I had a tour of the facilities that assemble Longo's prepared meals recently at their head office in Vaughan, and I did a little crowd sourcing on what you all wanted to know about their process. The facility is quite impressive, as is the team that runs it. I almost expected it to be much larger than it is, but it is efficient and provides product for Longo’s stores across the GTA. The facility produces and packages things like fresh salads, stir fry kits, and even sausages and packaged nuts. It is cool to have the opportunity to go behind the scenes and see how things are processed and packaged, and to be able to understand how this food makes its ay to the stores, and on to our tables. 

Our world is one of rushing, especially for families and for those who have long work days (which seems to be most of us, these days), and eating out is not always feasible or desirable. The prepared meals, and other prepared foods from Longo's are a good option for busy lifestyles. Seeing it first hand I saw quality product, a clean environment, and a commitment to value. I know Alexa has spent a lot of time eating at Longo's Maple Leaf Square store, and she has good things to say, as well. The sausages they make are a family recipe, and made with only the best meat, I was impressed. Think I might have to go down to the store next week and pick some up.  

Here are the answers to your questions, from the various experts at Longo’s.

What efforts have been made to minimize excess packaging and use green-friendly/biodegradable packages? (@ktimber)

Longo’s currently offers our customers the option of a compostable container at all our salad bars. The product is made from sugarcane pulp and is 1005 compostable and biodegradable. We are also working with our plastic supplier to reduce our packaging weight by 10% while maintaining product integrity. The goal is also to convert most of our containers to PETE plastic which is accepted by most blue box programs in the areas we operate our stores. PETE is the most recycled plastic by recycling and reclaim operators.

We are also promoting the reusable shopping box at all our stores. We have designed this for convenience and have reduced our plastic bag usage by 35% over the last 2 years. In regards to consumers who still require plastic bags, all Longo’s locations offer a recycling plastic bag station at all entrances of our stores. Furthermore we recycle all plastic wraps and cardboards for all our locations. If you wish further details to our store environmental initiatives, please go our website and click under “Green Initiatives”.

What changed post-Maple Leaf listeriosis scare - how did Longo’s shift/adapt, act preventatively? (@Carlyswhey)

At Longo’s, food safety and the safety of our customers is of the utmost concern. To this end, we have enhanced a number of our food safety programs in light of the Listeriosis Strain Outbreak. A couple of  examples of these enhancements are increased points of sanitation testing of food contact surfaces to include five areas in the deli department, with three of these areas being on the deli slicer alone. This sanitation testing verifies the effectiveness of our teams cleaning and sanitizing procedures and is completed in each location, during a quarterly food safety audit of over 480 points of inspection.

We have revisited our cleaning and sanitizing procedures for our deli slicers in an ambient temperature environment to include a quick clean and sanitize process that is conducted every 4 hours or less. This is an enhancement from our traditional program which included a sanitizing wipe down of the blade and remnant piece every four hours or less.

Why such high sodium content in the boxed salads? boxed Greek salad was 35% of the daily recommended 2300 mg per day (@neek_h)

The majority of the sodium is in the Feat Cheese and Kalamata olives, two key ingredients in a Greek Salad. By comparison we have kept the sodium in the dressing very low. There are many who eat a whole salad by themselves but there are some who use it in conjunction with a meal as a side dish thus reducing the sodium intake.

What do @longosmarkets do differently then prepared foods at other grocery stores? (@SpastikFly)

At Longos we have chosen to not offer the traditional and profitable fried food offerings. For our hot tables we use fresh ingredients within our store’s meat, seafood and produce department and use selected vendors for our fresh prepared pasta and some salad offerings. Our offerings are also quite unique compared to traditional grocery stores such as our Pizzas are hand stretched and stone baked, we have an award winning salad bar, smoked meat carving stations, Panini grills and in our hot tables we offer an array of vegetable sides dishes that go far beyond potato wedges and pastas. Most of our offerings have neutral flavours in spices and sodium to allow our customers to use their favorites

What kind of oil? Salt? Sugar? Do they use. (@Ort_David)

The salt we use is sea salt. The oils we use are extra virgin olive oil and canola oil. The sugar used is cane white, refined.

How do they decide what products to make? How/with whom do they test the finished product? By 'finished' I mean the product they've developed. Do they have 'taste rating' standards before launching a product? (@JenniferBylok)

We take several approaches to our quarterly menu and new program offerings. We first and foremost listen to our customers, we then use our store chefs to create meals from what has been requested and then conduct taste tests within our foodservices and customers to determine best offerings. We also work with our selected vendor partners to develop trend related items, again with a fresh food approach only.

How often do they completely clean out their equipment? How long is the lag time between prod and shelf? (@duckiewong)

All equipment that comes in direct contact with food is cleaned on a daily basis.

Lag time between production to shelf depends on the type of product made at the commissary. To ensure that the freshest products reach the customer, freshly made products (e.g salads, stir fries, prepared fruit etc) are on the shelf the next day after production. Items with longer shelf life (e.g bulk pack dry fruit, cheese wedges and grated cheese) are placed on the shelf as needed.

How long does the food sit "prepared" until they toss it and where does it go when tossed? (@shes_so_savvy)

Food preparation is done daily with store fresh ingredients. Once cooked and served it is available only for 3 hours as we close down twice daily for lunch and dinner. This ensures that we offer the freshest quality products while maintaining our stringent food safety protocols. Once the quality of our offerings has not met our standards we dispose into and green bin program.