Press Release: Udi's Gluten Free Nut Statement
Date: June 20, 2010
DENVER -- At Udi's Gluten Free we label our gluten free baked goods "nut free." This is because they do not contain nuts as ingredients. The equipment and ovens used to process our gluten free baked goods are completely dedicated to nut free production. In addition, our bakery is split in half between granola and gluten free bakery. All of the nut free equipment and ingredients are processed in the gluten free half of the bakery. The other half of the bakery is used to bake granola. The only tree nuts that make it into our facility are pistachios, coconuts, cashews, almonds, walnuts and macadamia nuts. There are no peanuts in our facility. Lastly, we have strict allergen handling policies in place regarding storage and use of nut ingredients.
However, although we can minimize the potential for cross contamination, no system can completely eliminate the possibility. We are particularly sensitive to the shared HVAC system. For that reason, we include the disclaimer regarding processing nuts in the same facility. We feel that customers with severe ingredient sensitivities are entitled to decide how much risk they are willing to tolerate, and our goal is to provide them with the information they need to make an informed decision.
Because we make our living baking and serving food to people with very serious allergies and food intolerances we want to assure everyone that we take food safety very seriously. Our facility and ingredient handling systems are audited by 3 different bodies: Cook and Thurber, Gluten Free Certification Organization, and scroll K.
The areas of nut free declarations are particularly tricky because the FDA does not regulate the term "nut free" or its many usages. For example, we are not required by any laws to state that we process tree nuts in this facility. Also, there are no laws or regulations defining what "nut free actually means or how this term can be used, but because we are self governing and we take safety very seriously we have chosen to overstate the risks so that consumers can make their own informed choices.
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