Tuesday, December 16th, 2008
Negligence in Gluten-Free Food Labeling
Back in August, I posted on gluten-free product labeling and how the FDA has taken strides to achieve higher food labeling standards. I recently read an article in The Chicago Tribune, however, that has changed my thinking.
In "Children at risk in food roulette," Tribune reporter Sam Roe describes how mislabeling food products is just as negligent as leaving the label blank. According to the Tribune's investigation, many "manufacturers mislabel their products and regulators fail to police store shelves." These products include candy, cookies, and ice creams- foods targeted at children. When individuals with food allergies-including a large number of children-ingest many of these seemingly harmless foods, they can suffer life-threatening symptoms.
The investigation followed the case of a Kentucky woman who bought Wellshire chicken nuggets-labeled as gluten-free-for her three-year old son, who has a severe wheat allergy. When the boy ate the nuggets, "he started coughing, his eyes swelled and he had trouble breathing." His mom contacted the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the food manufacturer, and Wellshire Farms, all to no avail. The companies took down her information but did not recall the product.
The Tribune sent the Wellshire chicken nuggets to a leading food-allergy testing lab in Nebraska and found the product contained high amounts of gluten.
The reasons for mislabeling are the result of "weak and murky federal rules," the article said. Gluten-free labeling is still relatively new to the U.S. so manufacturers don't have to follow the same labeling regulations when it comes to gluten as they do with meat and dairy products.
For more information, read the full article, watch the video on food testing, and check out the Tribune's database of recalled food here.