Consumers Guide to

Buying Goji

Right Now, YOU can save a lot of money with 15

minutes of reading.

by Michael-Anthony :Seegers A.D.A.© Founding Partner at Sun Life Goji™

TABLE of CONTENTS

1. Why I wrote this book

2. Who is Michael Seegers

3. Goji - the King of Medicinal Plants

4. Finding a Reputable Source

5. Reading the Spec Sheet

6. Grades of berries

7. How much is enough?

8. Shelf Life & Storage

9. Pricing & Shipping

10. Guarantee

www.sunlifegoji.com

Why I Wrote this Book

It's not vanity {GOJIKING} it's a passion!

ALL WE DO IS GOJI

THAT'S OUR BUSINESS, THAT'S OUR PASSION

We live in a small world now that the internet has created the Global Village. Reputations hard

won through integrity and good customer service are priceless assets when secrets jump out in

the light. There are very few players in the Goji arena due to the remoteness of the farms and the

cultural challenges that western entrepreneurs encounter. I can count on one hand the people I

would trust in this business.

Who will YOU trust? As a diligent and trained researcher I have discovered that most people don't even know how to

look for the truth. Their mantra has become, "Who shall I believe?" My answer is simple, "Don't

believe anyone, not even me." You should demand proof of any and all claims made.

I wrote this book to show you how to

make a good choice with Goji.

Who is Michael Seegers?

Michael Seegers was trained as a biochemist back in 1977 when he began studying vitamins. On

a quest for optimum health, training as a Judo Champion, nutrition was a key aspect of the

training. Michael wanted a Gold Medal and trained for the Olympics for 10 years. He has studied

the biochemistry of nutrition now for 35 years. It is only logical that he would discover Goji.

Michael tasted his first Goji berry in 2004 when his friend Jenn Howey, a Yoga teacher gave him

a few to try. The prices in the health food stores for this little berry were outrageous; so were the

claims made in the marketing materials. The Research began in earnest. By 2006 Michael was

buying Goji in 5 kg bags from a wholesaler and the price was still too high. Back then everyone

thought it came from Tibet.

Enter Jay Zhang

In 2007 Michael was introduced to Jay Zhang by a mutual friend hoping that Michael could help

Jay with his import business bringing in dried fruits, nuts and spices from China. Michael asked

Jay if he could get Goji and Jay replied that he grew up in that part of China and personally knew

the man who was called the King of Goji (now retired). Michael and Jay created Sun Life Goji™

and ordered 2 tons of the best Goji from the King.

There was much to learn about Goji prices and grades, farming and soil conditions as well as

how the weather influences the crop. What frustrated Michael the most was the markup in price

that he could not control. When he sold it by the ton for $18 per kg it still went from the

wholesaler to the retailer and ended up selling for $75 per kg to the consumer.

Then the game changed in 2010. The price doubled at the farms and the Organic cheating began.

A new plan had to be created. Organic Goji was getting priced right out of the market if you

could even find any. But there was good clean Goji being grown in some places, if you knew

where to look. Many of the farms are "Green Food Certified" which means they don't use

pesticides. They are smaller farms and can't afford the big bucks needed to get International

Organic Status. Michael and Jay began testing those berries and they turned out very clean

indeed. And the price was much less than the organic. Michael decided to use this Goji to bring it

to the mainstream consumer. One challenge remained. The two layers of middlemen taking

profits.

Competing against big international buyers, Michael and Jay built their business up to 20 tons

per year and gained the respect of the large producers in China. Selling to the consumers at

wholesale prices was the way they introduced the product at trade shows for the last few years.

Michael built a 5 star website with the team at Crystal Wind Webworx and refused to sell Goji

online initially. He was more interested in setting the record straight, publishing the science of

Goji and busting the myths.

