The Teal Pumpkin Project

Tomorrow is Halloween, so I thought I'd write up something quick as a reminder of what the Teal Pumpkin Project is all about because I've seen so many misunderstandings.

Our door with the Teal Pumpkin Project sign

First the basics.

• According to FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education), "the Teal Pumpkin Project raises awareness of food allergies and promotions inclusion of all trick-or-treaters throughout the Halloween season." 
• The purpose is to have non-food treats available for trick-or-treaters.

Now for my comments... the biggest misunderstanding I have seen is that individuals think that the purpose is to provide allergy-friendly treats. This is incorrect--the purpose is to have non-food items. The problem with having any type of food is that it is not inclusive of all individuals with food allergies because there are allergies/intolerances to every single food on earth. Providing non-food items means you're not excluding anyone with food allergies or intolerances. 

My second comment goes to all of those people who think this is ridiculous (feel free to read the comments on news articles if you're wondering what I'm talking about). This program is completely voluntary, and seeks to enhance inclusion. No one is forced to participate, and no one is telling anyone what they can and cannot give out on Halloween. It affects no one if you choose to participate except for those children who will actually feel included (which I would think would give anyone a warm fuzzy feeling to know kids aren't being left out). 

This all comes up because while I shopped for our goodies today, I heard a dad commenting that all of the food allergies today are ridiculous because those didn't exist when he was in school. His daughter then said that there was a boy in her class who has to carry an epi-pen, and he could die. The dad continued to say how ridiculous it was, and nothing would probably happen to the boy if he was exposed to the allergen. I wish I had had the guts to say something to them or at least applaud the girl for her concern over the boy and his safety. It was one of those moments where I was in too much shock to think of something useful to say.  

So what are we giving out? Our loot includes balloons for balloon animals (instructions included), glow sticks (bracelets, sticks, etc), sticky wall walkers, glow in the dark lizards, and mechanical pencils. We also got Smarties because it's one of the most allergy friendly candies available for all those kids who prefer candy instead of toys and can eat them. 

Our goodies we are passing out.

Our sign with the goodies in the bowl. Each child will choose two items. 

FDA Labeling Law Post 1: "Verbiage"

I get a lot of questions regarding the FDA labeling law and how it should be interpreted. Most of these answers can be found on the FDA website's Q&A page, but I thought I would cover some of them a little more in depth.

Today, I will be talking about "verbiage" because it is one I misunderstood until recently. This is the question and answer on the FDA website:

(Full text of this below if you'd like to copy and paste)

 Previously, my understanding was that any form of stating gluten free such as "naturally free of gluten" meant the same exact thing as "gluten free" meant. While researching the topic, I discovered I was wrong. I definitely want to look further into this. They state the statement needs to be "truthful and not misleading," but what does that ultimately mean? If it's made without gluten-containing ingredients, are they are allowed to say that with zero regard to manufacturing practices? Could it potentially have a large amount of cross contamination from another product made on the same lines?

On a sidenote, this is such a misunderstood topic that I read an argument regarding the use of a dash in stating gluten free and how it determined whether or not they needed to follow the labeling laws (as in with it or without it didn't need to: "gluten free" vs "gluten-free"--I can't remember which way they argued was correct).  Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I've never read anything in the FDA guidelines pertaining to the use of dash when stating a product is gluten free.

As promised, here is the text of the verbiage above if you'd like to copy and paste the info:
Are statements like “made with no gluten-containing ingredients” or similarly “not made with gluten-containing ingredients” permitted on labels of foods bearing a gluten-free claim?
Yes. Neither the final rule nor FDA’s general food labeling regulations prohibit the use of a statement like “made with no gluten-containing ingredients” or “not made with gluten-containing ingredients” on any food products, provided that the statement is truthful and not misleading. However, unless the label of the food including such a statement also bears a gluten-free claim, consumers should not assume that the food meets all FDA requirements for the use of the “gluten-free” claim.

