OreIda Crispy Crowns Labeling Alert

[aklap]

OreIda's Crispy Crowns have Gluten Free listed on the bag - but the ingredient list and allergen statement lists wheat. The words gluten free are way down at the bottom of the ingredient list. I almost missed it because it was almost hidden under a flap of those goofy bags.

The one I saw was a Crispy Crowns 30oz bag.

UPC Code = 13120-00133

N08F025 13:19 B

Best used by 3/28/10

I took photos of it with my phone. [Yeah, I'm that much of a geek ]

Thanks Angie for catching this!

Here's OreIda's Contact Page. http://www.oreida.com/contact/index.aspx

I will try to call them on Monday.
_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[aklap]

I just got off the phone with Heinz. My call was the first call on this [or so I was told ].

I gave them the info from the bag that I saw.

The customer service rep said this is a major problem and is sending this info immediately to the powers that be.

I suspect the GF labeling their doing is relatively new. Any GF labeling a company does is voluntary. On top of that, there's no standard yet as to what GF actually means. The FDA is trying to set a limit of "acceptable" gluten - for this they need more medical research. Canada and other parts of the world have decided upon 20 parts per million. It's thought that the US will accept that limit too.

I asked about their most recent GF list. The one from Feb. [Demo shared that with us] is their most recent list. They are working on a new one! There are 2 more GF products that will be added. The rep. said I should call be in about a month.


Thanks Angie for catching this!!
_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[aklap]

I had an interesting chat with the OreIda rep, the same one I talked to on Monday. She was kind enough to follow up with me. I am truly thankful that she did!

Here's the scoop...

The Crispy Crowns that are in the bag had been reformulated to remove the wheat. However, they are still not considered GF due to possible cross contamination issues at this point in time. The ingredient list and the Allergen Contains statement was wrong. The product does not contain gluten ingredients, but is not considered GF - so the GF labeling was wrong too.

OreIda is revamping their GF labeling policies/procedures/practices. Want to know what the #1 type of phone calls they receive? GLUTEN! I don't doubt that one bit!, this is not the 1st mfg that has said this. They are listening and want to better serve us.

I asked about their allergen labeling practices - do they disclose barley, rye and oats? The rep stated they follow the FDA guidelines to the letter. However, barley, rye and oats do not legally have to be disclosed according to the FDA FALCPA law. She did inquire about the oats. I gave her a quick primer on oats and why commercial oats are not considered GF. I also told her that other companies do disclose barley, rye and oats voluntarily and that it helps us make wise food choices. Who's product are we going to buy first? The one makes it easier for us of course!

Another helpful tid-bit of info. If you look at the manufacturing code by the UPC label - this will tell you where the product was packaged/processed. You want to look for the letters "ON" - signifies Ontario Idaho. This is the main office/plant for OreIda. Why is this significant? That plant has dedicated lines solely for their gluten products. Any non-gluten products are run on different lines. Not all of their plants or co-packers have this set up. She did state that they do have stringent cleaning procedures in place for the locations that do run both GF and NGF products on shared equipment. I asked if they test their final product - she did not know the exact answer.

So...now you know...the REST of the story. Good day...
_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[aklap]

bump for Mike - there's helpful info about OreIda plants
_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa