Snyder’s of Hanover must have heard an earful from the gluten-free community regarding the certification of new gluten-free pretzels. Read the post. Here is the response I got from a letter I wrote. I must say I am still hesitant to allow my gluten-free kid (GFK) to eat these given the attitude these guys had prior. What do you think? Is this letter satisfactory? Will you purchase these pretzels?
—————
Snyder’s of Hanover is pleased to announce that our new Gluten Free Pretzel Sticks have been tested by Silliker Labs, an international leader in food safety and quality testing and have surpassed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed guideline for gluten free claims of <20 parts per million per serving. Though the FDA has not given final guidance on this issue, Snyder’s of Hanover has adopted the <20 ppm as our standard for making a gluten free claim.
According to Silliker Labs, our gluten free pretzels actually tested at <5 parts per million per serving on multiple tests conducted during the product development stage. We will continue to test our product through this respected laboratory to ensure we maintain this level of compliance.
Snyder’s of Hanover has been in business for over 100 years. We are a third generation, family owned and operated company that values the integrity and quality of our products above all else. You can rest assured that our new Gluten Free Pretzel Sticks have been thoroughly tested and are in full compliance to insure the safety of consumers in the gluten free community.
Sincerely,
Carl Lee
President and CEO
Snyder’s of Hanover
Gluten Free Joy 
In my experience, food companies are going to be honest. They have to be, else they could have major lawsuits on their hands. I have Crohn’s Disease, so ingredients are an even bigger issue with me. I am on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, and I can’t have gluten, grains, sugars, dairy, or starches. So when I buy something from the store–say, tomato sauce–it’s got to have NOTHING else in it but tomatoes and salt.
If Snyder’s has written out this answer, not just said it over the telephone, I would say that they could be trusted. They wouldn’t dare to lie when you’ve got their written word to hold up in court.
I’m not trying to be argumentative, I just don’t have that kind of trust when it comes to corporate greed. They aren’t lying in what they said and you wouldn’t have anything to take to court. This is a well worded CYA response written by the corporate legal staff. If you look at their message, it says they used the lab during their R&D phase. Obviously they knew the lab would be testing. They then went on to say they would “continue to test our product through this respected laboratory to ensure we maintain this level of compliance”. Read between the lines and it says “when we call them in to check on us”. There is a big difference between being checked on for compliance when you have time to prepare, and having someone drop in unannounced to check on you, like GFCO does.
They will have their reports from their paid laboratory to back them up in the case of any claims. Besides, their best defense would be your inability to prove that it was their product that caused the problem. I just can’t understand why, if they really are concerned about their product, they wouldn’t be certified. Sure it costs them, but the other lab isn’t doing it for free.
That’s true. I didn’t think of that.
The information I have is that Snyder’s is going to go with the GFCO program from GIG. That’s certainly good enough for me to try the pretzels. Companies of all sizes can be quite greedy, but in the case of Snyder’s, they didn’t stick to their original plan of courting only trendy gf-ers that don’t know if they eat gluten. I think they are also making items for that crowd, with might say low gluten or no gluten ingredients, with a disclaimer that it might contain gluten. Those items, I will pass on 😉 The Snyder’s execs that called me about this issue had definitely changed their tune from what Jules was told and we all have Jules to thank for that!