Simply Enjoy Brand Labelling

[Bill in MD]

I was shopping at my local Giant supermarket today and some prepared chip/veggie dips in the dairy aisle were on sale and caught my eye. They were of the 'Simply Enjoy' brand, which is fairly new to Giant, but I think the Stop and Shop's in NE/NY have carried them for a while. Anyway, at the bottom of the ingredients list, in bold print, were listed the FDA allergens, which in the case of these products include WHEAT. However, the bold list also included GLUTEN. None of the specific ingredients used the word "gluten" in them. This was the first time I had seen this type of labelling on any product, of any brand.

As I went around the store, I looked at other Simply Enjoy products. On one (and I can't remember what it was, I wasn't going to buy it anyway) it didn't list wheat or gluten as an ingredient, but had the now-familiar phrase "manufactured in a plant that also processes eggs, soy,...,WHEAT,GLUTEN." None of the products used "gluten-free" on their labels, even those that seem to be.

It seems that this brand has taken upon itself to promote 'gluten' to the FDA's list of 8 major food allergens. Is this a good thing, or not?

FWIW, I frequently buy and enjoy these Simply Enjoy products on my gluten-free diet: the pineapple-chipotle salsa (sweet and not too hot); frozen entrees Butter Chicken, Pad Thai with Chicken, and Tikka Masala.

Bill