03.01.03
Yakima Chief: Exploring The Nutraceutical Potential Of Hops
Yakima Chief, Inc., Sunnyside, WA, was developed by and for hop ranchers in Washington’s Yakima Valley. The company’s main function is to process and market hop-based products primarily in the brewing industry. According to Jim Boyd, senior manager, the three original owners of Yakima Chief started an exclusive supply agreement with Pfizer Corporation in 1989, which led to cooperative marketing opportunities for the company’s leaf hops, hop pellets, supercritical carbon dioxide (SCCO2) hop extract and downstream products.
Explaining the company’s business practices, Mr. Boyd said, “In order to meet the quality standards of our brewing customers, Yakima Chief has developed stringent food safety programs that include Good Agricultural Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices. In addition, Yakima Chief’s products are Kosher certified. We are licensed by the state of Washington as a food processor in addition to being ISO 9002 certified as a processor of botanical products. The combination of grower, processor and packager under one roof allows for an unbroken chain of custody that is traceable from the ground to the end user.” He added that the expertise and resources used in the company’s core business easily translates to value added botanical services in the supplement, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.
In terms of Yakima Chief’s product offerings, the company supplies the nutraceutical industry with fresh hop strobile (flowers), pellets and SCCO2-based extracts. Mr. Boyd discussed the application of hops. “Hops are used traditionally as a sedative/hypnotic and are regarded as an effective remedy for insomnia,” he commented. Going into further detail, he added, “A minor component of the strobile, 8-prenylnaringenin, was shown to have strong estrogenic activity. Studies are underway to formulate hops in such a way as to maximize the estrogenic activity and also to determine if hops may be an effective supplement to handle estrogen-related conditions such as menopause. Recent studies also suggest that a major component of hops, humulone, is a potent COX-2 inhibitor.”
Yakima Chief owns and operates nine cold storage warehouses in the Yakima Valley, in addition to contract warehousing worldwide. In 1999, Yakima Chief began to provide its products directly to customers. The company says that its state-of-the-art CO2 extraction facility enables them to provide extracts to brewer’s specifications under the most stringent quality controls. In addition, key portions of Yakima Chief’s processing services revolve around the company’s state of the art SCCO2 extraction plant, through which Yakima Chief provides large volume toll extraction services.
In 2001, an allied company, Yakima Chief Ranches, LLC, formed the Select Botanicals Group. However, Mr. Boyd explained, the research and development efforts for this venture actually began in 1988 as the hop research division of Yakima Chief Ranches. “The Select Botanicals Group was started as a service group to provide new plant varieties with superior phytochemical content and improved agronomic characteristics for alternative crops,” he said. “The purpose of the group was to develop new hop varieties that would increase farm production efficiencies and provide market advantage.”
Speaking about the state of the industry, Mr. Boyd offered, “Virtually all industries that utilize plant-based products have embraced breeding and cultivation practices to increase yield economics and that place an emphasis on high quality and consumer safety, except for the supplement industry. This is just another example of the industry’s slow response to make the investment in improved safety and science-based products. However, it is our hope that the industry will adopt concepts and philosophies that place more emphasis on efficiency and consistency in their botanical products. We believe that in order for this industry to turn around, good science and improved safety are imperative for success.”—T.W.
Yakima Chief, Inc.
555 West South Hill Road
P.O. Box 209 Sunnyside, WA 98944
Telephone: 509-839-9022
Fax: 509-839-9045
Website: www.yakimachief.com