I’ve been feeding myself food. Of course, that may seem like an obvious statement but let me clarify that. Food is recognizable with few ingredients, preferrably whole foods that your great grandma would recognize if she could read the label. Clean food does not require a chemistry degree or learning a whole new language just to read the ingredient panel.

Enter in Food Processing magazine, one of many magazines that I subscribe to so that I can keep abreast of trends and issues as a food manufacturer. In Food Processing magazine, there is a section on Wellness Foods which I read with a rather jaundiced eye over the last few minutes. It certainly gave me enough fodder to come write this blog post.

Why? The entire section is about formulating kids food to be healthier. Sounds like a great plan, right? Well, some ideas are simple, worthwhile improvements but what if the idea of healthier food is about less, not more formulation? What if the world doesn’t need a hot dog bun that has microalgae in it or a chicken nugget with whole grain coating?

A healthier hot dog?

Maybe the question we should really be asking ourselves is whether we actually need to “formulate” such overly processed foods in the first place.

I don’t want this blog to be a rant on other companies, truly. But I continue to see practices that you all need to be aware of out there while I’ve been traveling to various trade shows over the last month or so.

For example, at the biggest trade show, Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, “gluten free” was everywhere on booths and products. The funniest one was on chicken, yes, chicken. I realize that some chicken has seasoning added and so ingredients still must be looked at. But the kicker on the chicken is that they were frying it up in the booth for tasting, after dredging it in wheat flour!

I saw the same thing happen on a gluten free spread that was being offered on regular wheat bagels to sample. It wasn’t until a Celiac pointed it out to them that they realized that there was a problem with this practice. It’s kind of scary since they were attracting many of the attendees who were Celiac, not just because they were there as store buyers.

In some cases, when the person demoing a product is hired for the day, they don’t always know the ins and outs of special diets but in both of the above companies, the owner of the company was doing the demoing.

And that’s in addition to continued products I see that have a claim like “nut free” on the front with a disclaimer “made in a facility that processes tree nuts” on the back. To me, you can have one or the other, not both.

So for you, the consumer, all I can say is really check your items. Check your ingredients even if there is a “free from” message on the front, don’t assume that demos are safe, and contact companies if you have any questions. This really is a buyer beware situation where you have to take control.

When I speak to our American clients, I often hear how impressed they are with Canadian labelling. They have the erroneous impression that our laws are superior to their own. They’re wrong and we may be finding out just how much by the end of 2010.

American lawmakers passed FALCPA (Food Allergen Labelling Consumer Protection Act) in 2004 and it became mandatory in 2008. Health Canada started its process for new labelling laws a decade ago and they still haven’t been completed. In fact, an urgent letter for support from many of Canada’s allergy and Celiac support groups went out today that indicates if the proposed laws do not pass by the end of 2010, they will expire!

I realize that Health Canada is trying to be careful to address many health concerns and is listening to many stakeholders. I’ve participated in the consultation process both personally and representing Nonuttin’ Foods. But can you imagine a business or household that ran this way? Read more »

As indicated in an earlier post on our change to take sesame off of our labels, I had indicated that there would be other small changes to the ingredients as well.  These are the changes that you need to be aware of although they will not change any of the top food allergen declarations:

Sugar:   Currently we use a soft brown sugar that is made of cane juice but is refined.  In the new ingredient formulas, this ingredient will be changed to evaporated cane juice which is unrefined.

Chocolate Chips:  Although we are still finalizing this change, if all goes as expected, the new chocolate chips will have the anhydrous dextrose (corn based) removed and an additional ingredient, salt, will be added.  The 70% dark chocolate chunks will remain the same.

Crisp rice:  Not only will the sesame warning be removed due to the new crisp rice, the addition of honey as an ingredient (rice flour, rice bran, raisin juice concentrate, honey, salt), will mean that Nonuttin granola bars and granolas will now no longer be considered vegan as honey is considered an animal by-product. 

As indicated in the Say Goodbye to Sesame post, here are the details about which labels are changing with expected dates:

We will be moving to the new labels for the USA only at first.  This should take place within the next 8-10 weeks and will occur with all of the granola bars and clusters at the same time.

