Native Forest Organic Papaya Chunks, 14 Ounce Cans (Pack of 6)

Update 1/19/12: Native Forest organic canned fruit is now PBA-FREE cans! I love their organic papaya packed in pineapple juice--great taste, and organic. I've opened 6 cans so far, and so far the quality of the papaya chunks has been very high--no mushy overripe or green peel. Amazon's price is the lowest price I found currently if you do Subscribe and Save. Really like Amazon's Subscribe and Save: you can cancel at any time; change shipment dates; Amazon gives you email alert prior to shipment so you can cancel if you're not yet ready for a refill; even if you decide to cancel after only 1 order, you still get the low Subscribe and Save price. Way to go Amazon. I was excited when I found these organic papaya chunks on Amazon. I like the taste of papaya, and its a great digestive aide, with anti-acid effects. But organic ones are hard to find fresh at decent prices, and the season for "fresh" ones is very short. So we ordered a pack of these from Amazon to try. Amazon's pack price subscribe and save was a bargain. But after I'd already ordered and the order was in shipment, my wife said, "By the way, did you check with the manufacturer to see if the cans are PBA-free?" Duhhh! For us, it's a priority to try to avoid toxins like PBA in our foods. And I certainly knew that most canned foods were in PBA-lined cans, and that recent research proved that the PBA leached from the can linings into the food. I also knew that the best food manufacturers are in the process of converting to non-PBA cans. I must have been in a real brain fog In my feverish excitement at finding affordable organic papaya, because I totally forgot the PBA question prior to clicking "order" at Amazon. So I called "Edward & Sons"--the company that produces "Native Forest" brand organic foods [805-684-8500; [...]; Carpenteria, CA]. The pleasant staff told me that they were in the process of converting their products to PBA-free cans, but the organic papaya had not yet been converted to PBA-free cans, and they suggested I check back in a few months. Bummer! Summary: I temporarily give these a 1 star because of the PBA in the cans--very bad toxin; we won't eat any more until they're in PBA-free cans. But for taste, quality, being organic, and reasonably priced, we would rate them 5 star. So once Edward & Sons converts them to PBA-free cans, we'll rate them 5 star. We applaud Edward & Sons for their commitment to being a leader in eliminating PBA in their cans.

I really like this small, privately-owned organic company under the umbrella of Edward & Sons; their products are always of such high quality and sourced from fair sources. This papaya is no exception. The juice the soft chunks come in is so delicious, don't dare dispose of it! I use this as an add-in for my oats, along with the juice at times, other times I use it in a smoothie or with some protein powder to make something almost like a pudding... it's mild in flavor but not without its own taste profile. I get these in a six-pack because once I open a can, it's not going to last long. Consistent quality and fair sourcing, as well as the organic aspect (because conventional papaya is just about automatically genetically modified) are all the things that go into this being my FIRST AND ONLY CHOICE. Even easier than a fresh organic papaya, which doesn't come with a pop-top lid like these cans do.

Two of the cans had huge dents in them. Two can had small dents. Tasted like very old pineapple juice, not papaya. Short BB dates. I would not recommend this purchase to anyone. The one star rating is too high. I would return them for refund if one jar had not been opened.

Love this! My daughter loves this! And, with most papaya now GMO, great to find an organic version. So sad it lost shelf space at Whole Foods. This is great addition to our fruit & veggie smoothie treats. Some chunks are softer than others, but those are the ones that blend up well. My daughter likes taking a few chunks to school as a treat.

For a canned product, the taste and texture were very good. I found the fruit juice to be too sweet and flavorful (pineapple). I will order again.