14
Dec
2020
09
Dec
2020
Grading the Canyon Bakehouse Recall
UPDATE: The recall has been amended to include expanded distribution for the Canyon Bakehouse Everything Bagels and now includes Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island. See: https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/amended-flowers-foods-issues-voluntary-recall-two-canyon-bakehouse-products-due-possible-presence Bottom line: Canyon Bakehouse handled this recall very well. What happened should serve as a lesson for all manufacturers of gluten-free foods. Testing at risk raw ingredients for gluten before they enter the facility should be de rigueur. A dedicated gluten-free facility doesn’t matter if “dirty” ingredients are allowed inside. My biggest concern at this point is with...
26
May
2020
FDA’s Temporary Policy Regarding Certain Food Labeling Requirements: Implications for Those with Celiac Disease
Many of you have reached out about the FDA’s guidance document regarding labeling entitled “Temporary Policy Regarding Certain Food Labeling Requirements During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency: Minor Formulation Changes and Vending Machines.” The entire document is available at https://www.fda.gov/media/138315/download. If you haven’t yet read this guidance, it states in a nutshell that during this period of food shortages and supply disruptions, FDA is allowing manufacturers to make certain ingredient substitutions without changing the ingredients list. Allowed substitutions include those for...
12
May
2020
Updating the community on gluten-free facial misbranding and FDA & USDA enforcement of gluten-free claims: Celiac Disease Awareness Month 2020
During the first 4½ months of 2020, Gluten Free Watchdog reported 8 products appearing to be facially misbranded to FDA and 1 product to USDA. Products are considered facially misbranded (a term coined by the GFWD team) when they are labeled gluten-free but the ingredients list includes an ingredient not allowed in foods making a gluten-free claim. As of May 12, 2020, 6 products reported to FDA have been recalled for gluten-free misbranding. This is actually extraordinary given that very little...
02
Mar
2020
Running List of Potentially Misbranded Gluten-Free Products Reported to FDA & USDA by Gluten Free Watchdog in 2020/2021/2022/2023
This list is updated when necessary to include additional misbranded products and recall status. Thank you to the consumers who have reported products to Gluten Free Watchdog and shared photos. It takes a gluten-free village to do this work. Golden Toad BBQ Finishing Sauce Sweet & Smokey. This product is labeled gluten-free yet the mesquite smoke powder ingredient lists malt barley flour as a sub-ingredient. The ingredients list on the manufacturer website is different. We reached out to the manufacturer...
06
Feb
2020
General Mills Proposed Gluten Friendly Line
UPDATE February 12, 2020: Thank you so much to everyone who emailed and posted comments. Comments were sent to General Mills today. Their response: "Thank you for sharing this information. I will be forwarding it on to the team that is working on the concept. I think it is also important for you to know that based on all of the feedback we received from the gluten free community, we removed the images from our website as we reevaluate the...
03
Sep
2019
When a regulatory agency (USDA) actually enforces the gluten-free labeling rule and recalls a product containing wheat-based soy sauce
On August 30, 2019, the United States Department of Agriculture announced the recall of Heatherfield Foods Inc. pork sausage products due to misbranding. The sausage is labeled gluten-free yet contains wheat. https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/recalls-and-public-health-alerts/recall-case-archive/archive/2019/recall-088-2019-release?permalink=35A47FAFA869093A250D7843C3A55B6D5ADD2BFB5919576B6453B59930E6CE26 Why is this recall particularly significant? It took place because of a consumer complaint received by USDA.Based on consumer photographs sent to Gluten Free Watchdog, the source of wheat in the sausage is soy sauce.USDA doesn't have an agency defined gluten-free labeling rule. Instead they require manufacturers under their labeling jurisdiction to adhere to the gluten-free labeling rule established...
20
May
2019
Celiac Disease Awareness Month Call to Action: The Celiac Disease Community Needs a Mascot!
In honor of Celiac Disease Awareness Month, Gluten Free Watchdog is issuing four calls to action (one each week). The fourth call to action is to brainstorm on a “mascot” for celiac disease/gluten-related disorders. The allergy community has “Turn it Teal” lighting, red sneakers, & orange wigs--all visually impactful, positive, and successful campaigns to raise awareness. The celiac disease community needs something similar. What follows are my thoughts but please share your thoughts too! My current idea is pretty simple--buttons, etc. in various languages with the...
21
Mar
2019
Morning musings about testing food for gluten & the Nima Sensor
Please also see: Tricia Thompson, Adrian Rogers, Johnna Perry. Consumer-Led Investigation into Potential Issues That Arise When Testing Dairy Matrixes for Gluten With the NIMA Sensor. Journal of AOAC INTERNATIONAL, 2023; qsad092 https://doi.org/10.1093/jaoacint/qsad092 .......... The following is paragraph form of a tweet thread posted by @GFWatchdog to Twitter on March 21, 2019. A few musings this morning about testing food for gluten & the Nima Sensor. Background, I have been commissioning testing of gluten-free food for about 15 years. Does this make me an expert? No. I...
06
Dec
2018