Goji - the King of Medicinal Plants

As a student of Buddhism, Michael always thought that the Myrobalan plant was the king of

medicinal plants. Myrobalan is the plant being held by the Buddha in paintings of the "Medicine

Buddha". It turns out that Goji is the true King. It is used in almost half of all prescriptions in

Chinese medicine.

Pound for pound, Goji is the most nutrient dense food crop grown by man. In China it is revered

as a medicinal food and the history of its use in Chinese medicine goes back more than 4,000

years.

In Ningxia province, in Zhongning county, the finest medicinal grade of Goji is grown and

harvested with loving care. Weather permitting, it is dried in the sun after washing, and sorted

according to quality and size. You can watch all of this on our video at Goji Tube.

The provinces along the floodplain of the Yellow River are the main producers of high quality

Goji. They have the most highly mineralized soil in the world. Ningxia, Qing Hai, Xin Jiang and

Inner Mongolia all have a good grade crop that can pass our QC requirements.

Goji is measured in size by counting how many dried berries make up a 50 gram weight.

Generally you can buy 180, 280, 320, 350, 380, 450 and 500 sizes. The 180 size carries a Jumbo

premium price and has a very sweet taste. We prefer the 280 to 350 sizes for consistency of all

the necessary qualities. We prefer protein development within the berries instead of sugar.

Finding a Reputable Source

We go in person to the farms in Goji country, many of them, each year. We test and retest

numerous production lots. We scan hundreds of reports at the organic certifiers' offices. We

work directly with the Minister of Agriculture and the top people in the industry to ensure that

we keep up to date on developments across 4 provinces. We stay for weeks at a time to monitor

the preparation and packaging before sending the containers to the port. Then we test again in

Canadian laboratories when each shipments arrives.

Our Goji must pass four separate testing procedures and we provide copies of all the reports to

our customers. Nobody else does this. Our reputation is GOLD! Gelda Scientific in

Mississauga does our Microbiological, testing for Total Plate Count, Yeast, Mold, Coli, E. Coli,

Lactobacillus, and Salmonella. Maxxam Analytics does our Sulfite test, they are the only FDA

recommended lab in North America for this. Silliker Labs in Markham does our pesticide

screen, checking for over 350 different chemicals. In Switzerland we use Eurofin Labs for a

Bio-luminescence test that proves our Goji was never irradiated.

We prove over and over again that we have the finest Goji in the world. We have grown in 4

short years from a part time 2 ton operation to a full time 30 ton per year business. We are now

FDA registered and Swiss approved. We export to worldwide destinations. We ARE the new

name to watch for Goji.

Our goal is to make Goji a household word and a billion dollar industry. We are in the process of

establishing our own 100 acre Goji farm in pristine northern China. We are committed to

Excellence in all that we do. We are committed to fair trade and reasonable prices. Our vertically

integrated model of farm to consumer has removed several layers of profit taking middle men

from the equation.

We can now offer the general public a

price that nobody can touch!!!

Reading the Spec Sheet

All Goji produced must have certain documents just like any agricultural products.

..............................................

There must be an Inspection Certificate and a Phytosanitary Certificate.

These are standard documents for agricultural products worldwide and are issued for every

shipment that we import. They are certified by the Chinese Government to be free of quarantine

pests and suitable for human consumption.

Often a Certificate of Origin is also issued

All producers provide a Spec Sheet for each production lot

Lot # 111003A-3

You will note that 11.6 is the moisture level. This is considered ideal for Goji. Also you will note

that SO2 is 13.7 This is indicating the presence of naturally occurring sulfites measured in parts

per million. Levels below 100 ppm have no perceptible impact on human sensitivity. As a health

matter it is of no concern. For a detailed explanation about sulfites see our blog article at A

Sulfite Primer

Grades of berries

Just like any produce there are grade A materials and lesser grades. Usually this is based on

appearance, taste etc. Goji is no different but a bit more complicated. You can buy commercial

grade Goji very cheap in Chinatown. Traditionally they have put a handful in their soup and so

they have never really known what the dried Goji berries taste like. Usually the Asian people that

recognize Goji at our booth at the trade shows are quite surprised that we are giving out samples

in little paper cups to taste. Some even refuse to eat it this way, insisting that it must go in their

soup.

