We are so excited to be kicking off the New Year as we have a new schedule of speakers as well as many new restaurants for the MetroCeliac Supper Club. The January meeting focused on a local vendor of gluten and allergen free (and delicious) products. The company is called Enjoy Life Foods.
The MetroCeliacs were very excited to have Scott Mandell, the founder of Enjoy Life Foods, come to our first meeting of 2006. We met at Whole Foods on Ashland on January 17. Scott brought a few samples and talked about how Enjoy Life Foods came into being. The process started as a Graduate Class project and grew to an actual gluten and allergen free company that produces cookies, cereals and bars. In addition to Enjoy Life Foods, they have acquired a new branch company called Perky's. This adds a line of "Cheerio-like" cereals that are quite tasty and stood up to actually being in a bowl of milk. It was a fresh taste, lots of flavor, but not so sugary that it leaves that cereal taste in your mouth... we all tried samples and loved them.
We listened to the story of how Enjoy Life came to life, then Scott graciously allowed us to brainstorm products that a Celiac community would like added to the shelves... from pie crusts, to graham crackers, bread crumbs, better pastas, FLOUR TORTILLAS, various flours (manioc-brazilian kind like a Chebe), quick & easy mixes... and more. Enjoy Life Foods has several things in the works, so keep your eyes open!
Also, Scott mentioned the difference with the Enjoy Life Foods manufacturing and the Perky's... Enjoy Life Foods facility is free of the gluten and the top allergens and Perky's, is gluten and nut free, but not made in an allergen free facility.
Here is some information from the man himself:
Enjoy Life Foods products are formulated to be gluten-free and free of the 8 most common allergens. Our products are manufactured in a dedicated gluten-free and nut-free bakery. Our ingredient suppliers are required to complete non-contamination certificates. Ingredients are additionally tested for casein, gluten , peanut , and soy protein. Equipment is cleaned thoroughly after product and flavor changes. Enjoy Life employees understand the severity of food allergies and intolerances, and take every precaution to protect our customers.
Finding safe, gluten-free products just got easier! Look for the new GF symbol on food packaging. The GF symbol identifies products that are free of gluten and possible cross-contamination.
Who came up with such a brilliant idea? The Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO), a program of the Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG). The GFCO uses the highest standards for gluten-free ingredients and safe processing environments. In fact, its standards exceed the requirements of current government laws and regulations.
Enjoy Life is proud to be the first food manufacturer to be certified by the GFCO supervision program. We are happy to provide the extra convenience and safety assurance this certification brings.
To learn more about the GFCO please visit, http://www.gfco.org.
OUR PRODUCTS CONTAIN NO:
wheat/gluten
dairy/casein
peanuts
tree nuts
egg
soy
fish
shellfish
Also made without other common triggers of intolerance:
corn, casein, potato, sulfites or sesame.
http://enjoylifefoods.com/index.asp
We really enjoyed sampling his products, listening to the history of the company, finding out what they are going to come up with next and of course, making suggestions for things we would like to see in the future!
Thanks to Whole Foods on Ashland www.wholefoods.com for their support in letting us use their meeting room to host our New Year Kickoff!
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