Canadian labels are expected to be changed within the next 4-6 months.  Why?  Health Canada has been promising changes to the allergen and gluten labeling for some time but most recently they have indicated that the new regulations will be posted in Spring 2010 which could be all the way until June.  So that we can make sure that we meet all new regulations, we will be waiting on Canadian packaging changes until those announcements take place.

In the meantime, be sure to read your Nonuttin labels.  If it still has the sesame warning on it, the formula is still containing the current crisp rice, NOT the new.  All new labels will only say:  Contains: soy (chocolate varieties) or May Contain:  soy (fruit varieties).

One of the things I struggle with as both the mother of a food allergic child and as a manufacturer is changing ingredients in our products.  This could be removing products, bringing in new ingredients or changing a recipe.  Believe me, every choice is carefully reviewed, often put out to our customers for feedback and truly agonized over.  I walk in your shoes and know exactly how our family feels when a favorite gets put onto the unsafe list.

In April 2007 when we moved to pure oats so that we could respond to customer requests for a gluten free product, it was a Catch 22.  Moving to gluten free would allow so many more people to enjoy Nonuttin products.  Unfortunately, the only way to do that was to move to a gluten free crisp rice from a new supplier, just as that supplier decided to put sesame on the same line. 

Although we’ve always had the crisp rice tested by a lab for sesame before coming to the Nonuttin’ facility and the testing has always been negative, I felt that a sesame warning must still go on our granola labels (bars and clusters).  So we labelled and carefully outlined why we were doing so on our website.  All the while, I’ve been looking for a crisp rice that could meet all of our allergen requirements and remove the sesame without requiring a 10 000 lb custom order.

I’m happy to say that we’ve finally done it.  No more sesame warning!  Read more »

Time today for a little rant.  What’s new?  The topic is demos.  You know, where ladies stand behind a table in your grocer’s aisle, complete with a hair net and gloves.  They offer little samples of various food products, coupons and more.  Many people love food demos and even go to Costco every Saturday to “lunch” on the samples.  Companies do food demos because if consumers try the product we may like it or simply feel guilty and agree to buy an item from that kindly lady behind the table.

99% of the time I avoid food demos, whether or not my allergic child is with me.  In fact, I really try not to make eye contact and have been known to avoid aisles completely if it means I can bypass a demo.  When I have stopped, I’m inevitably disappointed, if not downright ticked off.  Sometimes I can see right away that there are food allergens that we need to avoid in the product but other times I have heard allergen information from the presenter that’s not even close to the mark.  As an example, several years ago Nestle came out with a new Real Dairy product line of ice cream.  Of course, we Canadians know that Nestle has several peanut free chocolate bars on the market here so hope surged within me that I just might be able to get a delicious new ice cream that was safe for our whole family.   Read more »

Happy Friday! And we’ve got sunshine too!

There’s been much written recently about the “hysteria” of food allergies.  Granted, emptying an entire school bus because a peanut is found on the floor is a little over the top but there have been several editorials of late suggesting that food allergies are all in the heads of uptight suburban yuppies.  Scientific tests, studies and food allergy related deaths each year tell the real story but that hasn’t stopped many uneducated people from espousing otherwise.

When I first began Nonuttin’ Foods, a fair amount of education was necessary with our ingredient suppliers because 5 years ago, not all ingredient manufacturers had allergen control as part of their quality assurance.  I had to create forms for each supplier to fill out, ask a lot of questions and have good communication with the quality assurance and/or production managers of each supplier.  Over time though, it has became evident that I’m not the only one asking these questions and requiring specific answers; most suppliers now have their own forms and documented processes ready to go and can answer questions very quickly and concisely.

So imagine my surprise when one of our suppliers questioned our specifications when we refused an order today.  To clarify, our requirements for testing levels are specified with the Quality Assurance department, not the sales team, but when we say that the allergen in question must be negative to the limits of a particular test, we mean it.   So it was causing the sales person who was shipping the order some consternation (and extra work).  While I understand that extra work isn’t appreciated, being told that we should accept an ingredient because the testing was “pretty close” is just mind-boggling.   Note to Self:  Pick jaw up off the floor.

In the end, there are just some people who just don’t get it.  I only hope that all of the so-called hysteria publicity doesn’t stop the average person from being open to learning about what it’s like to walk in these shoes.