This cheap grade of Goji comes from huge farms where pesticide use is a daily practice and the

focus is on volume of production. You will find these berries in a smaller size and selling for

around $5 per lb ($11 per kg) Usually they are very dry at 7% moisture or less. Often if you run

them under the tap a red dye will drain off. They have been artificially colored to look more

attractive. Once I saw a grey powder in the bag which I was told was an aluminum compound,

presumably some type of pesticide or fungicide. Always you will be instructed to either wash

or boil these berries.

Many people come to us comparing their cheap "Bulk Barn" berries and are quite surprised how

good ours taste. Also theirs are very dried out. Unfortunately sitting for months on end in a huge

bulk drum is not very good for preserving quality.

Even Wal Mart has a little bag for sale in their vitamin section in some stores. At $5 per lb this

Goji has a warning label on the back which tells you that you MUST BOIL FOR AT LEAST

10 MINUTES! I have never heard of a warning label on a food before. What in the world are

they putting in that Goji?

KNOW THIS

All Goji comes from China. China does not have the best QC track record lately. Goji demand

is booming worldwide. People are afraid of Chinese produce. Therefore some clever marketers

are calling theirs Tibetan. Don't believe it! I have asked them for their documents and so far no

one has convinced me. Read our article at Tibetan Goji Myth for the real story about so called

Tibetan Goji.

There is very little Certified Organic Goji right now. Every major producer in Ningxia has lost

their certification due to cheating. We had to go to Qing Hai province to find some. Of the 10

tons we just brought in, we must save most of it for our big commercial accounts that absolutely

must have it. These are companies that use Goji as an ingredient in their Certified Organic

products. Companies like Shandiz and Mom's Healthy Secrets.

For the general consumer who wants to make Goji a part of their healthy lifestyle food choices

we have a different strategy. Although we specialize in Certified Organic Goji, we think the

price is too high. Last year Goji prices in China doubled in mid season and they are not going

back down. Organic Certification is a very expensive process. And one detail you may not know

is this.....even having organic certification does not guarantee a zero pesticide level on the

finished product!!!

On page 3 at number 3 in the "Position Paper on Residues", you will see that, "Bio Suisse does

not guarantee residue-free products. However, the Bud label indicates that much is being done at

every level to ensure that Bud products are residue-free."

Based on everything that we have learned in the last five years while importing and selling over

50 tons of Goji, we have decided the following is best. The consumer needs affordable clean

high grade Goji. Our commitment to consistent availability, quality and price is our key to

customer retention. We are going direct to the consumer via the internet now to capture the large

market potential to help facilitate our business model projections. We are determined to bring a

complete vertical integration to the public from farms to consumers directly. We will have our

own farm soon enough. Until then we have established relationships with some very good high

quality producers that do not use pesticides. They are "Green Food Certified". We test their

products in China and then again in Canada. We call this product "Natural Goji". We make our

lab certificates available to our customers.

POSITION PAPER ON RESIDUES

Occasionally you will see a trace of something in our lab reports. We don't hide that. The

numbers are so incredibly small, (usually 20 to 50 times below the legal limit) that we have to

ask you one question. Is the rest of your food this clean? We didn't think so. The air you

breathe is not this clean. Your bottled water is not this clean. We stand by our Goji as the best

value on the market. We guarantee it. And we bring you a price structure that won't put Goji out

of your reach.

How much is enough?

Generally at the trade shows we recommend a handful of Goji around 20 grams, as the daily

required amount. The reason for this is twofold. First of all Goji is most known in the west for its

antioxidant power which we promote

vigorously.

Here you see the power of 100 grams of

Goji. The current suggestion in today's

literature is that you need 5,000 ORAC

units per day.

