Our group continues to grow. We're beginning to be recognized as an active
support group in Sarasota and Bradenton communities. Newly-diagnosed celiacs
are referred to our group by Sarasota Memorial Hospital's dietitians and
several gastroenterologists. Each month brief releases on meetings and
programs are sent to 14 area newspapers. And now you can find our
meeting/program listings in the Sarasota Herald Tribune Wednesday Florida
West section's Food Week, thanks to Linda Brandt, Cuisine Editor.
Received via email, Aug. 21, 2007
If someone is planning to travel abroad, and wants the celiac dining card
written in a foreign language, they can get it free from: www.celiactravel.com.
Amy
RECEIVED VIA EMAIL...
Sent: Monday, January 22, 2007 11:13 PM
Subject: FDA Issues Proposed
"Gluten-Free" Definition
The
FDA has issued its proposed definition of "Gluten-Free" as
required by the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of
2004 (FALCPA).
This
is YOUR opportunity to speak up. The proposed FDA definition for
"Gluten-Free" is not simple. There are 95 pages in the docket.
In summary, the proposed, voluntary use of the term
"gluten-free"
- does
not contain wheat, rye, barley or cross bred hybrids of these grains
- does
not contain an ingredient derived from one of the above grains if use
of that grain results in greater than 20 ppm gluten in the food
- does
not contain 20 ppm or more of gluten
Concerning
oats:
- all
oats cannot be claimed to be “gluten-free"
- oats
products with 20 ppm or greater of gluten cannot be claimed to be
gluten-free
The
FDA is seeking comments and scientific information from the public on
the following points:
- appropriateness
of 20 ppm gluten as the proposed threshold level as determined using
an ELISA based method.
- effect
the adoption of a lower threshold level would have on individuals with
celiac disease and on industry
- scientific
data or other information that addresses the question of whether the
adoption of a lower threshold level would be of benefit to individuals
with celiac disease
- effect
of a lower threshold level on the availability in the US of foods
labeled gluten-free and whether that reduced availability could
negatively impact individuals with celiac disease
- proposal
to restrict the types of gluten-free labeling claims that can be made
for oats
Comments
will be accepted for 90 days beginning Jan. 23, 2007.
Note,
while this FDA definition uses the ppm limits to DEFINE the product, the
CSA Recognition Seal schedules tests
at 3 ppm to VERIFY that the Product, Process and Packaging
are as "risk-free” as possible for eliminating Wheat, Barley, Rye
and Oats, their crosses and their derivatives from the diet.
The
entire docket is very thoughtful reading.
This just in as of 12/25/06...
"Anheuser Busch announced that they will market
gluten free beer... made from sorghum!"
UPDATE on Increasing the Availability of Gluten-Free Food
Accomplished:
1) From the Feb. 19 Publix presentation we learned: the
Publix Gluten-Free Products list continues and covers a broad range of
food categories; Publix requires all private label food manufacturers to
submit annual ingredient updates; a long-term conversion of this product
information to a data base is underway; Publix remains committed to the
GreenWise Market section for health-wellness products, including expanding
wheat-free/gluten-free items.
The company's consumer relations office for queries, specific product
information and requests for the current G-F Products List
is accessible; visit
www.publix.com, then choose CONTACT, or call 1-800-242-1227, 8-5:30
M-F. The current Publix G-F Products List was added to this website on
August 10, 2006.
2) NEEDS, the Syracuse, NY reliable natural foods vendor
Amy Eliezer has dealt with, will accept orders for the gluten-free food it
stocks; visit www.needs.com .
3) Whole Foods Market (downtown Sarasota) will include
fresh baked goods from the company-dedicated gluten-free bakery in North
Carolina. The Whole Foods list of gluten-free products is available from
www.wholefoodsmarket.com/specialdiets. Call 955-8500 for specific
product information.
4) This year we've been fortunate to have gluten-free
goodies to sample--homemade from gracious members and g-f products sent
from food manufacturers. Aside from the sheer delight of sampling
home-baked goods, it's also great to be introduced to g-f labeled
products.
Whole Foods Market opened in December2005, Whole Foods has among its
gluten-free items fresh-baked goods from the company's dedicated gluten-free
bakery in the Carolinas.
It's still important to continue letting the store managers where we shop
know what gluten-free food items we'd like them to stock. Remind them of the
size of our group, the ever-increasing diagnoses being made by doctors and
that we could be their captive group of regular shoppers.
THIS JUST DISCOVERED! RICHARD'S WHOLE FOODS IN THE GOLD TREE PLAZA SHOPPING
MALL, AT TUTTLE & RINGLING, CAN OBTAIN THE EXTRA-FINE BROWN RICE FLOUR,
FROM AUTHENTIC FOODS GLUTEN-FREE SUPERMARKET IN CALIFORNIA, RECOMMENDED BY
COOKBOOK AUTHOR ANNALISE ROBERTS WHO PRESENTED AT A RECENT MEETING.
December 26, 2006: Richard's Whole Foods, recently
began stocking Bob's Red Mill Organic Coconut Flour.
DO YOU LIKE TO TRAVEL? BOB & RUTH'S GLUTEN-FREE DINING AND TRAVEL CLUB
IS WORTH CHECKING OUT! VISIT THEIR WEBSITE, WWW.BOBANDRUTHS.COM
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THEIR PROGRAMS.
SPECIAL
ANNOUNCEMENT
CNN Newsroom Anchor Heidi Collins
aired a follow-up story to her interview with Dr. Peter Green from Columbia
University's Celiac Disease Center. To see the story, please visit the
National Foundation for Celiac Awareness at www.CeliacCentral.org
and click on the SPECIAL ANNOUNCMENT link.
