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I wanted to reply to the community regarding the post yesterday about
the expense of labeling a product as gluten-free.
Let me point out that there are two issues mentioned here. One, that
running a safe and feasible business that adheres to best practices
takes cash. Two, that oversight and instruction for food producers
costs as well. The NFCA's product registration program costs $100 per
item. Only members of our GREAT Business Association can register their
products as gluten-free. Annual member dues are on a sliding scale and
newly formed companies are charged $250. A part of membership is access
to our discounts for testing and on-going consultation and education
about good manufacturing practices which are expected by the gluten-free
community and by food-service distributors (We have nearly 30 narrated
powerpoints,videos, and manuals to help in this process - free for our
members). Since small businesses are the heart and soul of the
gluten-free industry we have done our best to provide something that is
affordable, yet still protects the gluten-free consumer. I wish it were
so easy to say that we know what goes into a product and therefore know
if is safe, however it is not. Testing, as well as other quality
control measures, really are essential and in the end protects the
manufacturer from a potential liability. In this same spirit, we have
adopted a symbol that is internationally recognizable as a crossed out
grain, allowing for non-readers and non-english speakers an accessible
and identifiable image.
I hope this dispels the thought that gluten-free labeling cannot be
afforded. Thanks for this opportunity to share. Nancy Baker
Director of Education
National Foundation for Celiac Awareness
(By the way: NFCA's restaurant training program GREAT Foodservice is
only $200 per location, again hopefully affordable)
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 2009 02:24:31 -0400
Subject: That cute little "GF" label
Hi -
I was at The Big E ( www.TheBigE.com ) and one of the soup vendors had
a sign up in her booth; "all of our soups are gluten free". I picked
up a few, and in chatting with her she said the bags aren't individually
labeled because it costs at least $20,000 to get approved for the GF
label. Said it involves sending stuff for testing, all kinds of permits,
approvals, etc.
So if you wonder why more food items don't carry the GF label, thats a
good place to start. Small food makers just couldn't afford it. Like she
says, SHE knows what goes into her mixes, and she KNOWS they're GF.....
she just can't label them.
It was an interesting conversation.
Kathy
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