Health Canada has said since 2007 that pure oats (no wheat, barley or rye contamination) are not only suitable for gluten free diets but recommended due to the B vitamins, fiber and iron they add to a gluten free diet.  Yet at the same time, Canadian labeling laws, last updated in the 1990’s don’t allow oats to be labeled or advertised as gluten free.  This is why you only see “gluten free” on our US site even though it’s the same product as Canada.

As part of the upcoming allergen labeling law changes, Health Canada has recognized that their recommendations and the labeling laws don’t match.  Two weeks ago they published a 20 page document about their intent to change the law regarding oats and are asking for feedback from Canadian consumers and the food industry.  For more information, check out the link at:  http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/advisories-avis/_2010/2010_75-eng.php

Shows like The Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim last month can be a little overwhelming.  Open only to those in the natural products industry (stores, distributors, manufacturers, media, etc.), not the general public, it’s hard to share with you the vast size and amazing diversity of items available at these shows.  There is everything from allergy friendly foods to organic skin care to vitamins and pet food.

But while there were some wonderful new products to discover, I found an underlying bandwagon at the show:  gluten free.  New market research shows that 1 out of every 10 new products introduced this year will have a gluten free claim.  Some of this is good, some not so.  Read more »

There are a lot of people in the “free from” foods market that begin their businesses for different reasons.  Many, like myself, begin a company due to intensely personal reasons such as an affected family member.  Others  start because they choose to eat a certain way to feel healthier and want to share that with the world.  And others don’t have any of the medical issues involved but perhaps have a product that they would like to market to a particular segment of the free from marketplace such as Nestle’s chocolate bars in Canada being advertised as peanut free.

What I find frustrating are the people who want to market a product as free from a certain ingredient but have no idea what that actually means.  Read more »

The diagnosis of Celiac disease is on the rise and as such, there have been many studies lately about the causes  and possible prevention.  While Celiac disease is an immune response to the proteins in wheat, barley and rye (known collectively as gluten), it is a non-IgE response, meaning the reaction is not anaphylaxis but a myriad of symptoms from headaches to gastrointestinal upset and nutritional deficiencies.  Damage of the intestine and other body systems (such as osteoporosis of the bones) can be undiagnosed for years.

Up until this point, once properly diagnosed with Celiac disease, the only way to avoid the symptoms and subsequent damage is complete avoidance of gluten; not always a very easy prospect in our food supply.  So bring on the parasitic hookworms! Read more »

It’s been a wild last 10 days as I traveled first across Canada to Ontario for the Canadian Celiac Association (CCA) Conference and then to Seattle this past weekend for the Gluten Intolerance Group’s (GIG) Annual Conference. 

As much as travelling alone can be exhausting and not quite so glamorous as one might imagine (think eating meals alone – yuck!), both conferences had a lot to offer both the conference attendees and the businesses that attended.  I always love having people come up to the booth who we’ve been shipping to for years as it’s  wonderful to put a face to a name.  I also love it when you come up to the booth and proclaim loudly how wonderful Nonuttin’ products are.  You can travel with me any day!

I often learn a lot at these conferences.  Sometimes I have an opportunity to listen to speakers but my most important listening comes from speaking to the people coming up to my booth, tasting products or even telling me why they can’t try Nonuttin’ products.  It helps me learn about what ingredients people are avoiding that we might be able to consider changing or for those who do like our products, what would help them with new flavors, new stores to approach, and other products or ideas to try.

It’s always interesting to find out the regional differences for flavor preferences too.  Apple cinnamon granola bars and Energy Explosion trail mix went over best in Ontario while chocolate chip and chunk granola bars and vanilla cinnamon clusters went over best in Seattle.  Calgary loves their chocolate too and Victoria loves the apple cinnamon and caramel.   I haven’t been able to guess right yet which is always fun when deciding what items to pack for display and/or sale. 

Pure oats were getting more acceptance at the CCA Conference than last year but many were still cautious whereas gluten free oats in Seattle were very popular and pure oats or products made from them were represented in at least 6 different booths compared to only 2 in Ontario.   It’s also great to see all of the other new products that are out there.  Like our company, many companies are starting because the founders themselves or people they love have dietary issues that aren’t being offered solutions by large food companies.

So…

Feet?  Sore

Eyes?  Tired

Meeting great people?  Priceless

A recent study in Spain showed that the gut health of individuals on gluten free diets was worse than those not on gluten free diets.  The theory behind this study’s results is that when we remove gluten containing grains from our diet, we reduce the amount of food that probiotics (healthy bacteria in the gut) have to feed upon and stay healthy. 

This information doesn’t help those who have no choice in eating a gluten free diet such as those with Celiac disease and food allergies but should give those pause who go on a gluten free by choice without a direct medical need.  What can help the gut health of those who must be on the gluten free diet medically is to eat gluten free foods that are prebiotic (the “food” for those healthy probiotic bacteria).  Prebiotics are a type of fiber rich carbohydrate that are not as easy to digest as some kinds of foods.  Examples of prebiotics are:  oats (pure, gluten free oats, most – 95% of Celiacs - can tolerate these), inulin, resistant starches, gums, asparagus, bananas, artichokes, spinach, cranberries, garlic, onions and legumes such as chickpeas, lentils and navy beans.

If you are attending the Canadian Celiac Association Conference this weekend in Waterloo, please come by and visit me in Booth 37.  I’m then home for 3 days and then off to the Gluten Intolerance Group Conference in Seattle for June 4 and 5th.  Come see me there too!

