Our Journey

For the past 100 years, we at Columbus have pursued our passion for craft meats with a stubborn commitment to high-quality ingredients and authentic aging and cooking processes. But we never stop asking ourselves, “How can we improve our products?” In this pursuit, we have begun transitioning to antibiotic-free meat while also simplifying our ingredient statements.

Transitioning to Antibiotic-Free Meat:
The widespread use of antibiotics in livestock has caused an increase in drug-resistant bacteria which threatens public health. As a result we have decided to transition our products to antibiotic-free (ABF) meat. While this increases costs, we feel it’s the right thing to do. And unlike large food manufacturers, we aren’t promising to make this change over the next 10 years. We have already started this conversion and will be substantially transitioned by the end of 2018.

You can already find our ABF turkey and chicken products in select regions of Costco, and many of our artisan salami already use ABF pork. In the fall 2016, we also launched a line of ABF sliced deli meat that includes turkey, ham, chicken, roast beef and pastrami. Find it in the deli section of your grocery.

Simplifying Our Ingredients:

We also recognize that you are looking for simpler ingredients in your food. So we have begun the process of shifting to more natural ingredients across our entire line of products. We have already begun eliminating sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate from our products in favor of more natural preservatives. You’ll find some of these deli meats in Costco already, and more will be showing up on shelves through 2018.

As part of our “clean label” journey, later this year we will also be eliminating artificial colors, flavors and phosphates. All of this takes time because as we take ingredients out, we want to be sure we maintain the same premium taste we have delivered for almost a century.

Continuing Our Journey:

Where to next? We are always innovating with you in mind, which is why we are looking to shift to non-GMO meat. This endeavor will take time as we identify trusted partners who can certify that their livestock receives non-GMO feed (today upwards of 90% of non-Organic animal feed contains GMOs). Nonetheless, we promise that when it gets done, it will be done right — by never compromising on the taste and quality you expect from Columbus.