Bay State Milling Company announced that it has acquired Certified Foods, Inc., a supplier of conventional, organic and gluten-free whole milled flours, including the Joseph’s Best brand.

Certified Foods is based in Woodland, CA and employs a combination of traditional stone milling and modern milling technologies to produce a wide array of whole grain flours across a broad range of specifications. The whole grain flours produced by Certified Foods include brown rice, amaranth, buckwheat, corn, durum, millet, quinoa, sorghum, teff, rye and wheat. In addition, Certified Foods also mills a variety of legume flours such as garbanzo and adzuki beans.

Joe Vanderliet, Founder, President and CEO of Certified Foods, Inc. worked for Bay State Milling early in his milling career and will stay with the company for a period of time to support the transition and ensure continued customer satisfaction. "I am proud that Bay State Milling will carry forward my vision for whole grain milling and trust that they will continue to supply my customers with high quality products and excellent service. The resources and expertise of the Bay State Milling team create exciting opportunities for my employees, suppliers and customers."

Certified Foods and Bay State Milling are both focused on providing high quality, nutritious and affordable ingredients for a broad spectrum of grain-based foods. The addition of Certified Foods to Bay State Milling extends the company’s milling footprint from coast to coast, while providing greater depth and breadth in whole grain flours. When combined with Bay State Milling’s recent TJ Harkins acquisition and product applications know-how, the resulting product portfolio of flours, edible seeds, sweet spices and custom blends provides extraordinary supply chain assurance, an expanded range of ingredient solutions for some of the fastest growing segments of the grain-based foods industry, and a leadership position in organic, whole grain and gluten free milling.

Pete Levangie, President and COO of Bay State Milling says of the acquisition, "We are thrilled to add Certified Foods' whole grain milling technology, its wide array of product solutions, and its talented team to Bay State Milling's growing portfolio of organic, gluten-free, and nutritious ingredients for the grain-based food industry. Our integrated ingredient solutions for healthy, affordable and innovative food products are unrivaled, and we look forward to creating even more value for our growers and customers."

The acquisition was completed on August 30, 2013.