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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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