Re: Notice from specialfoods.com

[Guest guest]

How did you get that message? I buy lots of premade baked goods. Is

that for real? What does it mean about the flours? Not selling its

flours to any other company- but other companys make their own. I am

confused (easy to do).

on Long Island New York

*

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[Guest guest]

Why would only one company in the U.S. be allowed to sell specialty flours?

That sounds rather odd and they are also not sold to any other companies.

It's not like it's a rare flour or some kind of secret ingredient. I would

call the number that was sent to you and see what it's all about. The FDA

might not recognize the diet that our children are on but I'm sure they know

about Celiacs Disease and epi pens that are used for people who are highly

allergic to a substance. It just doesn't sound right to me even though I'm

sure there are companies out there who are not putting out a 100% wheat free

product but the ones that most of us deal with are the reputable names that

we get from one another. I think I will call the # later and see what is up.

Thanks for giving it to us though.

MA

[Guest guest]

At 06:17 AM 8/7/2001 -0500, you wrote:

Just so you know, there are no U.S. regulations regarding gluten content

claims. None at all. You can search U. S. Food and Drug Administration

Center for Food Safety and Applied

Nutrition http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/wsearch.html which is the site for

all US labelling and ingredients regulations. (you don't have to

though...searching for gluten turns up 0 results). The only regulated

health claims for labelling can be found at

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/fdhclm.html

>Special Foods!TM is the only company in the US that is authorized to sell

>baked products from the following:

>White sweet potato, Sweet potato, Cassava, Tapioca, Malanga, Yam, Water

>chestnut, Lotus, Quinoa, Amaranth, Buckwheat, Potato, Garbanzo beans,

>Pinto beans, Navy beans, Kidney beans, Black beans, Lentils, Arrowroot.

There are no regulations which grants exclusitivity..and COULD NEVER be

such regulations (can we say restraint of trade???). I wonder how Ener-g

Foods feels about finding out that it isn't " authorized " to sell their

bread made from Tapioca, which they've been doing for something like 30 years.

As I said before......I'd call them on this...ask them to provide some

backup to these claims. WHY and HOW are they the only ones???

>We are also the ONLY source from which the flour to make these baked

>products can be obtained. We sell our flour to no other company.

>If you have obtained baked products from the above list from another

>source, BEWARE! The baked product does not contain what the ingredients

>list on the package.

If this was the case, the company could be sanctioned by the FDA unless it

was a small bakery with " walk up " traffic. In that case, ingredients don't

even have to be listed. Think of the bulk bread bins at your local

supermarket.

The Department of Agriculture has obtained and

>analyzed samples of some bogus products and found them to be virtually

>100% wheat......that bakes loaves of wheat bread (also bagels and

>muffins) and labels them sweet potato, lotus, yam, garbanzo, and any of

>about 20 other different things.

As I stated last year, the DOA doesn't do these kinds of tests. The FDA

does. It is perfectly legal, acceptable and in fact common to make wheat

bread with any of these products as ingredients. It does not make them

" bogus " , " illegal " or anything UNLESS THEY ARE LABELLED GLUTEN FREE

(although given the lack of US regulations I'm not even sure about that).

Potato bread is quite often a mix of wheat flour and potatoes. It will have

wheat listed as an ingredient however. The FDA CAN recall products if major

ingredients are not listed but there is no problem if they are. It's up to

individuals to read the labels.

In Canada, Gluten Free is a regulated term.

7.15.7 Gluten-Free Foods [FDR, B.24.018, B.24.019] (Amended 31/01/97) A

food is not permitted to be labelled, packaged, sold or advertised in a

manner likely to create an impression that it is " gluten-free " unless it

does not contain wheat, including spelt and kamut, or oats, barley, rye,

triticale or any part thereof

I would suggest that you write your congress and your FDA and urge them to

put in place similar regulations. It would help clear up a lot of confusion.

If you're buying from a well known brand name which operates a dedicated

gluten free facility you can be reasonably confident that your food is

safe, no matter what anyone else claims.

[Guest guest]

I have been asked by Special Foods to make some clarifications to this

post. The posts were not intended to disparage Special Foods or was in NO

WAY to " encourage customers to mistrust the quality and calibre of our

products and the truth of what we say. " but to help clear up confusion that

resulted from statements on their website as posted by one of the list

members.

> >Special Foods!TM is the only company in the US that is authorized to sell

> >baked products from the following:

> >White sweet potato, Sweet potato, Cassava, Tapioca, Malanga, Yam, Water

> >chestnut, Lotus, Quinoa, Amaranth, Buckwheat, Potato, Garbanzo beans,

> >Pinto beans, Navy beans, Kidney beans, Black beans, Lentils, Arrowroot.

>

>There are no regulations which grants exclusitivity..and COULD NEVER be

>such regulations (can we say restraint of trade???). I wonder how Ener-g

>Foods feels about finding out that it isn't " authorized " to sell their

>bread made from Tapioca, which they've been doing for something like 30 years.

>As I said before......I'd call them on this...ask them to provide some

>backup to these claims. WHY and HOW are they the only ones???

Special Foods would like me to point out that they do hold patents on

several processes used in the production of their products and that

' " Special Foods founder, Slimak, holds many comprehensive patents for

many foods; that these patents do limit sales and availability of products

included in the patents. "

For those who are inclined, I still suggest you call them and ask for

clarification as to exactly what this means.

