Fatworks Fat Products

 

Are your Products "Organic"?

No. Fatworks products are not "Certified" Organic, but for fat's sake, please read on! When it comes to say, an apple, we understand that having an organic certification is a great way to quickly know if a product meets a certain level of quality. However, we think the USDA falls short on their overall standards for certain organic certification. They believe for example that a bird raised in a cage can somehow be living an "organic" life. We do not agree. What we DO believe is in our farmers. We search for farmers who have standards that we believe exceed the USDA in every way. The animals we use are Pasture-Raised, Hormone-Free, Antibiotic-Free, Chemical-Free, and are raised by farmers doing it right! So even though we can't say that we sell organic lard, organic tallow or organic duck fat, if you know much about duck and pig farming you will know that Fatworks products are FAR, FAR beyond standard. For us it comes down to making the healthiest lard, healthiest tallow and healthiest duck fat. To this end we believe in our farmers, not the government.

Please note that we are not trying to disparage true organic farmers in any way. There are some small, and even some large companies who are organic and deserve your full support, however those companies are quickly becoming the minority. In fact, it is becoming clear that organic labeling no longer represents the small farms that it was designed to promote and instead has become, for the most part, a marketing tool for "Big Food" and "Big Agriculture". As this eye-opening article shows, major corporations, and not small organic farmers, have come to dominate the boards that set the organic standards.

Where does your product originate?

From farms that we know and trust to do it right! We then render and filter all of our products in Colorado or Oregon. As an aside, we love the idea of sourcing locally but we love making the best fat possible more. At times these two noble ideals conflict. When they do, making the best quality fat products always trumps sourcing locally.

By eating real food we naturally increased our fat intake. Yet we lost weight, felt less hungry had more energy then ever and never "boinked". So this lead us to the obvious question: how could so many nutritionists be so wrong? Turns out the recommendations that most nutritionists espouse are still horribly outdated. In addition, the rationale for what is deemed "healthy" is often times more economically or politically motivated than scientifically based. One thing became clear: the vilification of saturated fat was one of the biggest mistakes of the 20th century. Replacing fats with processed and sugary "low fat" foods has done nothing but harm to our health. Turns out eating fat does not make people fat. But more than that, when it comes to heart health, saturated fat is NOT the problem. Oxidation is the problem! Guess which oils oxidize the most? Hint: It rhymes with “wegetable oil." Well we don't mess around with our health so we immediately removed all traces of industrialized seed/vegetable oils from our shelves. It was time to hunt for some good traditional fats so we started search for the best grassfed tallow, pastured lard and pastured duck fat we could find. Just one little problem. We couldn't find any that match our standards. It dawned on us: No one was dedicating themselves solely to making high quality, traditional animal fat. Fatworks was born!

Now, to be fair to fat-phobics, in the short term there is a modest increase in cholesterol when you eat saturated fat. However, over the long term, saturated fat has not been shown to raise cholesterol levels by any large degree for most people in the population. But, and here is the important part, the truth is that simply raising ones cholesterol does not cause heart attacks. We can even take it one step further and tell you that there seems to be a protective element to cholesterol for overall mortality rates and higher cholesterol is associated with better brain health. (Maybe because the brain is 80% cholesterol!) 

Funny enough, the new research is finding that humans may not be well adapted to eating oils created by scientists in a lab such as canola, sunflower, soybean, cottonseed, etc. In fact, research shows that "vegetable" oils (really seed oil) may be quite harmful. According to Doctor Mercola, vegetable oils can "convert to seriously damaged breakdown products that have been linked to heart disease and neurological disorders." In addition, these so called "vegetable" oils oxidize easily and the newest research is showing that it is the OXIDATION of fats NOT THE SATURATION LEVEL OF FAT that is the real issue for heart health. Experts like Dr. Dwight Lundell have, for years now, shown oxidation to be the true culprit in atherosclerosis and heart disease. According to Dr. Lundell and others this theory of oxidative damage, which is known as the "degenerative hypothesis", states that those bad LDL's that we've all heard about only become a problem when they become oxidized. As a side note, even Omega-3's oxidize so you should always purchase any oils from a reputable source. Lastly, traditional fats simply taste better. A lot better. (The last part is our opinion, all the rest is scientific stuffs).

