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About the Brand
Ener-G Foods, Inc. is a family-owned business located in Seattle, Washington. Purchased by Sam M. Wylde, founder of Sam Wylde Flour Co., in 1962, Ener-G Foods has evolved to become one of the largest producers devoted to special diet foods in the United States.
Our mission at Ener-G Foods, as one of the country's foremost producers of foods for diet-restricted individuals, is to provide a wide range of ready-made foods and mixes that are wholesome, nutritious, risk free, and good tasting. We are constantly responding to the demand for special diets with research, innovative products, and convenience foods.
Since 1962, when we first created low-protein products for renal pre-dialysis patients, we have striven to meet the challenging requirements for diet restricted consumers. We not only offer wheat-free, gluten-free products, but also products for low-protein diets, egg-free, and dairy-free products. Our bakery is dedicated to wheat-free, gluten-free baking, guaranteeing that contamination from gluten will not occur. Our innovative packaging gives our products a 1-year shelf life without the need for refrigeration. We bake our products as orders are received to insure that the freshest product is available.
How we got to where we are today.
In 1887, Sam M. Wylde's grandfather started the first flourmill in Seattle. It was built to supply export flour to the orient as well as supply flour to the people of Washington State. After World War I, Sam M. Wylde's father and uncles joined the family business and learned the milling industry. Meanwhile, Sam Wylde traveled the country and the world working at everything from elevator salesman to a ships' steward. Returning to Seattle after World War II, Sam Wylde was one of the founders of Brodie Restaurant and Hotel Supply, but when Sam's father took ill, he left Brodie to help run the family mill.
When Sam Wylde's father died, his uncles, Norman and Alan, decided to close the mill. Unemployed, Sam Wylde started Sam Wylde Flour Co. to distribute flour and bakery items to local bakeries. The fleet of trucks bearing Sam Wylde's name ranged all over Western Washington, from the Canadian border to as far south as Southern California. Fisher Mills, Inc, bought Sam Wylde Flour Co., of Seattle. Fisher Mills later sold Sam Wylde Flour Mills to a Dutch company, Puratos. Puratos has changed the name of Sam Wylde Flour Mills to Puratos. Fisher Mills no longer exists.
When Sam Wylde purchased Ener-G Foods, Inc. in 1962, we were little more than a two-person operation in which all packing was done by hand. Shortly after acquiring Ener-G Foods, Sam was approached by Dr. Scribner of the University of Washington. Dr. Scribner, known worldwide as the father of dialysis, is credited with inventing what we commonly call the kidney machine.
Meeting with Dr. Scribner and his dietitian, Sondra Aker, they explained that there was an acute shortage of dialysis machines and they desperately needed a low protein bread. The University of Washington had one dialysis machine for thousands of kidney patients. Since the kidneys convert protein to uric acid, if the protein intake were restricted, the kidneys would not have to work so hard, hence would require less frequent dialysis.
Sam Wylde and Ener-G Foods worked on low-protein bread for about a year before arriving at an acceptable result. Made with a base of wheat starch it was low in protein, sodium, potassium and phosphorus, therefore acceptable for a low-protein diet. It was also discovered that by restricting protein intake, progression of renal failure could be slowed even for patients on the dialysis unit.
Sometime later, Dr. Cyrus Rubin, inventor of the Rubin Biopsy Tube and professor of Gastroenterology at the University of Washington, sent his dietitian to us with a request for a gluten-free bread with one restriction, "I don't want any wheat starch." Also at about the same time, Sam Wylde, Sr., developed prostrate cancer and Sam Wylde, III, having completed his MBA in Oregon, moved back to Seattle to assist his father with both Ener-G Foods and Sam Wylde Flour Co. Sam Wylde, III, began working nights on developing gluten-free breads and other products without the use of wheat starch.
