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After looking at Nature's Path website, I also found a July 10th 2003 in the archives under a .Labeling Stories Summary Part 2 on page 2 of 4, number 5 and I quote:
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5. Nature's Path Gorilla Munch "GlutenFree" Cereal -- Although it is labeled as gluten free and the manufacturer claims there is no cross contamination possible, the product has made one list serve member ill. Then she read in a newsgroup that the company had sent some contaminated products from Canada to the US because the US labeling laws were much less strict than Canada's .
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On July 28th, I called Nature's Path, asked for and got the Quality Control Manager, Parimal Rana. In response to my questions, he said that the company's policy was to clean the production lines and run Gluten Free cereals together before they returned to gluten cereals on the same lines. He said that their policy was to test each gluten free batch 12 times a year. When I asked him when they were last tested, he said they were last tested SIX MONTHS AGO.
I had 2 other boxes of GM and he asked for their batch id's which were 20 APR 04 and 28 JAN 04. He said he would test them.
On 7/31, I called Parimal Rana to find out if he had tested the batches that I gave him. H said he hadn't been able to locate the batches because they were in a large warehouse without slot numbers( where they could keep a record of their locations either manually or by computer).
He said that the person who used to do the actual testing had quit 6 months previously, had never been replaced, and that the dietician was supposed to have the responsibility. She had no special training or education in Celiac Disease or how to do the testing so it never got done.
He also told me that they never tested the air in the manufacturing facility and they got behind because they had built a new facility in Blaine, Washington, just over the US border.
On 8/1, I returned the remaining two boxes of GM to Trader Joe's and asked them to file a formal complaint with the company. Trader Joe's did so, giving me a copy, treating my claim as a personal injury and reminding them that they were expected to "hold them harmless" from liability.
On 8/7, I filed a formal complaint with the FDA office in Mass.
On 8/19, I received a letter from Nature's Path, a Michelle Fabian (no position noted) basically repeating the company policy, and basically stating the company position as follows and I quote the last paragraph:
"I am very sorry if you believe (note this word) that you had a reaction to our product. I am confident that the product is safe and I am happy to enclose coupons for your use and trust that future purchases of Nature's Path gluten free products will be satisfactory."
I have spoken with and am now going to file a complaint with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency who have stricter standards than the US.
Hal De Bruyn in Boston
* Visit the Celiac Web Page at www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html *
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