General Mills made a statement on October 5th, 2015, saying they accidentally released 1.8 million boxes of wheat tainted Cheerios that are labeled gluten free and are issuing a recall. Cheerios has been the topic of discussion in the gluten free world as we are asking, how safe are they really for people with celiac disease and gluten issues.
General Mills of course says this was a one time mistake and that gluten free cheerios are consistently tested to make sure they are safe. Yet, 13 whole days passed with absolutely no testing done at a Cheerios gluten free facility in Lodi, CA, allowing wheat flour to be added into the mix and go unnoticed – for 13 days!
That doesn’t sound to me that testing is being taken as seriously as General Mills would have us believe. Not to mention, I would like to know if they intensely cleaned the machines once the mistake was figured out and those lots after were vigorously tested for safety. I would also like to know how this mistake happened?
General Mills said it’s due to the mistake of one particular truck that delivered wheat flour to the gluten free plant. But, was the flour labeled gluten free? Did no one check that it was wheat flour and blindly add it to the mix? This goes way beyond putting the blame on one truck making a mistake.
I have never been a fan of gluten free Cheerios, nor have I been a fan of the Celiac Disease Association sponsoring the safety of Cheerios before they actually knew it was safe. The cart before the horse and dollars before safety. I appreciate the work CDF has done and continues to do, but, I think this decision was premature and reckless.
Gluten Free Watchdog has been extremely diligent in following up again and again with General Mills and asking the questions that need to be asked. Unfortunately she and te community are not getting answers, instead we are getting the run-around. Please check out here articles below:
Open Letter to General Mills on behalf of the gluten free community
Lingering Questions about Cheerios Recall
What do you think? Do you think gluten free Cheerios are safe? How do you feel about CDF sponsoring the safety of Cheerios on behalf of our community?
CHECK OUT MORE LINKS:
http://glutenfreefun.blogspot.com/2015/10/cheerios-recall-and-10-reasons-i-am-mad.html
https://celiac.org/blog/2015/10/07/fda-investigates-complaints-associated-with-cheerios-labeled-gluten-free-general-mills-voluntarily-recalls-affected-lots/#Kq3ljZG7IO8B7iQc.99
http://www.teabiscuit.org/gluten-free-cheerios-recall-we-were-right-they-were-wrong/
