Hi Chris:

I understand that you wanted some more information about our Gluten Free products and our testing practices. Amy’s Kitchen produces more than fifty gluten-free products. We realize that many people who consume these products have Celiac Sprue and cannot safely consume gluten. We understand the severity of this disease and do not take lightly our responsibility to produce foods that are safe for our consumers. Amy’s gluten-free products do not contain any wheat, rye, barley or oats.

We assure this gluten-free standard by internal or independent testing of every product and by manufacturing processes that ensure absence of cross contamination. Amy’s staff includes a number of professionals having expertise in food allergens and their testing.

We take extraordinary measures to ensure our gluten-free products are indeed gluten-free. A wide range of activities and cross-checks are completed to ensure that cross-contamination and/or inadvertent use of the wrong ingredient does not occur in our facilities. Examples include:

  • Analysis for gluten in our in-house allergen lab; each manufacturing run of a Gluten-Free product is tested to ensure it complies with the Food Allergen Labeling Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) definition of Gluten-Free (<20 ppm). Our limit of detection is 5 ppm gluten and we use the best available technology in our allergen testing laboratory. FALCPA does not require that gluten-free products be manufactured in a facility that does not also process gluten products.
  • Spot screening of ingredients and finished products at University of Nebraska (FARRP – Food Allergy Research and Resource Program) to confirm there are no unlabeled allergens (utilize tests for gluten, soy, milk, certain tree nuts, etc.).
  • Manufacturing is scheduled so that there are never two items (with differing formulations) manufactured on the same line in one shift. All changeovers involving an allergen in the product run first which does occur in the following product requires a full clean up. Additionally, all equipment is inspected prior to use. This assures there is no allergenic material left on the equipment which may contaminate the next batch.
  • Separate item numbers for all ingredients; these are checked by two individuals on receipt of the ingredient and three people on use of the ingredient to confirm the correct item is used.
  • Use of colored tags, papers and containers in production as an addition visual check to ensure intermediate components are not interchanged.
  • Designated areas for flour and nonfat dry milk use to control airborne allergens.
  • Bar code readers at packaging lines to ensure correct package is used with each product.

In response to requests from consumers, we decided to add the following statement to our packages several years ago:

Individuals with Food Allergies: This product is manufactured in a facility that processes foods containing wheat, milk, soy, tree nuts and seeds. Amy’s Kitchen does not use any peanuts, fish, shellfish or eggs.

We believed that customers have the right to know this information, but we make the statement still knowing that the products we label as gluten-free are indeed gluten-free. While we do have gluten in our production facility, every precaution is taken to ensure cross-contamination does not occur, and we test to prove it. This statement does not in any way relieve us of our responsibility to ensure the product is gluten-free.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Best regards,