I was never thoroughly impressed with the labeling law, but it was definitely a huge step forward. It was something that was needed to avoid companies labeling anything as gluten free (even if it was a "regular" product--if you want to read a story of this happening, click here). My worry is what happens when companies start working around the rules so that they don't have to comply AND they're not breaking the law. It would be great if we could come together as a united gluten free community to encourage companies to make things as safe as possible while being as straightforward as possible.

I highly recommend using cautious when purchasing an item that does not specifically state gluten-free. Research the product just as you would any product that did not bear any type of gluten claim by checking with the manufacturer and confirming their manufacturing practices and labeling policies. It is definitely always better to be safe than sick!

Cheerios Are Not Gluten-Free

I rarely post something quickly without taking at least a day or two to make sure I'm not overly angry, happy, or any other emotion that could be affecting how rational I'm being about the matter. I'm deciding to make an exception. I've been putting a lot of thought into all of the controversy surrounding Cheerios for the last several months, and I'll admit that I could not stop being angry or frustrated this whole time. I'm now at my tipping point.

I'm sure most people have heard at this point that General Mills has issued a recall on approximately 1.8 million boxes of Original and Honey Nut Cheerios. They were all made in their Lodi, California facility, and according to General Mills, all other boxes meet FDA regulations. If you'd like to read their recall "apology," you can do so on their blog here. If you want additional information, simply google "Cheerios Recall." I guarantee you'll find a plethora of information.

Why does all of this make me angry? There are far too many reasons to address them all, so I'll cover the top ones:

1. General Mills claimed the gluten-free Cheerios were being manufactured in one dedicated gluten-free facility. They're now revealing that there are multiple locations, although I have not yet seen an explanation from General Mills explaining this discrepancy in their story. The closest they've come is the following comment to a post on their blog post. 
   
2. They've claimed their testing methods included testing 12-18 boxes per "lot," yet when asked how the final product passed testing, they admitted they did not test any of the 17 lots included in the recall. The photo below is their response to someone on their Facebook page regarding the testing. 
   
3. Based on the information above, I now know that if you piece together all of their information, they are testing 12-18 boxes/lot. If there are 17 lots in 1.8 million boxes, then there are over 100,000 boxes per lot. Do they really think that testing 12-18 is adequate? That means they are testing less than .018% of the boxes. That would be the case if they are actually testing as often as they said they were. I invite them to tell me if I'm wrong. 
   

I'm not the only one upset about this. I could honestly go on and on, but I won't because simply complaining never fixes anything, so here is my "positive spin." I said previously that I had faith that General Mills could do this. I have MUCH less faith, but I still have faith they can do this. In my opinion, they need to take the following steps:

1. Admit they made a mistake, recall ALL boxes of "gluten-free" Cheerios, and take the time to fix their processes. It does not matter how long this takes, they need to make sure ALL boxes are gluten-free before claiming they are. This includes pulling the commercials that are pulling at the heartstrings of so many gluten-free consumers. 
2. In order to fix their processes, they should use the suggestions recommended by Tricia Thompson of Gluten Free Watchdog. She is still of the opinion that the problems can be fixed, but I get the impression she is losing faith as well. 
3. Find a way to make this up to all of the consumers who got sick because they trusted that a large manufacturer wouldn't lie to them. If General Mills wasn't lying, and they truly believed their processes were creating a gluten-free product, then they need to do A LOT more research prior to re-releasing the product. 

I want to hear your thoughts. I know many people are angry, but I want to hear construtive thoughts. How do we as a gluten-free community help General Mills to fix this mistake or simply admit defeat and go back to not labeling them as gluten-free?

**Update (10/6/15): According to Gluten Free Living magazine, the FDA has received at least one box that tested over the regulated limit of 20 ppm gluten. The level was 43 ppm which is over twice the legal limit. They have not disclosed if this box was part of the recall or not.