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Below are some of the helpful responses I received.  Pretty much everyone
said "call the company."
Richard Paul
----------------------------------------------------
IT MEANS THEY SEPARATE THINGS OUT
Certified gluten free generally means the products are batched tested for
gluten content and must be 20 ppm or less. Many are zero or have nonpositive
results.  It does not mean that the facility itself is gluten free. Many
products are made in facilities with other allergens and thus the
required/federally mandated warning. These could be anywhere in a very large
facility.  Generally,  you want to be more concerned with a warning about
the manufactured on the same equipment. This means wheat or other gluten
containing products were on the actual same piece of equipment instead of in
the same facility. I recently learned that companies that produce ANY
gluten-rich items must have the "Produced in a facility that uses . . .
wheat and . . ." proviso, regardless of whether the gluten-free line is in a
separate, well-tested area. The proviso doesn't necessarily mean that the
product is cross-contaminated or at risk for it. It just means that if ANY
of the 8 allergens are used ANYWHERE in the plant, the disclaimer has to be
on the company's products.
--------------------------------
THEY'RE DISHONEST.  DON'T TRUST THIS COMPANY
I have had trouble with Natures Path products and think they are a
disingenuous company. 
------------------------------
ANYONE WHO TELLS YOU THEY'RE DISHONEST IS SEEDING FEAR AND ANGST
Just like cutting up a chicken on your cutting board at home and then
washing the cutting board and chopping lettuce for you salad. Are you
worried about salmonella poisoning? No. You washed your equipment and it's
now free of salmonella. The same way, they wash, their equipment , actually
quite a bit better than you and I do at home, and then they make the gluten
free food.  There is really nothing to be worried about and anyone that says
otherwise is plain wrong and seeding fear and angst into the celiac
community.
-----------------------------
HERE'S WHAT I THINK IT MEANS, BUT I DON'T KNOW
I guess they mean that while the facilities are shared with products
containing nuts, wheat et al, they are scrubbing the production lines clean
between batches.
****************
Sounds like the facility uses good manufacturing controls, and the tests
that verify no gluten in food are after the fact and show, yes, as far as
our tests go, nothing bad got into this stuff.
**************
These corn flakes could be made on a shared facility, but a batch was tested
to be sure it is GF.
******************
I have no proof of this, but have been told this before and it makes sense
-- figure out which agency "certified" it GF.  My understanding is that it
must indicate who certified it.  If it was GIG it will say so.  If it
doesn't say who certified it that is a warning sign.   
******************
I believe that it means that they are not allowing any cross contamination
to occur. Sometimes a company will make all of their gf items on certain
days and thoroughly clean their equipment before making anything gf.
--------------------------------------------
HERE'S WHAT THE OWNER OF THE COMPANY SAID ONCE
"When asked if the gluten-free items are produced in a dedicated gluten-free
facility, Arjan responds that while they use shared facilities and lines,
they have a very stringent cleaning routine and clean down and test every
line before packaging product to serve to the public."

 

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