<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

I thought I would share my question to Nature's Path (below) and the
response I received, because I've noticed in the past occasional concerns
about Nature's Path products. I am in New Zealand and yesterday I noticed
the EnviroKidz cereals had  "low gluten" stickers on the packets, but Nature
s Path cereals didn't, even though they are all made by the same company. I
ve sent a further query about whether this is going to happen to Nature's
Path cereals as well. In summary it's to do with the combined Australian/New
Zealand standard for gf being stricter than the U.S. standard. 



I would be interested in hearing if anyone thinks they are reacting to /
being damaged by eating these cereals - or if they are usually very
sensitive and safely eat Nature's Path or EnviroKidz cereals.  I'm not sure
whether to keep buying them or not, especially as we normally try to avoid
even low gluten food as my gf daughters have Down syndrome so I'm trying to
keep the label reading as simple as possible.

Stella



Message sent to Nature's Path: 

I have two daughters on a gluten-free diet who eat your gf cereals. I went
to buy more Koala Crisp today and discovered the packet had a low gluten
sticker over the top of the gluten free label, as did the Gorilla Munch. Why
are they now considered low gluten? Why hasn't the gluten status on the web
site images of the product and information been changed? Are your other
gluten-free products about to change to "low

Gluten"? I am letting you know that I do not buy low gluten products and am
disappointed about the change. I will have to change to a different brand if
I can't trust the information on Nature's Path packets.

Stella

New Zealand



And their response:



Hello Stella,

Thank you for your email.

Nature's Path production of gluten free products is still the same. We do
make other cereals that contain gluten. However, our strict production
schedules and quality assurance methods ensure that the least sensitive
foods are produced first. The products that contain gluten, soy and finally
nuts are made and then the entire line is cleaned and the process re-starts.
The equipment and cereal is periodically inspected & tested for gluten
contamination.

 

However, the AU and NZ governments created a new regulation that states that
if a product is less than 5 parts per million of gluten then it can be
labeled as Gluten Free.  We at Nature's Path Foods have a standard of 20ppm
(as does the UK, USA, Canada) for a Gluten Free product.

 

We test our products to 5ppm and ensure that the product is below 20ppm but
in AU & NZ we cannot label it as Gluten Free anymore based on their new laws
- only as "low gluten" now.

Kind regards,

Beverley

Consumer Services - Nature's Path Foods

Head office: 9100 Van Horne Way

Richmond BC V6X 1W3 Canada

     Or 250 H Street, #275

     Blaine WA 98230 USA

www.naturespath.com

www.envirokidz.com

Visit the Celiac Web Page at Http://www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html
Archives are at: Http://Listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?LIST=CELIAC