I drove into Baltimore at noon today and it was 78 and sunny! I walked through the Baltimore Convention Center entrance and Expo East banners and sidewalk logos excited me, badges were hanging from necks, vendors were unloading and the chit chat was underway on the patio for Organic Harvest Fest. As I walked further into the light there was an unlimited sampling of organic and sustainable goodness and lots of laughing and smiles ear to ear. The buzz from educational workshops for those in the manufacturing and retail world were another sign of a solid day. My hunt for the most innovative gluten-free goodies had begun!
I began engaging with various vendors, distributors, brokers, marketers and I was specifically impressed with the ingredients used in many new products that I hadn't purchased before. I gently probed into their gluten-free claims and almost all of them were certified gluten-free through
GIG which was reassuring. Those who were not GF labeled had obtained other third party gluten-free claims under 20ppm or better, but hadn't launched revise package yet. As our talks grew deeper they were each willing and able to share the depth of their raw materials and manufacturing practices to assure me they care about the true gluten-free consumer whom has Celiac Disease. My expectation for more natural food consumer packaged good (CPG) brands to label gluten-free appropriately showed promise.