Another story of a “gluten-free” company putting profit over people. Color me surprised.
This time it is Real Good Foods. Who is Real Good Foods you say? Let’s start with their mission statement, taken directly from their website:
“Founded in 2016, Real Good Foods is on a mission to make nutritious foods more accessible and improve human health. Real Good Foods is one of the only brands in frozen today to offer foods that are high in protein, lower in carbs and using real food ingredients — always grain free and gluten free.” [emphasis mine]
Here is some more info from their website, taken today February 28, 2023:
– “We are 100% gluten and grain free and use only REAL food to provide low-carb, delicious options for any occasion. Everything has less than 12g net carbs per serving, are high in protein, low in sugar, and made with real food ingredients.”
– “All of our Foods are Certified Gluten Free.”
Imagine therefore my amazement when I received a picture of something they released on January 10, 2023: Creamy Poblano Chicken Enchiladas. The first ingredient? Modified wheat starch. The second ingredient? Wheat flour. Before I go on about the gluten factor, can we talk about the nutritional value of this product, since their mission it to make nutritious foods:
500 calories? 940mg of Sodium? 135mg of Cholesterol? In what universe is this nutritious? Ok, moving on.
I reached out to them and have not heard a response yet. But the person who notified me of this product did hear back from them and this is what they said:
Where do I begin?
- This person loves exclamation marks!!!
- This person doesn’t know that the last sentence is actually 3 separate sentences. Yes…I can be a grammar snob at times.
- They only did this because the big boys (Costco and Sam’s Club) asked them to. That is pathetic. Their mission statement says “always gluten free”; which means, they were always safe for those with celiac disease. And now, simply because they care more about profit than people, this is no longer the case.
- You know how long it would take to update their website? 30 minutes tops. I know this because I’ve been developing websites for over 20 years. The fact that it is 7 weeks later and their website STILL says they are 100% gluten-free is inexcusable.
- I looked all over the place and don’t see any FDA or USDA guidelines to prevent cross contamination, only their lame labeling guidelines.
Obviously, Real Good Foods does not owe the celiac community anything. They want to make foods with gluten? Have at it. I’m sure it will make their shareholders very happy. But they should immediately stop with the bullshit about them being a nutritious company whose mission is to provide gluten-free food.
Transparency and honesty. That’s all we ask for.
If you want to put a little pressure on them to update their website and mission statement, I suggest you leave a comment on their Facebook page.
Thanks.
