We started Forever Foods Farm in January of 2020. By April of 2022, we had a pretty good idea of the direction we wanted to go as a farmstead with the approval of our commercial kitchen. Now we have been navigating the world of getting our value-added products approved by the state of Virginia through VDACS (Va. Dept. of Ag). Slowly but surely we are getting recipes approved. But every now and then we hit a snag that makes us have to rethink our entire business plan - like we did this week. Last year we got freeze dried stinging nettle powder and a tea with nettle in it approved by VDACS. As we were moving forward with other tea recipes, stinging nettle along with some other flowers and herbs came into question as whether they are regulated as "food" or a "dietary supplement". We found out yesterday that stinging nettle along with violet and hardy hibiscus will not be added to Virginia's list as GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) and cannot be sold as food. It can be pursued as a dietary supplement which we are not prepared to do at this time. The important thing to recognize is that these distinctions are put in place to protect the consumers. All food is medicine and we will keep chipping away at it to make sure that we continue to bring you the best value-added "food" products that we can! Forever Foods Farm. July 14, 2023.