>If you have obtained baked products from the above list from another

>source, BEWARE! The baked product does not contain what the ingredients

>list on the package. The Department of Agriculture has obtained and

>analyzed samples of some bogus products and found them to be virtually

>100% wheat.

>If you have obtained products from another source and would like a way to

>test for yourself, there is a simple test you can perform. Get the real

>thing, grind it up and make your own. For example if you have purchased a

>baked product from some company that is supposedly made from seeds (such

>as amaranth, buckwheat or quinoa) or beans (such as garbanzo or lentil),

>purchase the seeds or beans from your local health food store, grind them

>up and bake with them! Most of the bogus products list only a flour,

>water and salt, so take your flour, add a little water and salt and see

>what you get! There is no magic baking process; you will not need any

>special kneading technique. Add water as needed to get a consistency that

>seems right for your bread, bagel, muffin, flat bread etc, and then bake

>it until it is done. What you get will be what you are supposed to get.

>Compare and taste your results with the baked products you purchased. For

>example, is the color the same? Is the texture similar? Is the taste

>similar? What you just baked will taste like what it was ground from,

>does the other product? What is the color of what you just baked? Does it

>have flecks? Does the product you purchased have the same amount of

>flecks?

>If this was the case, the company could be sanctioned by the FDA unless it

>was a small bakery with " walk up " traffic. In that case, ingredients don't

>even have to be listed. Think of the bulk bread bins at your local

>supermarket.

Special Foods responds:

> " The small bakery being indirectly referenced is fully in violation of our

>patents, but that is the least of the concerns we have about this company.

>They label loaves of wheat bread as wheat free and sell them to severely

>food allergic people, saying they are 100% sweet potato, or cassava, or any

>of many other flours. As you may know, your government recently shut down a

>bakery in Canada for doing the same thing. This unscrupulous practice is

>very dangerous to some people. It is appropriate for people to be warned

>that there is a rogue bakery that could cause them great harm. Our message

>is specifically enough worded that individuals who have come across this

>bakery can recognize it from our description, and avoid harm to their

>children. "

Kinnikinnick:

When I responded to the initial post, the only information I was responding

to was the initial post. I did not realize that this was an indirect

reference to this particular bakery. I did not " get " the indirect

reference. Of course, labelling products wheat free, which are not, is

entirely wrong. I did point out that this might be an FDA enforcement

matter. I was certainly not implying that this warning was not appropriate.

It was however unclear to me that this was in fact a warning about a

specific company. I apologize for the confusion. I also pointed out that in

Canada there are rules regarding this and as pointed out the company here

has been dealt with. The interesting thing is that the Canadian bakery in

question was not claiming gluten free or wheat free, they simply were not

declaring wheat as an ingredient on the label.

>The Department of Agriculture has obtained and

> >analyzed samples of some bogus products and found them to be virtually

> >100% wheat......that bakes loaves of wheat bread (also bagels and

> >muffins) and labels them sweet potato, lotus, yam, garbanzo, and any of

> >about 20 other different things.

>

>As I stated last year, the DOA doesn't do these kinds of tests. The FDA

>does. It is perfectly legal, acceptable and in fact common to make wheat

>bread with any of these products as ingredients. It does not make them

> " bogus " , " illegal " or anything UNLESS THEY ARE LABELLED GLUTEN FREE

>(although given the lack of US regulations I'm not even sure about that).

>Potato bread is quite often a mix of wheat flour and potatoes. It will have

>wheat listed as an ingredient however. The FDA CAN recall products if major

>ingredients are not listed but there is no problem if they are. It's up to

>individuals to read the labels.

Kinnikinnick:

Apparently, I was incorrect in that " Two of these [uSDA] labs were involved

in the analysis of products from this bakery. They perform this type of

analysis routinely as

part of their research studies; and included analysis of samples from this

bakery as an ancillary research project. The USDA does have analytical

laboratories at its research facilities that are fully capable of

conducting the analyses described "

Special Foods has informed us that they have documents from the USDA in

regards to this matter. This was not really my point however, I was simply

stating that it was my understanding that the FDA was the authority for

dealing with undeclared ingredients and labelling issues. I had no

knowledge of this " ancilliary research project " or what it has to do with

this issue.

Regarding my post

>FYI...from the Special Foods Website

>http://www.specialfoods.com/specialprocessing.html

> " All of our seed and nut products are organic; this includes amaranth,

>quinoa, milo, macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, hazelnuts,

>barley, millet, rye, oat, lentil, etc. "

Special Foods replies:

>Every seed and nut product we carry IS organic, this includes our full

>line of amaranth, quinoa, milo products, as well as all the other product

>lines in the list you posted about our company.

It was not my intention to bring into question whether the products were

organic or not. I have no doubt they are. It was simply a post of

information from their website listing the ingredients used.

I'd like to reiterate that I was not in any way trying to discredit Special

Foods. My greatest concern is for the health and well being of the people

on the GFCF Kids list. I have been a member of the list since it began and

try to answer questions as they are put to the list to the best of my

knowledge. People on the GFCF diet, especially those new to the diet are

often overwhelmed by information. Broad statements and generalizations

about the entire industry does nothing to help them in their quest to help

their children. I believe the presentation of straightforward facts is the

best way to provide service to these consumers and was attempting to

provide answers to the question from the original poster. I shall be more

circumspect in the future.

I apologize for taking up your time.

Jay Bigam

Marketing and Information Technology Manager

Kinnikinnick Foods Inc.

www.kinnikinnick.com

Toll Free: 1-