Recall on wheat free bread

[Guest guest]

Just got an email about this, not sure if anyone was using this

brand or not. Not sure if they're actually recalling the bread or

not but it is mislabeled. ... -Crystal

Mislabeled bread a danger, allergists say

By PATRICIA LOPEZ

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Published on: 01/12/06

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. * Allergists and food allergy activists alike

were shaken Wednesday upon learning that the French Meadow Bakery

labeled its spelt bread " wheat-free " when the bread, in fact,

contains wheat.

For the hundreds of thousands of Americans who are wheat-intolerant

or who have a genuine wheat allergy, mislabeled food is no small

matter, said Anne Munoz-Furlong, founder of the national Food

Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, based in Fairview, Va.

" Their health and safety depend on them being able to trust what's

on a label, " she said. " We can't stop eating food. We can only stop

eating the wrong food, and for that we need to know what's in it. "

Wheat allergy reactions, she said, can range from hives and

digestive problems to * at the most extreme end * death from the

inability to breathe.

French Meadow, revered by health enthusiasts for its varieties of

organic bread, had 30,000 loaves made from spelt and Kamut grain

seized Tuesday afternoon by U.S. marshals and agents from the U.S.

Food and Drug Administration. The agency had spent nearly a year

attempting to get the bakery to relabel its bread, noting that both

spelt and Kamut are varieties of wheat.

U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger, whose office is handling the case,

said the agents locked most of the loaves in freezers, where they

will remain until the case is decided or a court order issued. " The

FDA takes the accuracy of food labeling very seriously, "

Heffelfinger said.

French Meadow has 20 days to respond to the FDA's complaint, he

said. He did not know whether any consumer complaints were involved.

The company could face administrative penalties and sanctions for

the government's costs in prosecuting the case, he said, " but that

hasn't been determined yet. This is primarily about resolving the

labeling issue. "

Steve Shapiro, a partner with Lynn Gordon in the Minneapolis bakery

that distributes its products nationwide, did not return calls

Wednesday. But he said Tuesday that although he and Gordon disagree

with the classification of spelt and Kamut as part of the wheat

family, they are putting the final touches on new labels and hope to

get their bread back " as soon as we can. "

By Wednesday afternoon, the bakery website had pulled the

term " wheat-free " from the spelt and kamut varieties of bread,

although it retained its claim that they are alternatives for the

wheat-intolerant.

At the Mississippi Market Co-op in St. , loaves of the bakery's

breads still lined the shelves Wednesday, including several loaves

of the " Health Seed " spelt bread that bore a colorful label touting

it as wheat-free.

Steve Conroy, a manager at the co-op, said that while he will

continue to stock French Meadow breads, he approves of the FDA

action. " I've been in the health food business for 10 years, " Conroy

said. " Spelt is a type of wheat, no question. To say that bread is

wheat-free just isn't true. "

Intimidatingly heavy for its small size, Health Seed spelt bread is

a compact loaf, with slices that are barely palm-sized. Its price is

daunting, too: $4.99 for the 9-inch loaf.

READING LABELS

Dr. Lakin, a Burnsville allergist with Minnesota Allergy and

Asthma Consultants, said he was " deeply concerned " by the

mislabeling.

" We train our patients to read labels carefully, " he said. " That

wouldn't have helped here. What are they supposed to do when the

label says wheat-free? "

Lakin said spelt is a primitive forerunner to modern wheat, first

cultivated about 7,000 years ago. But " it is a type of wheat, " he

said. " It shares many of the same properties as wheat and people who

are allergic to wheat can have reactions to spelt. "

Kamut, he said, is of even greater concern because it is much more

closely related to modern wheat. " Folks who are sensitive to wheat

will definitely react to Kamut, " he said.

And because both varieties are somewhat obscure, he said, consumers

are almost entirely dependent on labels.

About 11 million Americans suffer from some type of food allergy and

wheat is among the " big eight " categories, Munoz-Furlong said.

Lakin put wheat allergy sufferers at about 1 percent, with most of

those being wheat-intolerant. Those with true wheat allergies, who

risk severe reactions or death, " are probably 1 in 500,000, " he said.

PACKED ON POLAR TRIPS

Behind the counter at the French Meadow Bakery & Cafe on Wednesday,

loaves of organic cranberry corn bread, organic multigrain, country

rye and organic ciabatta were for sale, but no spelt.

Narnang, the cafe's day manager, said the breads in dispute

are delivered only to outside customers. Cafe customers, however,

can request that it be used as a wheat-free substitute on

sandwiches, she added.

Arriving shortly before noon was Will Steger, the polar explorer,

who said that he's a longtime fan of the breads and that he stops by

the cafe once or twice a week when he's in town from his home near

Ely, Minn.

On a 1989 expedition to Antarctica, Steger said, he packed along the

bakery's spelt bread. Toasted on a tent stove and slathered with

peanut butter and butter, it often would serve as breakfast, he said.

" Nothing but good results, " Steger said.

For those with allergies, however, Munoz-Furlong said, the results

are anything but good.

" It could be anything from hives to a life-threatening response, she

said, " and the worst part is, no one knows at the beginning of the

reaction how severe it will be. We know this is something that

affects children and adults.

" It is serious. "