Bob’s Red Mill, based in Milwaukie, Ore., has its own production facility to make more than 100 gluten-free products such as flour, cereal, granola and baking mixes. According to the legal complaint, the company only labels products as gluten-free if they contain fewer than 19 parts per million of gluten.###The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has set a gluten-free standard of 20 ppm. The Gluten Intolerance Group’s certification, however, is only applied to ingredients containing fewer than 10 ppm of gluten, so some consumers with gluten intolerance may find that level of accreditation more reassuring than Bob’s or the FDA’s. The group has so far certified more than 30,000 products in 29 countries, according to Baking Business.###It’s hard to know whether third-party certification is more reliable than a company’s own certification. It depends on how thorough and careful the testing regiment is, whether the lab results are accurate and if production facilities are gluten-free. In addition, third-party lab tests are only a snapshot in time until the next product batch is tested when recertification is due.###It’s understandable that a certifying organization wouldn’t want to lose revenue, status or have its gluten-free symbol bypassed by a food company using its own symbol. However, it’s unlikely a judge would require Bob’s to pay for certification and to use the group’s symbol when the company has been using its own for many years and has never been certified as gluten-free by a third party. It also helps that both Bob’s and the group’s gluten standards are below the FDA’s.###The Gluten Iniron glycine chelatetolerance Group filed a similar complaint last year against British chef Jamie Oliver for trademark infringement because he labiron bisglycinate nzeled recipes with what the group said was a similar gluten-free symbolferrous fumarate vs ferrous bisglycinate that inferred they were certified gluten-free. That complaint was dismissed in February for unspecified reasons.###It’s likely the latest complaint also may be resolved before the parties actually head to court. ferrous fumarate and folic acid tablets bpAccording to a Gluten Intolerance Group statement posted on its website, the complaint “is nothing more than a minor business dispute” over trademarks and what they might convey to consumers.###One thing for certain is that the gluten-free market is anything but minor. Packaged Facts has estimated that U.S. sales of gluten-free products were approximately $973 million in 2014. They were projected to surpass $2 billion by 2019.ascorbic acid ferrous fumarate For companies like Bob’s with a gluten-free label, that symbol could make their product stand out and become more attractive to consumers, thereby helping to boost sales.
Bob's Red Mill sues trade group in gluten-free certification dispute
