<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
Hi! I joined this listserv within the last 6 or 7 months--it is so helpful! In an effort to "give back," I have posted information such as letters or emails from manufacturers about their products. It never occured to me how manufacturers would respond to this information sharing. I learned all too well that they may not always be very positive. I am curious, has anyone else run into this--what do you think of this? I hope it is not a trend!
Specifically, I posted a letter from Giant of MD that listed their GF products. I received a dramatic email from the nutritionist at Giant who had received a call from a "regular" customer (not that I am not a regular) as a result of my posting. I responded to her with my own email which has not been returned, despite the passage of 2 weeks. (Perhaps this posting will inspire a response!) Our exchange is below. Incidentally, I received an email from another manufacturer about the GF status of their products--when I asked them via email if I could share that info, I did not hear back. At risk of offending other manufacturers, I thought I would share that last week (wk of July 7, 2003), I was told via email that all Luden's products are GF. (Ludens are cough drops--kids like them)
Here are the emails--the response precedes the initial email.
Janet,
I received your email (pasted below) and was very discouraged. While I understand your issues of liability, I don't know if you realize how desperate I and others with celiac disease are to know what we can eat. We are all too familiar with the fact that products change overnight. The listserv automatically puts a trailer on all emails telling people to verify the information for themselves. Imagine if every day you woke up, you would need to contact each manufacturer prior to eating (as your email suggests may be necessary). Your letter has been posted on the listserv more than once before--that is how I knew to call you. As you can see from the posting, I did put "as of June 27, 2003" because the date of verification is very important to this community. You mention also a "website contact." I found the Giant website very unhelpful. It was only through the listserv that I found your number. I will gladly retract the information on the listserv and provide your website contact if you
think that is helpful, but please remember, this is a needy community--we need help, not roadblocks to information sharing.
Incidentally, since it is a canned letter that is updated as needed, and if you really want people to request it individually, it would be really nice to change the format to make it easier to read.
I really had the best of intentions. This listserv has saved me countless hours, days, weeks, or months of research when all I want is a snack.
Tammy
Dear Ms. Kochel:
I understand that our letter with gluten free foods was posted by you on a list serve or website. While we understand your desire to help others with gluten intolerances we ask that our letter not be posted. The reason is that that information changes almost daily and a customer needs to know when that information was provided and how to get further information. We had a call from a customer who was confused by the information posted. Luckily he knew how to reach us, because he is a regular customer. Others might not have such knowledge and may rely on old information without realizing it.
If you wish to be most helpful to others please give them our website contact, so they can reach us directly. We are happy to help them.
Janet Tenney
Manager of Nutrition Programs
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*Support summarization of posts, reply to the SENDER not the Celiac List*
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