Baking&Snack - July 2012 - 15

IN BRIEF
Celiac group dumps on Domino’s ‘gluten free’ crust
The North American Society for the Study of Celiac Disease (NASSCD) called out Domino’s Pizza for promoting a “gluten free” pizza crust even though it is not recommended for people who have celiac disease and must avoid gluten. “It is a complete exploitation of the term ‘gluten free’ and a total disservice to proclaim that a product is gluten-free when, in fact, it is not,” said Stefano Guandalini, MD, NASSCD president, in a May 10 statement. He said an end product must contain less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten to qualify as gluten-free. The gluten level in the new Domino’s pizza crust is under 20 ppm, according to Domino’s. The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) supports the availability of the new Domino’s crust, but NFCA will not recommend the pizza for customers with celiac disease because it is prepared in a common kitchen with the risk of gluten exposure. Domino’s said the pizza crust is appropriate for people with mild gluten sensitivity. “While Domino’s initially hoped to market the gluten-free crust pizza to celiac customers, NFCA informed them that this was too great a risk to the health of the community,” said Alice Bast, NFCA president. “Since Domino’s cannot guarantee a pizza free of cross-contamination, NFCA worked with Domino’s to ensure that a disclaimer would be clear and visible to all consumers. In fact, the disclaimer pops up when you select gluten-free crust from the online ordering system. “Domino’s staff has also been trained to read the disclaimer to all customers who request a gluten-free crust over the phone,” she added. “The disclaimer specifically states, unequivocally, that the pizza is not recommended for people with celiac disease.” — Jeff Gelski, associate editor, Milling & Baking News Baker’s Pride, Inc., Burlington, IA, plans to expand donut production capabilities at its Mt. Pleasant Street Bakery in Burlington. Production is expected to begin later this year. Cook Natural Products, Lafayette, CA, won a 2012 Food and Beverage Product Innovations Award for Mara’s Pasta from the National Restaurant Association. La Brea Bakery, Inc., Van Nuys, CA, put four new electric route trucks to work making deliveries in Los Angeles. General Mills, Inc., Minneapolis, MN, acquired Yoki Alimentos SA, Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, a privately held food company. Its products include snack nuts and popcorn. Pepperidge Farm, Inc., Norwalk, CT, received two packaging honors — the DuPont Award for Packaging Innovation and an Ameristar award from the Institute of Packaging Professionals — for the design and sustainability of its Deli Flats thin rolls and Goldfish bread packaging. Snyder’s-Lance, Inc., Charlotte, NC, acquired substantially all the assets of O’Byrne Distributing, Inc., a snack food distributor serving the Augusta, GA, area. Financial terms were not disclosed. Former US Senator Don Nickles spoke at the American Bakers Association Board of Directors dinner in June. Barry Callebaut, Zurich, Switzerland, will add about 60,000 tonnes to production capacity with its plan to purchase the assets of Batory Industries Co.’s facility in Chatham, ON, Canada.

Quaker Oats commits to new applications with new center
In an effort to research the health attributes of oats, the Quaker Oats Co., a division of PepsiCo, Inc. based in Chicago, IL, created The Quaker Oats Center of Excellence. The center is a cross-functional entity focused on elevating the relevance and benefits of oats through science, agriculture and innovation. It is part of Quaker’s commitment to uncovering new benefits and applications of oats to help people optimize their health and inspire well-being. “Oat science has already revealed important benefits such as heart health and satiety, but we’ve only scratched the surface when it comes to the power of the oat and all it can do,” said Marianne O’Shea, PhD, director of new innovation center. “As consumers seek easy, delicious and sustainable ways to achieve these benefits through their diets, it is more important than ever that we focus on complementary oat research and innovation.”

Quaker said researchers at the center will investigate the benefits of oats while enabling product development partners to translate the benefits into solutions for consumers. The agricultural sustainability of the oat will be another area explored by the center. The center will maintain an advisory board comprising experts in nutrition science, agricultural science and sustainability, product innovation and consumer insights.

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July 2012 / Baking & Snack / 15

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Baking&Snack - July 2012

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