your grain and other foods. Like moth larvae, they will already be in some foods before waiting for the best conditions to hatch.
Signs of weevils are if your grain feels dusty, you see holes or damage to your food, or you see the insects inside the container. Another method of finding weevil eggs is to immerse them in water. If they float to the surface, it is a good indication of egg infestation (for heavy grain like wheat or rice).

Treatment
- It depends how you feel.. Some people are fine to just pick them out and keep going (like us with popcorn, we stick it in the machine and the weevils always shoot out first so we get rid of them before the corn comes out! haha).
Others freak out and want to chuck the entire bag of food.Chooks will be happy in this case.

The Bad and the Good News:
The  bad news is, most of the dry whole foods that we eat, whether they are organic or conventional, Australian grown or imported, area already infested with eggs. They always have been! I worked at Sanitarium some time ago and one of the managers there told me just that. It's all just a matter of time.

The good news is, they only come out when conditions are suitable for them. So we have a good chance of preventing an out break or suffocating the bugs, depending on which storage method we use.
 So, we know that if we keep them stored in airtight containers, in a cool dry place we will have better luck than leaving them in a warm hutch with clear container. 
My own personal methods of food preservation vary from the scientifically proven, personally proven, and "seem good for now".


Scientifically proven - Foil pouches with oxygen absorbers (long term) or airtight containers with oxygen absorbers (shorter term). Oxygen absorbers are a once only use item. If you're using jars, tubs, buckets with lids etc you will have about 10mins to stick them in all of your buckets etc before closing the lid. Once spent they feel rusty, crunchy and hard inside. Seal them quickly in a small airtight container or seal up in a vacuum sealer bag to save for later use.
The wonderful, wonderful benefit of doing it this way with oxy abs are that they suffocate the bugs and eggs killing - without the use of chemicals or fuss all living creatures inside the pack. It does not effect the sprouting capabilities of the grains. I've successfully sprouted wheat that has been stored in a foil pouch with oxy ab for over 6 years.

Personally Proven - I freeze whatever nuts and seeds I can. I only have a small freezer above my fridge but still manage to get a big tub of almonds (2.5kg) and all of my alfalfa, sunflower and sesame seeds in there. I can scoop them out as needed. I do still have all the other gaff in there, it's not all seeds and nuts! Plenty of room left :) I keep half of the almonds out in my cupboard as I'll use them over the next couple of months. The container feels cool when I get it out, so I know the spot is a good one. Never had any troubles with that.
Store them DOWN, not up. Storing at the top of a cupboard is the warmest place and more likely to encourage outbreaks.

I feel that the freezer is ok to store them in while they're waiting to be the "using now" container. BUT I don't believe that freezing them in a home freezer for a week is long enough or cold enough to kill eggs or larvae. The world has winters! These bugs survive. If you want to go that extra mile, try asking a mate who has a commercial freezer and leave the goods in there for a week, or even two. You'll have better chance than a home freezer that's for sure.


(not my freezer.. too organised)
"Good for now" (until something bad happens) - 4 years ago when I was about to pop with child number two, I had a stack of rolled oats that I was too tired to foil pack away. I bagged them up in 2 kilo amounts, put a few unpeeled cloves of garlic and bay leafs in there and layered a bucket with an airtight lid.
A few years later, I found the buckets and there were no sign of bugs, outbreaks or infestations.

Now hang on!!
This doesn't really mean as much for rolled or quick oats as they're cooked. Steam is used to roll oats and quick oats are even further steamed and processed. So they are less likely to have live eggs in them anyway - unless they got inside from somewhere else while in your house.
BUT I've tried this method recently with some of that gorgeous biodynamic rain fed brown rice we buy. The stuff packed in buckets in a cool spot in the laundry, with garlic cloves is fine. The box on my kitchen bench is a festy weevil party in a box. I know, I know, other factors at play there. This is why it's under "good for now". :)


OTHER SOLUTIONS for items with less than 10% oil/moisture content - I have two, 1. Keep higher risk items in the freezer until ready to use (Organic nuts/seeds, whole grains, polenta etc) 2. Store in air tight containers (or foil pouches for longer term storage) with oxygen absorbers - for those items you're not using every day. The open packet/box, use from the freezer if you can.

HERE is a list of some basic safe foods, scroll down for a list of non-safe foods for anaerobic conditions (without oxygen). Please note, Quinoa, nuts, dried fruit, brown rice, pearled barley and millet are NOT suitable for use with oxygen absorbers.

(This woman is probably thrilled that she's foil pouched her legumes and can fit all of her brown rice, nuts and meal time left overs in the freezer!)



*This is a guide, buy product and store it at your own risk.

Packing in Foil Pouches

Avoid spoilage by packing goods for long term storage.

