Product Recall – Wheat

The Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO) is a testing and certifying body for gluten-free products.  They run independent tests, during various stages, for the different companies they certify.  Recently, during an inspection of one such product, they were found to have a level of gluten in them that is potentially unsafe.

The FDA new ruling will allow up to 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten in a food and still be called “gluten-free” (or free of gluten, etc.).  GFCO has always certified products only testing below 10ppm.

Many of you may be wondering how this happens that one lot could contain gluten.  I’ve recently seen bloggers inflamed about a company that had tested and recalled its own product because of gluten levels, saying that no product from that company could be considered safe.  That is just completely false.

One mistake does not an entire company make.

Almost all companies receive something from an outside source.  You do your best to make sure it is safe, but you cannot control every single variable.  You also cannot test ALL of the food.  If they did, there would be none left to sell.  Furthermore, gluten content can vary throughout a batch.

Think about it like chocolate chip cookies.  Does every single cookie have the same number of chips in it?  No, of course not.  You’re mixing them up and spooning them out on the sheet and notice that some cookies only have one chip and some have 10.  My children immediately choose the ones with the most amount of chocolate chips (they’ll even take 5 minutes to figure out which ones have the most) and my mom will choose the ones with the least.

That is one reason why GFCO will randomly purchase products from the store and have them tested.  We are grateful that they are watching out for us.  They have issued a recall on the following:

GFCO Notice of Recall
Sept 20, 2013 – GFCO has issued a notice to Purely Elizabeth requiring a product recall for the items
below due to potential unsafe gluten levels.

 Purely Elizabeth Original Ancient Grain Granola Cereal –12 oz. package
o UPC Code: 8-55140-0017-5
o ID: 3629exp042013 or 3629exp042513

ï‚· Purely Elizabeth Blueberry Hemp Ancient Grain Granola Cereal – ID# 3629 (12 oz. package).
o UPC Codes: 8 55140 00216 8 and 8 55140 00219 9
o ID: 3629exp042013 or 3629exp042513