Nutritional Breakdown for Each Fat:

Fatworks Grass-Fed Ghee (Clarified Butter)

• Pasture-raised, Domestically Sourced
• Handcrafted, CULTURED Clarified Butter
• Lactose and Casein Free
• High in Vitamins B12, A, E, and D as well as CLA, MCT and Omega 3’s (Goat Milk Ghee contains approximately 100% more Vitamins D, A and E than the Cow Milk Ghee)
• Non-GMO, Hormone, Preservative and Antibiotic Free
• 450* Smoke Point
• Minimally Processed
• No Artificial Ingredients
• Soy Free, Gluten Free
• USDA Inspected and Passed for Human Food Consumption. EST 40128

Organic Cultured Grass-Fed Ghee (Traditional)

INGREDIENTS – Cultured, Organic, Grass-Fed Cow Milk Butter

• Serving Size – 1 Tbsp (14g)
• Servings per Container – 16
• Calories per Serving – 130
• Calories from Fat – 130
• Total Fat – 14g (22%)
• Saturated Fat – 9g (45%)
• Cholesterol – 35mg (12%)
• Sodium – 0mg
• Total Carbohydrate – 0%
• Protein – 0%
• Contains 6% of the Recommended Daily Value of Vitamin A for humans

Grass-Fed and Way Beyond Organic Goat Milk

Clarified and roasted to perfection, goat’s milk is considered naturally easier on the digestive system than cow's milk and is thought of as "cooling" in Ayurvedic circles.  

INGREDIENTS – Cultured, Grass-Fed Goat Milk Butter

• Serving Size – 1 Tbsp (14g)
• Servings per Container – 16
• Calories per Serving – 130
• Calories from Fat – 130
• Total Fat – 14g (22%)
• Saturated Fat – 9g (45%)
• Cholesterol – 35mg (12%)
• Sodium – 0mg
• Total Carbohydrate – 0%
• Protein – 0%

Contains 10% of the Recommended Daily Value of the Vitamin A for humans, as well as 2% of the RDA for B12, E and D

• Never put Fat down the drain as it will solidify and clog your drain
• NOTE: Always use a clean utensil when scooping the ghee from your jar. Introducing food into the jar can cause "nasties" in a pretty short order.
• Keep in Refrigerator and they will last about 4-6 months (but it rarely stays around that long.
• You can freeze your fat for an even longer shelf life, years in fact.

Fatworks All-Natural Pork Lard

• All Natural, Pasture-raised
• Non-GMO, Hormone and Antibiotic Free
• Handcrafted in small batches
• Kettle-Rendered
• No Preservatives
• Gluten and Milk Free
• Soy Free
• 375* Smoke Point
• Minimally Processed
• No Artificial Ingredients
• USDA Inspected and Passed for Human Food Consumption. EST 40128

INGREDIENTS:

100% Pasture Raised Pork Fat, Organic Rosemary Extract*

*Rosemary Extract is controversial as it's been linked to causing seizures in pets. If Rosemary is labeled as it is here it is used as a flavoring agent and is in levels no higher than 50ppm. Alternatively, if it is labeled, "Rosemary Extract (as a preservative)" it must be added in levels with preservative qualities which means it must exceed 500ppm. Seizures have only been linked to consumption in preservative levels exceeding 500ppm.

NUTRITION DATA:

• Serving Size – 1 Tbsp (14grams)
• Servings per Container – 28
• Calories per Serving – 130, Calories from Fat – 130
• Total Fat – 14g (22%)
• Saturated Fat – 4.5g (23%)
• Trans Fat - 0g
• Cholesterol - 15mg (5%)
• Sodium - 0mg
• Total Carbohydrate - 0g
• Protein - 0g

Not a significant source of Trans Fat, Dietary Fiber, Sugars, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium or Iron

• Never put Lard down the drain as it will solidify and clog your drain.
• NOTE: Always use a clean utensil when scooping the fat from your jar. Introducing food into the jar can cause "nasties" in a pretty short order.
• Keep in Refrigerator. Lard will last 12-18 months in the fridge. Once it's slightly melted it will be "spoonable" and ready for you to enjoy.
• You can freeze your fat for an even longer shelf life, years in fact.