When a bulk order arrives, some co-ops offer a packing date so that those interested can store their goods (less than 10% moisture or oil content) in foil pouches for the long term.

On these packing dates you're very welcome to bring other items that you need to pack i.e. items that were on special from the supermarket - rice, pasta, sugar or old food storage that has been stored in buckets.

You will be taught and encouraged to seal your own (we all help measure and fill the bags). In foil pouches with oxygen absorbers. This allows items like grain, pasta and rolled oats to last up to 30years. PLUS the bonus that any weevils, moths or other insects will not be able to survive.


FOIL POUCHES and OXYGEN ABSORBERS are available by mail order at cost price from the LDS church. You do NOT have to be a member to order these products or use the sealing machine. Contact us if you are interested in using this facility would like a paid instruction class on this co.opstopaustralia@gmail.com.

In most areas, one or more people have shared the price of the foil pouches so others purchase the amount they need on the day. However, I would encourage everyone to buy their own pack of oxygen absorbers for future use (or if you need to re-do a couple the next time).

Once sealed, lie the packets on the floor and flatten them as much as possible. They'll suck in slightly as they're left over night as the oxygen absorber works and then they'll be easier to store flat or upright in storage containers.

Storage boxes are necessary as the foil pouches are not rodent proof.

This pic has 9 pouches of flour in each tub to go in the garage or under our bed. That's almost 50kilos of flour just in these two tubs (which is 9 months flour storage for two adults in total)
















The 'under the bed' tubs below are all full of wheat, wheat is so much heavier so only store a few pouches in smaller tubs so you can move them without getting a hernia!
It's a lot easier to move house when they're already in boxes.










Items not suitable for foil pouch storage are those with over 10% moisture (scroll down the page to find it).


Co-op Bulk Buy

My family have been following a church self reliance programme since the 70's that outlined the importance of exercise, health, education, finance, growing food (plants and animals) and stockpiling for hard times, now and in the future.

When I met a lady ordering for herself and her family from an organic mill, this seemed a no brainer for me! So I asked for the name of her supplier, and thus started the  "LDS Women's Co-op".

It quickly became open to the community as I realized how many other people wanted excellent quality health food without the extortionate retail prices - which was so hard to get.  Regardless of their reasons, back ground, beliefs or family size, I wanted EVERYONE to benefit from these bulk buys. So we became Co-op Stop Australia.

Our Mission
  •  To allow everyone in the community to have easier access to nutrient dense, high quality food.  
  • To close the affordability gap of high quality, high end/niche organic retail prices and budget friendly food.
  • To help educate and empower others to improve their own quality of life, to not get fooled by "health" fads, shops or hype, by providing transparent processes and honest research.
  • To teach short and long term food storage methods.
     * We do not offer health advice, please consult your own discretion before using recommended foods/products. Always seek medical advice  before using any conventional or complimentary medicines.

SO! If you're interested in soft prepping or sensible stockpiling and buying goods at wholesale prices for your family - get on board!

Co-op Stop is a group bulk buying scheme, we welcome other community groups. Please note the conditions at the bottom of this blog. Failure to comply with these conditions may terminate your membership.

Suppliers and products differ as to which Co-op area you're in. We endeavor to support Australian growers and local businesses where possible and reduce delivery costs etc.
Here's an example of some items we order:

Suppliers:
*From a health food wholesaler, we order things like nuts, dried fruit, milk alternatives, natural sweetners, rolled oats, lentils, chickpeas, popping corn, kidney beans, cous cous, milk alternatives, coconut sugar, teas etc.

*Hand made soaps
*Water tubs (220 litre/44 gallon)
*Organic raw bush honey (seasonal)
*Natural and safe skin /personal care products
*Who Gives a Crap - loo roll
*Toys at below retail
*Organic/pesticide free meat



Orders:
Emails are sent out to the co-op members notifying of the next purchase and payment close date, plus any special offers etc.
When you send your order in an email, we'll reply with the total cost and bank details for you to transfer or direct deposit the amount into before the specified close date.

You will be emailed again when the goods are ready to pick up and you must collect within 2 days unless other arrangements have been made with the person accepting the delivery.


JOINING FEE: There isn't one! As areas get bigger, more co-ops open and managers assigned.
Handling, or a 10% percent fee may be charged to cover the manager's own costs of administration, picking and packing.

From YOU: There isn't really much expected, other than to be courteous, abide by the conditions of membership and you may be asked to pick up a friend's order if you're able.  If you are able to lend a hand at some point, please let us know.

EMAIL me at co.opstopaustralia@gmail.com to join your local co-op distribution list.

* By joining the co-op you agree to the info and conditions given at the bottom of the blog. Breaching of these conditions will cancel your membership.