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Celiac.com 05/18/2024 - In a recent turn of events following the shocking allegations against The Savory Fig bakery in Patchogue, New York, the gluten-free community has been left reeling from the discovery that products labeled as gluten-free and vegan may have contained undeclared wheat gluten. The incident, initially brought to light by John Stengel of Cindysnacks, has highlighted the critical need for stringent quality control and transparency in the food industry, particularly concerning dietary-restricted products like those for individuals with celiac disease. Nearly a month after The Savory Fig was called out for selling gluten bakery products that looked remarkably similar to regular Dunkin' Donuts, they issued the following recall on the New York State Department of Agriculture website: Despite The Savory Fig's voluntary recall and cooperation with authorities, the recall notice comes too late for many celiacs who unknowingly purchased and consumed the mislabeled products. The recall, issued due to possible undeclared wheat gluten, soy, and/or milk allergens in various baked goods, including doughnuts, frosted rolls, scones, and muffins, raises serious concerns about the safety and integrity of gluten-free products in the market. All Trust Lost in The Savory Fig Following the initial allegations, The Savory Fig faced significant backlash, leading to the closure of its Instagram page and a flood of negative comments on its Facebook page. However, for individuals with celiac disease, the recall notice offers little solace as the damage has already been done. Many in the celiac community expressed frustration and disappointment, emphasizing the urgent need for stricter regulations and oversight to prevent such incidents in the future. The recall notice serves as a stark reminder of the potential risks associated with mislabeled or fraudulent gluten-free products. It underscores the importance of due diligence and vigilance when purchasing and consuming gluten-free items, urging individuals with celiac disease to rely on trusted sources and verify the authenticity of products to safeguard their health and well-being. Read more at: agriculture.ny.gov

Celiac.com 04/11/2023 - Batter Than Good Baking Co., an Oklahoma baking company that claimed to be gluten-free, has closed down, and apparently left town, after its products very publicly tested highly positive for gluten. Batter Than Good Baking's Gluten-Free Claims Challenged Rachelle Monica, a client of Batter Than Good Baking whose son has celiac disease initially conducted an at-home test when her son became sick after consuming their products. She then asked Gluten Free Watchdog, a group that tests and researches gluten-free products, to run a lab tests which confirmed her suspicions. The laboratory tests of Batter Than Good's Baking Flour found that it contained levels of gluten far too high to be considered mere cross-contamination. Batter Than Good Baking Denies Claims After a March 9th Facebook posting by Gluten Free Watchdog which stated that Batter Than Good’s Baking Flour tested positive for wheat flour, the company seems to have vanished. Bex Casillas, the chef and owner of the Batter Than Good Bakery, also took her personal Facebook down shortly after she posted that there had been cross-contamination found due to their “incubator kitchen” at Pioneer Technology Center. Pioneer Technology Center Responds to Cross-Contamination Allegations Pioneer then released a statement denying those claims saying “nothing has been baked in the incubator space since February 8th." Meanwhile, a former baker at Batter Than Good Baking told FOX23 that no one ordered the flour at the facility except Casillas. She said it was a “proprietary blend.” Customers with Celiac Disease Outraged Some customers who had purchased Batter Than Good's products expressed their outrage on social media. Many of them, like Monica's son, had celiac disease, which causes damage to the small intestine which is triggered by foods that contain gluten. She had trusted the gluten-free products, but says they made her son sick when he ate them. “If he had continued to eat it, it would’ve put him back in the hospital,” Monica said, showing a doctor's note from Ascension St. John Emergency Center, backing up her claims. Warnings Posted Gluten-Free Watchdog's page posted a warning after their test of Batter than Good Baking Co.'s products. The post has more than 700 comments from parents and clients, upset about the results. “My initial reaction as a parent was how can someone poison a child like that?” said Monica, who thinks it's wrong that someone can label food or a facility as gluten-free, when it's not actually be gluten-free. “Something needs to be done and it's really hard when it hurts our kids and it seems like nobody’s listening,” she explained. Machelle Beard was also a client of Batter Than Good Baking. She also has celiac disease, and says she views the company “100 percent...as poisoning me." Beard says she became sick after eating the baked goods, but didn't think it could be the bakery because of their gluten-free claims. “I do believe it was intentional. They were supposed to be a dedicated gluten-free facility, which means there is no chance of cross-contamination,” said Beard. “The testing proves it wasn’t cross-contamination. The testing proves it was just made with wheat,” added Beard. Efforts to reach business owner, Bex Casillas, via Facebook messenger, email were unsuccessful, and the phone numbers listed there are no longer working. The company appears to have pulled up stakes and vanished in the face of mounting anger and scrutiny over the seemingly non-gluten-free aspect of its "gluten-free" business model. Read more at Fox23

Celiac.com 05/17/2021 - A gourmet gluten-free foodie was duped into using her business skills to support a "staggeringly sophisticated" multimillion-dollar tax scam to pay for a friend's luxury mansion. Melinda Jane Trembath, 45, founder of Melinda's Gluten Free Goodies, has been found guilty on four counts, including forging documents and attempting to influence a Commonwealth public official, but she escaped jail in a $3.6 million bid to defraud the Australian Taxation Office, after a Brisbane District Court judge found she was 'betrayed' by her friend. Trembath, who is the creator of food company Melinda's Gluten Free Goodies, apparently believed she was helping a longtime family friend to support cancer research. Instead, the mother of three became what the court called "a vital cog" in the scheme. The family friend, who has been charged but is yet to face court, had lost her mother to cancer. The woman is described as the main instigator of the elaborate scam, and allegedly created two biotechnology companies, appointing Trembath to be a director. The problems began in 2017, when the companies wrongly made a tax offset claim of $3.6 million. The court heard evidence, that when the ATO challenged the claim, Trembath used her extensive business experience to forge fake invoices and bank statements to support the questionable return. Trembath pleaded guilty to all four charges in the Brisbane District Court on Monday. According to prosecutors, Trembath played a significant role in the fraud, since she "agreed to be the director of two companies. She took active steps using her business skills to forge documents to perpetuate this fraud." According to the defense, