Well we have their attention. For those of you who have written a recent letter to Snyder's here is the response you probably received:
Snyder’s of Hanover is pleased to announce that our new Gluten Free Pretzel Sticks have been tested by Silliker Labs, an international leader in food safety and quality testing and have surpassed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed guideline for gluten free claims of <20 parts per million per serving. Though the FDA has not given final guidance on this issue, Snyder’s of Hanover has adopted the <20 ppm as our standard for making a gluten free claim.
According to Silliker Labs, our gluten free pretzels actually tested at <5 parts per million per serving on multiple tests conducted during the product development stage. We will continue to test our product through this respected laboratory to ensure we maintain this level of compliance.
Snyder’s of Hanover has been in business for over 100 years. We are a third generation, family owned and operated company that values the integrity and quality of our products above all else. You can rest assured that our new Gluten Free Pretzel Sticks have been thoroughly tested and are in full compliance to insure the safety of consumers in the gluten free community.
Sincerely,
Carl Lee
President and CEO
Snyder’s of Hanover
First I want to say that I would not of posted the email from Jules if I did not completely trust her! She has dedicated her life to making the gluten free world taste good and safe.
Second, I am glad that Snyder's is committed to the 20 ppm, but now we need for them to prove it. Given the attitude of one of their own top executives, the only way they can do this is to go through a certification program such as the one offered by GIG. Thus, here is the letter I wrote back to them:
Hello Mr. Lee,
I know you are getting a ton of emails regarding your GF pretzels. Before you pass over this one, please note that I am the one who posted the letter from Jules and started this awareness campaign.
I am glad to hear your claim that Snyder's has in fact adopted the standard of 20 ppm for gluten, but would like to hear your response to the following direct questions. We are always happy when someone produces a new GF product, but not if it is going to make us sick. I will happily help "clear the air" on this subject if you can address the following claims:
1. Is Snyder's willing to be certified GF by an organization such as GIG? It is one thing to say your standard is 20 ppm, but an entirely different issue to actually take the steps necessary to comply with this standard for every batch.
2. What is your response to the opinion asserted by your Executive that Snyder's didn't want to have to do any product recalls or lose inventory because any given run may test at over 20 ppm gluten. He even threw out the example that if someone "forgot to wash down the line" between gluten and gluten-free runs, he didn't want to have to "report to anyone else, pull inventory or do any recalls of product". He went so far as to say that although the bags are currently labeled "Gluten Free" and also "Wheat Free," the company is actually going to take off the "Wheat Free" designation since the products are run with wheat products and are potentially contaminated with wheat. Shockingly, he indicated that the "Gluten Free" label will remain
.3. What is your response to the statement that "only 3 million people are celiac, and most of them don't even know it yet." He identified your target market as "the other 22 million eating gluten free, just because.s" He indicated that this market segment wouldn't really care if your products contained 20ppm or 23ppm gluten."
As you have figured out by now, we are a very passionate community. The reason for this is that most of us have been sick, or have seen our children suffer from gluten. My daughter was so sick from celiac disease that she vomited to the point of having to put on an IV several times to rehydrate her. And that was just the outward symptoms.
If you had such a daughter, what would your response be to a company who seems so flippant about the health of its customers?
Looking forward to your response,
