Enjoy Life Comments on Hidden Allergens

Boy, that didn't take long. Hardly did the big Chicago Tribune expose of hidden allergens I posted about yesterday hit the newsstands than Enjoy Life sent out a press release to proclaim how wonderfully careful they are.

According to [Scott Mandell, President, CEO and Founder of Chicago-based Enjoy Life Foods], that's why Enjoy Life Foods has invested in a dedicated nut- and gluten-free bakery, requires all ingredient suppliers to complete extensive cross-contamination statements, assigns a risk rating to all incoming ingredients based on suppliers' statements, and further tests specific ingredients to ensure strict allergen control standards are met. Additionally, all Enjoy Life products are certified gluten-free by the Gluten Free Certification Organization (GFCO), a third-party certification group. The GFCO follows a 10 parts per million (ppm) standard for gluten, which is lower than the proposed FDA standard of 20 ppm.

Complete and accurate product labeling is also an extremely important safety factor for Enjoy Life Foods. "We know it's hard for people with dietary restrictions to find foods that they can safely eat. Food labels and allergen advisory warnings can be confusing and ingredient statements don't always contain all the information they need," Mandell says. "That's why we go out of our way to make sure Enjoy Life Foods' product labels are clear and provide the information our food-sensitive consumers need to make informed decisions about what they can and cannot eat."

That all sounds good, and I'm not denigrating Enjoy Life products in any way. I simply have a feeling that the CEOs of most of the companies affected by recalls could have written similar statements. Most reputable firms today try very hard to ensure that their products are not subject to costly, embarrassing, and public recalls. They happen anyway.

To keep an eye out for recalls, the government has a handy site, www.recalls.gov/food.html, that lists all products that the FDA and USDA have jurisdiction over. If you are allergic or are the parent of an allergic child, be sure to bookmark the page.