When you think of Grade A eggs (strolling down the grocery aisle), what comes to mind? Yeah, nothing comes to mind for me either, but it's a valid question, right? I mean, have you seen "Grade B" eggs? ;)
(http://eggs.ab.ca/about-eggs/quality-grades)
Yesterday, I had the privilege to chat on the phone with a man from Memphis, TN who has been in the Shea Butter industry for over 3 decades. He was an older gentleman, with a slow southern accent, the kind of guy you just want to sit and listen to, for as long as it takes.
His information was invaluable, particularly for a small business trying to bring the best quality Shea butter to the States. For example, all Shea butter is not created equal. It's well known that in processing Shea butter, it takes as much water as it does Shea, and water sources in Africa can contain harmful items like e coli and metals/minerals. For this (and other) reasons, the American Shea Butter Institute was created "dedicated to the improvement of human health and wellbeing thru basic and applied scientific research" (http://www.sheainstitute.com/, 2011). By purchasing bulk raw unrefined Shea butter certified by this institute, we are establishing voluntary standards on the quality of Shea Butter in our Sheabase product line.
To get an idea of all the unique benefits of Grade A Shea Butter, visit this link:
http://www.sheainstitute.com/index.php/training-and-education/consumer-awareness/21-reasons.html
We pay a little more for this designation, however, we feel that this not only brings our customer base a great product, but we support African countries and villages that offer a fair trade and promote trading opportunities for this awesome commodity.
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