That is how we came up with the 20

gram figure.

However there is more to Goji than

ORAC and the real question is why are you eating it. If you are using it for a vegetarian protein

source then 20 grams is nothing. Maybe you want 50 to 100 grams to get 6-12 grams of protein.

One of the things we have noticed is people experiencing improved vision over time. This is

because of the extraordinary levels of zeaxanthin in Goji. Watch the video on my blog at

Goji Improves Vision

Scientists advising the UN food standards body Codex have established for the first time a

maximum safety level for the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin. They give 2 mg/kg which works

out to 145 mg for a 160 lb person.

http://www.nutraingredients.com/Regulation/Scientific-panel-approves-safety-of-high-dose-

lutein-zeaxanthin

Goji has 278 mcg of zeaxanthin per gram, that is 2.78 mg per 10 gram, or 27.8 mg per 100

grams.

By the time you sprinkle some Goji on your cereal, snack on your trail mix, put a handful in your

smoothie and allow yourself a small handful here and there; you will find yourself easily going

through 50 grams per day.

If you can get your Goji for $25 per kg then 50 grams a day will cost you $25 every 3 weeks.

Just over a dollar a day. Less than you spend on coffee by far.

This is why we created our membership and referral programs for families wanting 5 kg bags of

Goji at wholesale. We save on packaging costs and pass the savings on to you.

Shelf Life & Storage

In a Chinese book called, "The Magic Lycium Barbarum from Ningxia Province", written by an

employee of the Ningxia Food Science & Technology Institute, we discovered that all the

nutrient testing of the past 20 years was done using dried berries that were on average three and

a half years old!

That completely blew my mind. My partner Jay Zhang has

told me repeatedly since 2007 that Goji will last for more

than 5 years in an airtight container. I have kept 100 gm

sealed bags from our first shipment of the 2007 harvest.

Every year I open one and eat them. We are now at year

five and the berries are getting significantly darker. The

taste is getting more noticeably like licorice. The berries

are aging like fine wine and are quite tasty.

Your Goji should be kept air tight in a glass jar on the

kitchen counter. Do not put it in the fridge. Do not freeze

it. Larger quantities should be in a hard plastic pail like a

honey pail. If your Goji is getting too dry you can open the

pail on a humid day for an hour and the Goji will soften

up. Goji very quickly absorbs the moisture around it.

Do not put it in Zip Loc plastic bags. The Goji will quickly absorb the taste of the plastic. Any

hard plastic container should be fine.

Canadian Food Labelling requirements state that if the expiry date is more than 90 days then it is

not necessary to put an expiry date on the label.

See Canadian Food Inspection Agency 2.11 Durable Life Date [B.01.007]

GUIDE TO FOOD LABELLING AND ADVERTISING

We usually have a production date on our bags.

2012 Pricing

We sell Goji by the ton.

$18/kg for a ton of natural Goji. {$18,000}

$25/kg for a ton of Certified Organic Goji with all the documents. {$25,000}

Our best deal is $25/kg of Natural Goji in a 5 kg bag. That is only $11.34/lb

If you need it in smaller bags we incur huge extra costs for packaging and prices are as follows:

1 kg bags Natural Goji $32/kg which is $14.52/lb

Organic Goji $40/kg which is $18.14/lb

Shipping Rates

We have a flat rate shipping with UPS.

5 kg anywhere in Canada for $25

2 kg or less is $20

For our American customers

5 kg anywhere in USA for $30

2 kg or less is $20

Guarantee

At Sun Life Goji™ we are committed to excellence in all that we do.

We know that we have the finest Goji in the world and we are not

afraid to ...... STAND on OUR WORD.

IF YOU HAVE ANY COMPLAINT ABOUT YOUR PURCHASE

Call our 24 hr Customer Service Line

and let us know.

1-877-511-GOJI

www.sunlifegoji.com