Dive Brief:
-
Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods doesn't want to pay a third party for certification since it uses its own gluten-free symbol on product labels. According to Baking Business, Bob's wants a federal judge to find the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America's gluten-free symbol unenforceable and tell the group to stop trying to keep companies from using a similar one.
-
The company's legal action came in response to a letter from the Gluten Intolerance Group asking Bob's to refrain from using the company's own gluten-free symbol because it's similar to the group's and could cause consumers to believe it had certified Bob's gluten-free products. Either Bob's should become certified or stop using the symbol, the group said.
-
"At a minimum, complying with [the Gluten Intolerance Group's] demand would require a significant redesign and marketing process," Bob's said in a May 17 complaint cited by Baking Business. "Either way, the potential damages exceed $75,000."
Dive Insight:
Bob's Red Mill, based in Milwaukie, Ore., has its own production facility to make more than 100 gluten-free products such as flour, cereal, granola and baking mixes. According to the legal complaint, the company only labels products as gluten-free if they contain fewer than 19 parts per million of gluten.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has set a gluten-free standard of 20 ppm. The Gluten Intolerance Group's certification, however, is only applied to ingredients containing fewer than 10 ppm of gluten, so some consumers with gluten intolerance may find that level of accreditation more reassuring than Bob's or the FDA's. The group has so far certified more than 30,000 products in 29 countries, according to Baking Business.
It's hard to know whether third-party certification is more reliable than a company's own certification. It depends on how thorough and careful the testing regiment is, whether the lab results are accurate and if production facilities are gluten-free. In addition, third-party lab tests are only a snapshot in time until the next product batch is tested when recertification is due.
It's understandable that a certifying organization wouldn't want to lose revenue, status or have its gluten-free symbol bypassed by a food company using its own symbol. However, it's unlikely a judge would require Bob's to pay for certification and to use the group's symbol when the company has been using its own for many years and has never been certified as gluten-free by a third party. It also helps that both Bob's and the group's gluten standards are below the FDA's.
The Gluten Intolerance Group filed a similar complaint last year against British chef Jamie Oliver for trademark infringement because he labeled recipes with what the group said was a similar gluten-free symbol that inferred they were certified gluten-free. That complaint was dismissed in February for unspecified reasons.
It's likely the latest complaint also may be resolved before the parties actually head to court. According to a Gluten Intolerance Group statement posted on its website, the complaint "is nothing more than a minor business dispute" over trademarks and what they might convey to consumers.
One thing for certain is that the gluten-free market is anything but minor. Packaged Facts has estimated that U.S. sales of gluten-free products were approximately $973 million in 2014. They were projected to surpass $2 billion by 2019. For companies like Bob's with a gluten-free label, that symbol could make their product stand out and become more attractive to consumers, thereby helping to boost sales.