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Contact Details
Unit 12 Moderna Business Park
Mytholmroyd
Halifax
HX7 5QQ
Telephone Number
01422 885523
Fax Number
01422 884629
Company Reg Number
03377407
VAT Number
526 0172 75
secure online website
Lima has more than 50 years experience with organic products. The company offers high-quality products with a view to general well-being and respect for nature and the environments.
How it all began, An encounter
In the 1950s, the paths of two men crossed. One was Belgian, the other Japanese. These two men met while campaigning for a World Parliament destined to guarantee peace.
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| Lima's roots lie in Saint-Martens-Latem (Belgium) |
Edgar Gevaert was an artist, and Georges Ohsawa a philosopher. The latter had laid down the nutritional principles of Japanese philosophy, macrobiotics (from the Greek words for long and life, i.e. the route to longevity), in more than three hundred books.
"We are campaigning for peace", the philosopher told the artist one day, "but inside you… there is a war going on !" He had become aware of the fact that his friend did not pay particular attention to his eating habits or the quality of the food he consumed. The Gevaert family " ate ordinary food ", not leaving much room for cereal products in its diet, and limiting the grains it did consume to bread, pasta and white rice…
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The painter and his family decided to follow the advice of their philosopher friend and it was not long before they experienced the benefits. An idea grew: why not share this experience with other people? They started selling a few Japanese products … |
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The search for balance
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In 1957, good quality foodstuffs became increasingly rare and were even sometimes impossible to find. Pierre, one of the sons of the Gevaert family, decided to set up a company that would attach great importance to the relationship between man and earth, strive for perfect harmony between respect for the environment and the needs of man, and focus on organic food; in other words, the cultivation and preparation of organic foodstuffs. |
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| George Ohsawa and his wife Lima | ||
Why the name Lima?
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The name Lima is Japanese name and it was the first name of Georges Ohsawa's wife. It is a tribute to the master of Yin and Yang dialectics and the father of macrobiotics. It was not easy in the beginning for Lima, which adopted a pioneering role, but the 1970s were characterised by a trend towards natural food on the one hand, and a link between organic food and community spirit on the other hand. The philosophy behind Lima gradually reached a broader public from a wide variety of social and cultural backgrounds. This relationship between Lima and its consumers is based on trust and stems from a common conviction that it is important to promote organic food while continuing to respect specific nutritional principles. |
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| Lima, wife of George Ohsawa, lived to be 100 years old |
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1. Lima : first name of Georges Ohsawa's wife. She lived to be over 100. |
| 2. Square shape: expresses the honesty and stability of the brand | |
| 3. Inspired by a Japanese character: the meaning of which is “to take the East to the West” | |
| 4. Red colour: symbolises Lima’s passion for organic food |
Lima today
- Lima has become a modern company, which no longer advertises itself as a macrobiotic company, but derives its modernity from the main principles of macrobiotics: for instance, in order to be part of the Lima range of products, a soup must combine vegetables with the beneficial properties of soy and cereals.
- Lima is part of the international group Hain Celestial. This alliance allows the company to benefit from a solid, wide-ranging knowledge base and gives it the opportunity to develop its creativity independently, while continuing to respect the main nutritional principles behind its foundation.
A few figures...
Today, Lima stands for : 49 employees At Lima there is respect for equality between men and women a turnover of EUR 17 million, mainly from the European market Lima products can be found in 20 different countries Lima exports 80 % of its production, mainly to France and Germany, but also to Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Japan the Lima range includes more than 200 products every year 155 million rice cakes are produced, which is equal to a tower more than 1000 km in height! 3067 quality checks by the Lima laboratory in 2005, including 743 on raw materials, 2260 on finished products and 64 on samples of purchased products (potential ingredients).
Georges Ohsawa
Nyoiti Sakurasawa, also known as Georges Ohsawa, was born in Kyoto in 1893. Faced with the limitations of modern medicine in his own country, he came to live in Paris, France, between 1929 and 1935, where he enrolled at the Sorbonne and frequently visited the Institut Pasteur and the National Library. It is there that he rediscovered the basic principles of the great philosophies and traditional sciences. After making numerous journeys campaigning for a “World Government”, he had the idea of adapting the precepts of Zen philosophy to food. He developed a diet that included the most balanced foodstuffs, based on the principle of Yin and Yang. In 1957 he returned to France with his book “ Zen Macrobiotics ». It was instantly a huge success, and more than one million copies of the book were sold!
Macrobiotics
Macrobiotics (macros: long, biotics: art or way of life) was first introduced in oriental countries and is the practical application, in the field of food, of the principle of the forces of Yin and Yang, which oppose yet complement each other and are at the origin of all movement and change. Macrobiotics allows us to “live and eat in an orderly manner” : as everything around us is changing continuously, it is essential not to be tense or on edge in order to live in harmony. Macrobiotics is a way of life, aimed at longevity and based on a diet that is rich in cereals in balanced quantities, and poor in raw fruit, dairy products and sugar, which are highly Yin and therefore harmful. It is recommended to eat only organic, seasonal and regional foodstuffs. According to macrobiotics, meat is not expressly forbidden but it is not advised, as it does not provide the possibility of creating a balance with any other foodstuffs.
Yin and Yang, the balance
Chinese philosophy explains all relations between living beings and objects, and their relationship with the universe as well as the natural phenomena based on these two concepts. Yin and Yang are inseparable; they are two sides of a single whole. There is a good and an equally bad side to everything. This notion, on which the macrobiotic principle is based, can also be applied to food and the choice and preparation of foodstuffs. Indeed, all foodstuffs have different properties and a different influence on our physical and psychological condition. Hence, we can learn to establish or restore the balance by making Yang foodstuffs more Yin, and Yin foodstuffs more Yang. In food, Yin and Yang are represented by acidity and alkalinity, which must be mixed in the right proportion. Harmony in food thus becomes harmony in life.
| Yin |  |
Yang |
| oats, cereal sprouts, barley, maize, rye | Cereals |
wheat, millet, wholegrain rice, buckwheat |
| apricots, pineapples, bananas, peanuts, lemons, melons, hazelnuts, oranges, olives, grapefruit, papaya, parsnips, peaches, pears, prunes, grapes |
Fruit and dried fruits | chestnuts, strawberries, raspberries, berries, apples |
| artichokes, asparagus, aubergines, beetroot, celery, mushrooms, red cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, courgette, spinach, beans, lentils, bell peppers, peas, chick peas, potatoes, tomatoes |
Vegetables |
garlic, carrots, green cabbage, pumpkin, chicory, lettuce, watercress, garden cress, onion, parsley, leek, raddishes |
| garlic, aniseed, chives, cumin, curry, ginger, cloves, bay leaf, mustard, nutmeg, paprika, chilli peppers, pepper, thyme, vanilla, vinegar |
Condiments |
basil, cinnamon, chervil, miso, rosemary, saffron, sea salt, tamari |
| coffee, hot chocolate, water, oils and fats, honey, sugar, flavoured teas, alcoholic drinks |
Drinks and other products |
ginseng, malt, bancha tea (organic Japanese tea), chicory, yannoh, mu tea |
All Lima products are avaiable to purchase from our website both Trade and Mail Order if require any more information at all please visit Lima's Website by Clicking the Link Below...