Press Release: The Gluten Free Audit
Date: June 04, 2010
The Gluten Free Audit: Udi's Gluten Free Foods is now certified gluten free!
DENVER -- I'm Marjorie Eliason, the QA Supervisor at Udi's Gluten Free Foods. My job is to ensure that we produce safe, high quality gluten-free baked goods. I do this by making sure our facility is clean, that the possibility of contamination is kept to a minimum, and that no ingredients containing wheat, rye or barley make their way into production.
How do we make sure that no gluten is included in our ingredients? We approach that from several angles. All ingredients are researched prior to being introduced into production. We speak with our ingredient suppliers, obtain product specification information and guarantees, and we collect information on any allergens that are used in the manufacturing of our ingredients. This includes wheat and gluten. After all the research and pre-approval of our raw materials, I conduct gluten testing on every batch of incoming ingredients prior to their use. The tests we use are highly sensitive and can detect very small amounts of gluten, as little as 10 parts per million.
To ensure that our internal measures are working properly to keep all gluten out of our baked goods we recently made the decision to have a third party audit our procedures. Certification from the Gluten Free Certification Organization (GFCO) means that all our ingredients and processes have been investigated by the GFCO and found to be complete and reliable for preventing gluten contamination. The GFCO is a non-profit organization whose purpose is expanding awareness and providing educational support for celiac disease and gluten intolerance. One of their functions is auditing facilities, like ours, who want to produce certified gluten-free products.
The best way to prepare for an audit is to look at our facility and documentation as if we were the auditor. We rechecked our production practices and organized our paperwork. Our auditor was helpful and informative. The job of an auditor is not merely to point out potential problems, but to offer suggestions and solutions as well. First, he reviewed our ingredients. Next, he read over our policies for preventing gluten contamination. He also examined our records for sanitation, ingredient selection and storage. He then made sure our processing on the floor matched what was stated in our policies. We toured the facility, tracing the flow of production from receiving, onto mixing and shaping, and finished at baking and packing. Our employees demonstrated every process to him. He made suggestions, and complimented us on our ingredient selection and our regulation.
Two days after the audit, GFCO sent us the good news that our gluten free products were now officially certified gluten free! Now that we have passed the audit and are official, the GFCO remains involved in production, overseeing any changes to ingredients or equipment, and continues to re-inspect our facility at least once a year.
For more information about the Gluten Free Certification Organization visit: http://www.gfco.org
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