Joe Karthein was working on a small organic farm in the West Kootenay region when he first produced his first batch of Karthein’s Organic Unpasteurized Sauerkraut. Virtually anyone who tried it became a fan, and soon, business was booming. Karthein’s gained a strong following among the health food stores. Unfortunately, overnight success was not to be. Disaster struck, in the form of production problems due to re-fermentation in the jar after packing. Joe was forced to close shop. Undeterred, he spent the next few years working with organic foods and struggling to find a solution to his re-fermentation problem. Eventually, a Quebec company discovered a bacteria that stopped re-fermentation from occurring. The news was music to Joe’s ears. He quickly teamed up with organic farmers in Quebec to bring back Karthein’s Organic Sauerkraut, and fans everywhere rejoiced.