Like the economy and the swine flu, allergy and Celiac news seems to have a certain pattern.  Doom, gloom, and then a light at the end of the tunnel.  Recent news from the specialty diet world is no exception.  But, like life, sometimes it takes the doom and gloom to truly appreciate that light so here are a few highlights from various places around the globe:

Allergy Mom’s Newsletter:  Gina Clowes is the mom of a multiple food allergic child and a tireless advocate for special diet families.  Her most recent newsletter was disturbing because it features an interview with a parent who lost a child last year to a peanut allergy.  What was very enlightening was that this parent mentions that his family had come to expect a certain kind of reaction from their teen and were completely caught off guard when this life-ending reaction occurred.  It’s also a wake-up call to remind all food allergic parents that a “mild” allergy is not always predictable.  Our family had quite a discussion around this terrible tragedy.  You can read Gina’s interview with the father on the Allergy Mom’s April 25 Newsletter.

Recently Anaphylaxis Canada has asked for those living in British Columbia to respond to proposed changes to the BC medical act that would allow naturopaths to treat allergic patients as part of their scope of practice.  Anaphylaxis Canada’s concerns are that  food allergic individuals (as opposed to intolerances) should be treated in a medical setting where intervention would be possible in the case of an anaphylactic reaction to treatment.  That position bears thought when hearing about a recent Dublin inquest where a man died from peanut allergy while being treated with alternative methods.

Did you know that this week is National Food Allergy Awareness Week in the United States and last week was National Food Allergy Awareness Week in Canada?  To learn more about increasing awareness any week of the year, please visit the FAAN website (Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network) in the US and Anaphylaxis Canada’s website in Canada.

Nonuttin’ Foods began providing GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) free products 2 years ago because there have been questions raised as to whether genetically engineered food could be having an effect on the rising rates of food allergies.  Since there have been no specific studies to date really delving into that question, we prefer to avoid genetically manipulated foods and advocate labeling (not currently required in North America) to allow the customer a choice.  Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that they have provided a research grant to the Mount Sinai School of Medicine to investigate that question.  It may take many years to have the question answered but at least it is a start.

Did you know that there is a correlation between rising food allergy rates and the rising rates of childhood obesity?  A new study looks at the possibility that one is affecting the other.

Peanut allergy gets a lot of media attention often because of its severity and in recent years, the amount of well known food processors that have begun labeling their products as peanut free (Mars, Nestle, Christie to name a few in Canada).   However, as reported in the UK recently, fruit and vegetable allergies, particularly Oral Allergy Syndrome, is gaining ground on the peanut and may be considered the epidemic of the food allergy world for the new century.

And finally, (are you getting tired of all of this news yet?) it looks like pure oats will finally be allowed gluten free certification in Canada.   For any of you who have tried to decipher exactly why you don’t see “gluten free” on our Canadian labels and website while we can on our US information, the confusion may finally be coming to an end.  Essentially, Health Canada’s position is that pure oats are a suitable addition to most gluten free diets and may help add some needed fiber and nutrition to the Celiac diet within reason (i.e. 10 bowls of pure oats a day is too much of a good thing – for anybody!).  But that doesn’t mean we’re allowed to put “gluten free” on our granola labels in Canada because oats aren’t allowed to be called gluten free, also according to Health Canada.  However, the Canadian Celiac Association is expected to roll out a new pure oats certification program at their annual conference in Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario on May 31 which may change all of that.  I’ll be there with bells on!

Does it seem to you that our regulatory bodies in North America are having a hard time keeping up with all of the new science and studies regarding food allergies, Celiac disease and intolerances?

I subscribe to a multitude of publications on food allergies and intolerances along with updates from the food manufacturing world that are based all over the world so that I have an overview of both North American and International News.  I can barely keep up as every day I get information overload.  Publications that never used to pay any attention to food allergies/intolerances just a couple of short years ago now have a headline in each new document about testing, recalls, breakthrough studies and more.  But if I, who admittedly has a very vested interest both professionally and personally, can barely keep up, what about our government bureaucracies?

Case in point:  Health Canada issued a position statement in 2008 that informed those with Celiac disease and gluten intolerance that pure oats (uncontaminated by the harmful gluten in wheat, barley and rye) were suitable for most gluten free diets.  The statement also suggested that pure oats would be welcomed by gluten avoiders because of the great nutrition and enjoyment that pure oats would bring to gluten free diets.  BUT… (here’s the fun part) any product with pure oats is not allowed to be called gluten free in Canada.  We can’t even call our facility a gluten free facility to Canadians (Americans are another matter, but I digress) because that might imply that oats are gluten free, which is against the current labeling laws.

It means we must have separate packaging, separate brochures and, what I’m working on today, is separating our website into an American section and a Canadian section so that one set will meet Canadian laws while another set will meet US laws.  So how can Health Canada issue a statement saying 95% of those on gluten free diets can have pure oats on one hand but not allow a hint of “gluten free” to pass the lips of any Canadian manufacturer using pure oats?

The bottom line is an antiquated Canadian labeling law that specified that any item containing wheat, barley, rye or oats could not be called gluten free.  So while Health Canada has reviewed the latest in science regarding pure oats and gluten free diets, the wheels grind slowly and the labeling law is creaking along behind. 

We’ve been informed that there is a finally a light at the end of the tunnel that we hope is not an oncoming train.  At the Canadian Celiac Association’s annual conference in May, there is a seminar on the Sunday morning outlining the certification of pure oats and the possibility of gluten free oats labeling in Canada.  I will be at that seminar but I’m not holding my breath just yet (I’m getting cynical given that we’ve been riding this bandwagon of pure oats since April 2007).  Ideally, I do hope to be able to stop having a split personality when discussing pure oats (Canada) and gluten free oats (US).

But then what will I do with my time?  Maybe I can focus on supporting further changes to the labeling laws that differ between the 2 countries on natural regulations, sesame allergen labeling, trans fats, daily value of iron… ?  Hmmm, on second thought, I think I’d better go put more work in on writing those pages for the website separation.