Fatworks All-Natural Poultry Fat Sources (separated below)

• All Natural, Pasture-raised
• Non-GMO, Hormone and Antibiotic Free
• Handcrafted in Small Batches – Fine-Filtered
• Kettle-Rendered
• No Preservatives
• Gluten and Milk Free
• Soy Free
• 375* Smoke Point
• Minimally Processed
• No Artificial Ingredients
• USDA Inspected and Passed for Human Food Consumption. EST 40128

CHICKEN FAT INGREDIENTS:

Organic Chicken Fat, Organic Rosemary Extract*

NUTRITION DATA:

• Serving Size – 1 Tbsp (14grams)
• Servings per Container – 15
• Calories per Serving – 115, Calories from Fat – 115
• Total Fat – 13g (20%)
• Saturated Fat – 4g (19%)
• Cholesterol - 11mg (4%)
• Sodium - 0mg
• Total Carbohydrate - 0g
• Protein - 0g

Not a significant source of Trans Fat, Dietary Fiber, Sugars, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium or Iron

DUCK FAT INGREDIENTS:

Duck Fat, Organic Rosemary Extract*

NUTRITION DATA:

• Serving Size – 1 Tbsp (14grams)
• Servings per Container – 15
• Calories per Serving – 130, Calories from Fat – 130
• Total Fat – 14g (22%)
• Saturated Fat – 4.5g (23%)
• Cholesterol - 15mg (5%)
• Sodium - 0mg
• Total Carbohydrate - 0g
• Protein - 0g

Not a significant source of Trans Fat, Dietary Fiber, Sugars, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium or Iron

GOOSE FAT INGREDIENTS:

Goose Fat, Organic Rosemary Extract*

NUTRITION DATA:

• Serving Size – 1 Tbsp (14grams)
• Servings per Container – 17
• Calories per Serving – 130, Calories from Fat – 130
• Total Fat – 14g (22%)
• Saturated Fat – 4.5g (23%)
• Cholesterol - 15mg (5%)
• Sodium - 0mg
• Total Carbohydrate - 0g
• Protein - 0g

Not a significant source of Trans Fat, Dietary Fiber, Sugars, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium or Iron

*Rosemary Extract is controversial as it's been linked to causing seizures in pets. If Rosemary is labeled as it is here it is used as a flavoring agent and is in levels no higher than 50ppm. Alternatively, if it is labeled, "Rosemary Extract (as a preservative)" it must be added in levels with preservative qualities which means it must exceed 500ppm. Seizures have only been linked to consumption in preservative levels exceeding 500ppm.

We sourced specially bred ducks that are raised to forage on land rather than water and are raised in large duck enclosures with room to roam, socialize, run around, preen their feathers and just be as ducky as they wish. It should be noted that almost ALL ducks raised in the U.S. are cage free and are by law hormone and antibiotic free. While the EPIC brand may be cheaper, they are likely using GMO-Fed animals.

SEPARATION IN POULTRY FATS:

Poultry fat products contain saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats which separate due to different weights of each fat. So shake it up! Just remember to put your Duck Fat in the fridge to get that creamy goodness.

• Never put Fat down the drain as it will solidify and clog your drain.
• NOTE: Always use a clean utensil when scooping the fat from your jar. Introducing food into the jar can cause "nasties" in a pretty short order.
• Keep in Refrigerator and they will last about 4-6 months (but it rarely stays around that long.)
• You can freeze your fat for an even longer shelf life, years in fact.

Fatworks All-Natural Beef Tallow

Unlike lard, tallow is solid at room temperature.

