I know you haven't heard much from me this week, but I have been busy writing. No, not just my weekly column or new recipes for you, but asking for stronger labeling laws and stiffer penalties for companies who do not follow them.
This post is a long read, but worth your time. I am asking everyone who takes the time too read this to its entirety to please at least contact the FDA. The next one sick could be you.
I have had
my share of really weak employees with a poor work ethic. And, they think no
one will ever know.
In retail
or even academia, the two arenas where I spent the bulk of my career, that
presumption just might play. But, when you are talking about food safety, you
will always get busted. When I was catering, my rule of thumb for food safety
was three days and it’s out even though the State Health Department allowed for
food to be held for seven day—too long for me.
Food does
have to be tainted to make a Celiac or someone gluten intolerant really, really
sick. To fully understand this cryptic title, you have to travel back in time
to April 7, 2011. The place was a little town in southwest Alabama,
Jackson to be
specific. I was thrilled to be spending three days in the town where I learned
to ride a bicycle, got my first kiss, had my first date, proudly wore honor
cords at graduation and sadly said farewell to my beloved parents. The high
school I attended was having a “Grand” reunion spanning 14 years, and my
classmates were the babies of the group.
Knowing how
extremely sensitive my husband is to gluten, I do not travel anywhere without a
pocketful of “Chef’s Card” along with breakfast and usually lunch foods,
depending on where we will be. Going into the one and only restaurant open at
the end of the first evening’s activities, we spoke personally with the owner,
explaining the problem and giving him our “Chef Card”. He assured us there
would be no problem. Later that night, Rick began to feel bloated and very
uncomfortable. Determined not to “ruin” my grand reunion, he gutted out his
discomfort.
To make a
long story short, the inflammation created in his digestive system caused his
diverticulosis to turn into diverticulitis. The result was a strong regimen of
antibiotics causing a second extreme reaction—his skin and much of his
digestive system became necrotic. As a result, Rick lost 26 pounds in 21 days,
nearly costing him his life.
So, what
happened? Apparently Rick’s steak was grilled on the same grill where this
steak place grilled the Texas
toast that is served alongside every steak, except ours.
I have no
way of proving my theory, but I would wager the cook said to himself when
reading our card, “It’s late, and no one will ever know”. He was oh so wrong!
We knew for almost four long months
As those of
us either with a Celiac or one who is severely gluten intolerant in our midst know,
we read every word on the label of every product we buy, causing me hours and
hours of time on the phone in the aisles of the grocery stores I frequent. For
what it worth, I shop every store in the area plus Auburn University’s
Meat Lab and local farmer’s markets.
Last
Monday, my sweet husband ate dried mangoes distributed through Kroger under the
name of Amport Foods, a company located in Minneapolis, and had a really bad reaction to
gluten. How do we know this to be true? This one food was one we had never
tried before, and true to form, he was extremely sick within 30 minutes of
ingesting. The allergen warning on the label simply mentioned nuts. Rick is not
allergic to any type of nut.
Not only
did I send a scathing complaint to the company, I also asked Gigi Stewart of
Gluten Free Gigi, Inc. to weigh in which she did admirably. She found among
other things that:
a. All
equipment is supposedly cleaned in between various allergens and each night
when manufacturing and packaging ends.
b. Products
can be randomly run on different equipment.
c. While
wheat-containing breadsticks and sesame sticks are produced in the same
facility as Amport's dried fruits, they say there is no airborne wheat or other
gluten-containing flours in the facility.
In Amport’s
email to me, they said there was no requirement to list gluten and suggested we
simply not purchase their products.
Here is my
response, in part, to Amport’s email to me:
“First,
wheat is one of the allergens required by law to list as an allergen warning.
Since your company produces wheat-containing breadsticks and sesame sticks in
the same facility and on the same equipment, the label on the dried mango by
law should have stated such.
Second,
randomly running products on different equipment is the epitome of
cross-contamination.
Third,
there is no way without a very elaborate exhaust system and extensive allergen
testing procedures in place to say with certainty your company has no airborne
wheat or other gluten-containing flours in its facility.
Fourth, . .
. Anyone who handles food, i.e, from those who gather crops in the fields to
the truckers delivering it to the producers and manufacturers to those who sell
food, cook and prepare food and serve food, have a moral obligation to ensure
their food does not make anyone sick. And, when companies like American Importing
Co Incorporated allows food to be contaminated during the processing and
packaging and then does not take responsible action to warn innocent consumers,
persons like yourself do not get sick; innocent people like my husband do.”
Finally,
the point is not whether we will purchase any more of their products (we
won’t), but whether any additional unsuspecting consumers will be injured by
their improperly labeled products.
Let’s hold
all companies accountable for their actions. And, just what can you do to
toward this effort? For one thing, always put your complaint in writing.
Companies do not have to give a
written response, but most will. Another thing that all of us should do is to
keep the pressure on FDA and our Senators and Representatives to (a) push for
stronger labeling laws that include gluten as an allergen and (b) enact laws
calling for stiff penalties for non-compliance. You can share your thoughts
with FDA by writing to:
The
Division of Dockets Management
HFA-305
Food and
Drug Administration
5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061
Rockville, MD
20852
To find the
address of your Congressional Representative go to http://www.house.gov/ and that of your Senator
go to http://www.senate.gov/. A friend of
mine has a doctoral specialty in food safety said to keep your comments brief
and factual, ending with a request for help in changing labeling laws and
strengthening penalties.
A few other
resources you may want to send your concerns, complaints or requests to include:
1. U S Food
Safety, a private watchdog group that monitors recalls and much more
And, you
will definitely want to visit Gigi Stewart’s website at Gluten Free Gigi (http://www.glutenfreegigi.com/#) for
more information on cross contamination and what to do if you accidentally
ingest gluten.
