This week brings us yet another product recall. A batch of gluten free onion bhaji mix produced by Samosaco was found to contain 'elevated levels of gluten' - (http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2015/14080/gluten-free-onion-bhajee-mix-recalled). Samosaco produce a range of vegetarian Indian snacks and this includes some gluten free mixes.
The question that is burning on my lips is how did this come about? Are the recalls purely because companies are more rigorously testing the batches themselves or are Trading Standards testing them and recalling products? Either way how is gluten getting into 'gluten free' mixes?
We have been told all along by various companies, who have emerged in the last five or so years to the ever growing gluten free market, that the gluten free food they are producing is made in a 'dedicated environment', or in a place where strict procedures are adhered to and yet there have been too many products that have been contaminated recently and one wonders how this can happen.
If it is a procedural issue then one can only assume that the processes that are in place are either not adhered to or they are not robust enough. Do staff require further training, or has the purchasing process failed so that the raw materials are not monitored effectively?
If it's an environmental issue then the significance of it is far more wide reaching. If companies cannot make gluten free food in a factory where other products are manufactured, then they have to either have a dedicated facility (which could adversely affect the price point) or they simply don't produce gluten free food - in fact that extends to all allergens - not just gluten.
This spate of recalls could prove to be a significant turning point for manufacturers. Yes businesses are ultimately there to make money (which is required to pay for R&D, staff, factories, utilities etc), but the main responsibility has to be to the consumer. Contamination of this nature is as serious as a batch of food that contains salmonella or another potentially deadly bacteria...factories would be shut down until Environmental Health are satisfied that procedures are in place to prevent it happening again - the same should be true of allergens.
Thursday 18 June 2015
Friday 12 June 2015
Multiple outlets - single source
Phew what a busy month May was! Not only were we celebrating ten years of trading, but also we have been nominated for North Devon's Business Awards in the Micro Business category. The winners will be announced at an Awards Ceremony on 19th June....so watch this space.
The gluten free world has been shaken this week with a contamination issue at one of the major plants that produce gluten free food for some of the biggest companies in the industry. Genius Foods recalled some of its products on the 7th June http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2015/14047/genius-foods-recalls-some-gluten-free-products-as-they-may-contain-gluten
Initially, only three products were recalled: Genius Crumpets, Livwell Gluten Free Crumpets and Livwell Garlic Naan, however this was extended to a myriad of products http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2015/14063/some-gluten-free-products-recalled It would appear that human error was responsible for the contamination. Genius's statement on its website is that one of the dry ingredients used in the baking process affected its products - http://www.geniusglutenfree.com/en_GB/blog/Product%20recall:%20Genius%20&%20Livwell%20Crumpets%20and%20Livwell%20Naan and Genius went on to say: "The affected products tested between 5ppm (our minimum accepted level for all products) and 80ppm – therefore the risk to consumers by industry standard is very low."
I have to take umbrage at that last statement. The law states that for companies to make the 'gluten free' claim their finished products must test at less than 20 parts per million of gluten. There is a reason for this - numerous studies have indicated that products that contain more than 20 ppm have an adverse affect on the health of a significant number of coeliacs. In fact, other countries such as Australia, have a lower gluten free threshold than the UK. So, for a specialist gluten free manufacturer to make a blanket statement like the above, it would seem that the products it produces are aimed more at the gluten free 'lifestylers' and not the coeliac market.
However, as a manufacturer myself I have to empathise a little with Genius. All the procedures and processes that one has in place cannot ever totally allow for the fallibility of human intervention. Although, it should not have happened in the first place, the best we can hope for is that the company learns from this.....as should all other manufacturing plants that produce different products in the same place.
What I find particularly interesting about the whole thing is that all these own label and branded products are sub-contracted and are actually made in the same place by a single manufacturer - as is true, I'm sure, of many 'normal' food brands. So, Genius crumpets are fundamentally the same as Livwell's and all the other supermarket brands. And yet we are constantly wowed by the choice now available.....it brings it in to focus that if you want real choice, you need to shop at smaller independent manufacturers and retailers.
The gluten free world has been shaken this week with a contamination issue at one of the major plants that produce gluten free food for some of the biggest companies in the industry. Genius Foods recalled some of its products on the 7th June http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2015/14047/genius-foods-recalls-some-gluten-free-products-as-they-may-contain-gluten
Initially, only three products were recalled: Genius Crumpets, Livwell Gluten Free Crumpets and Livwell Garlic Naan, however this was extended to a myriad of products http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2015/14063/some-gluten-free-products-recalled It would appear that human error was responsible for the contamination. Genius's statement on its website is that one of the dry ingredients used in the baking process affected its products - http://www.geniusglutenfree.com/en_GB/blog/Product%20recall:%20Genius%20&%20Livwell%20Crumpets%20and%20Livwell%20Naan and Genius went on to say: "The affected products tested between 5ppm (our minimum accepted level for all products) and 80ppm – therefore the risk to consumers by industry standard is very low."
I have to take umbrage at that last statement. The law states that for companies to make the 'gluten free' claim their finished products must test at less than 20 parts per million of gluten. There is a reason for this - numerous studies have indicated that products that contain more than 20 ppm have an adverse affect on the health of a significant number of coeliacs. In fact, other countries such as Australia, have a lower gluten free threshold than the UK. So, for a specialist gluten free manufacturer to make a blanket statement like the above, it would seem that the products it produces are aimed more at the gluten free 'lifestylers' and not the coeliac market.
However, as a manufacturer myself I have to empathise a little with Genius. All the procedures and processes that one has in place cannot ever totally allow for the fallibility of human intervention. Although, it should not have happened in the first place, the best we can hope for is that the company learns from this.....as should all other manufacturing plants that produce different products in the same place.
What I find particularly interesting about the whole thing is that all these own label and branded products are sub-contracted and are actually made in the same place by a single manufacturer - as is true, I'm sure, of many 'normal' food brands. So, Genius crumpets are fundamentally the same as Livwell's and all the other supermarket brands. And yet we are constantly wowed by the choice now available.....it brings it in to focus that if you want real choice, you need to shop at smaller independent manufacturers and retailers.
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