Late last year, there was a CELIAC-L listserv message from a woman who wanted to try a particular product. She had read the ingredients (no gluten) and called the manufacturer (no gluten in the facility) but she wanted to hear from other list members who had used the product without getting sick.
That message bothered me a lot because I recognized how much fear that woman must live with every time she eats. Even with apparently good information – an ingredient list that conforms to current labeIing regulations and confirmation from the manufacturer – she was still afraid of the product.
I hear fear a lot when I talk to people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance. Maybe it’s worry, maybe it’s fear, maybe it is fretting but it doesn’t really matter. People are spending mental and physical energy in selecting food that they could spend on much more enjoyable pursuits.
As I look at how I can make a difference with my business, it seems to me that reducing fear for people is one of the most important things to focus on.
So on January 1st, I posted a survey on the celiac listserve, asking people what worried them about determining whether a product was safe to eat. Readers were very generous in answering the survey and providing additional comments. Not everyone was terribly worried. Some were fairly confident in their ability to review ingredient lists and make a reasonable determination whether a product is OK for a gluten-free diet. Most of these respondents mentioned that their confidence has increased because of the new ingredient list regulations.
A lot of people still have worries. At least 30 percent of respondents were concerned about 5 key worries:
- Not knowing what the ingredient name mean
- Not knowing which ingredients are made from wheat, rye, barley or oats
- Not trusting manufacturers to be accurate on ingredient lists
- Not knowing if products are made on clean equipment
- Not knowing if ingredients are pure
The biggest concern – whether products are made on clean equipment.
The thing that surprised me the most was that people were just as concerned about cross-contamination with non-grain products like ketchup, chips, and yoghurt as they were about grain-based products like crackers, cereals, and cookies.
People used a number of sources for information when they tried to figure out which products are safe. About 65% made decisions based on ingredient lists most of the time with another 20% using ingredient lists more than half of the time, but people also checked manufacturer web sites and customer support lines. About 30% used product lists some times, but only 5% reported using lists as their primary source of information.
The people who answered my questions weren’t necessarily new to celiac disease – 75% had been eating gluten free for more than 2 years and 55% had been eating gluten free for more than 5 years. A few reflected on the improvements since they began the process more than 20 years ago.
What I take from these results, is that there is still a need for ingredient information but there is also a strong desire for information on ingredient preparation and food manufacturing practice. Most of us don’t really know what happens behind the doors to the plant and whether we should be scared of it or not.
Sounds like a good project for me and now I know my focus for 2010.
