Gluten free products are one of the fastest growing niche markets in North American supermarkets. Avoiding gluten is difficult for several reasons: there is no standard for labeling products, foods can easily become contaminated and manufacturers are vague about identifying the source of their ingredients. Since the term Gluten Free is used to separate you from your budgeted grocery allowance be wary of claims on the front packaging that are not in alignment with the fine print below the ingredient listing.

Certain grains such as rice, corn and teff are naturally gluten free however you can't always buy with confidence since you don't know what the products may have come into contact with. Bob's Red Mill products frequently win my shopping dollars because they provide a wide variety of certified Gluten Free foods. The following is an excerpt from my package of Bob's Red Mill Stone Ground Cornmeal: "Bob's Red Mill product labeled Gluten Free are batch tested in our quality control laboratory. We use an ELISA Gluten Assay test to determine if a product is gluten free."

Bob's Red Mill also produces a line of products that are not gluten free, the packaging is very similar so search carefully when shopping. Recipes for product are usually provided along with helpful cooking tips. Certified gluten free products tend to be expensive and if you are new to gluten free cooking you will probably make some mistakes since you don't know how different ingredients behave. While Bob's Red Mill is ultimately after your money it helps that the brand inspires consumer confidence by sharing their stringent gluten test methods.

For more information about this employee owned enterprise please visit www.bobsredmill.com.

11/30/2012 decoy hunches informs me that Bob plans to turn his factories into worker-run cooperative enterprises after his retirement. Just another reason why I like Bob, and his Red Mill.

Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.