• All Natural, Pasture-raised
• Hormone and Antibiotic Free
• Rich in CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid) – a naturally occurring trans-fat that has been shown to have promising health benefits in weight loss, heart health and cancer prevention. CLA has never been shown to be unhealthy in any way.
• No Preservatives
• Gluten and Milk Free
• Soy Free
• 250* Smoke Point
• Minimally Processed
• No Artificial Ingredients
• Made with 100% Grass-Fed, Grass-Finished Beef Suet, not cheap beef trim like other companies
• USDA Inspected and Passed for Human Food Consumption. EST 40128

INGREDIENTS:

100% Grass-Fed Beef Tallow

NUTRITION DATA:

• Serving Size – 1 Tbsp (14grams)
• Servings per Container – 29
• Calories per Serving – 130, Calories from Fat – 130
• Total Fat – 14g (22%)
• Saturated Fat - 6g (30%)
• *Trans Fat - 0.5g
• Cholesterol - 10mg (3%
• Sodium - 0mg
• Total Carbohydrate - 0g
• Protein - 0g

Not a significant source of Trans Fat, Dietary Fiber, Sugars, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium or Iron

• Never put Tallow down the drain as it will solidify and clog your drain.
• NOTE: Always use a clean utensil when scooping the fat from your jar. Introducing food into the jar can cause "nasties" in a pretty short order.
• Grass Fed Beef Tallow: Keep in Pantry. You can keep in the fridge but it will turn rock hard and then you will need to give it a hot water bath (or microwave it if you are into that sort of thing.)
• Once it's slightly melted it will be "spoonable" and ready for you to enjoy. Tallow is naturally shelf stable for years.
• You can freeze your fat for an even longer shelf life, years in fact.

*You read correctly, Fatworks Tallow has 0.5 grams of natural trans-fat and they are darn proud of it! ONLY cattle that is fed 100% high-quality grass will register 0.5 or more grams per serving of healthy and natural trans-fat.

If naturally-occurring trans-fats are healthy, why do other companies list theirs at 0g?

• The tallow in question may not be 100% grass fed. If it is not rendered in a USDA facility there is no telling what shenanigans are going on so we suggest you watch out.
• Perhaps the tallow is grass fed but the cattle ate a lot of silage or haylage. This is still technically "grass fed" but is lesser quality food source than fresh grass and may not allow the cattle to create as much natural trans-fat during digestion.
• It could be that other grass fed tallows do in fact have 0.5 grams of trans fat but are not listing it! How can that be you may ask? Two ways. This is a bit detailed so for the love of fat pay attention! First thing to understand is that there is an established database that food companies can pull from for certain products when submitting their labels for review to the USDA. This is done so that food companies do not have to send their products to a lab for testing of well-established single ingredient products. So does this database have Tallow? You betcha. But here's the kicker, the national database Nutritional Panel for Tallow does NOT have 0.5 grams per serving listed! This is because the national database is using GRAIN FINISHED TALLOW AS THE REFERENCE! As discussed earlier, grain-fed cattle have less naturally occurring trans-fat and as a result, will have less than 0.5 grams of trans fat, and therefore the company is able to claim 0 grams trans-fat. If a company doesn't know or care much about their products and are simply trying to capitalize on the "Fat Trend" they could just be using the national database having never done any testing at all. This would be quite disrespectful to the consumer and to the greatness that is Grass Fed Tallow if you ask us. There is a 4th and more sinister reason that we have thought of as well. A company could, in theory, do their own testing and discover that their fat does indeed have 0.5 grams of trans fat but then decide to use the Nutritional Panel from the national database anyway! Why would they do this? Simple, because the media and the USDA have done a terrible job educating the public on the differences between NATURAL trans-fat and ARTIFICIAL trans-fat, therefore perhaps a company would elect to use the national database Nutritional Panel that has 0 grams trans-fat thinking (probably quite correctly) that the average customer would be scared away by seeing 0.5 grams of trans fat. If a company were to do this it would be pretty deceptive (and if they are willing to deceive their customers about that, what else aren't they telling you?) So, yeah we have probably gone off the deep end and far afield into tin foil hat land with this one, but in truth we wouldn't be surprised to find out this was the case for some companies. In theory we could do this too, but rather than hide this information we take it as an opportunity to educate and inform fat lovers! We do full fatty acid profile on all our fats and we were quite relieved to find that we had over 0.5 grams of natural trans-fat so that we could show this off with pride!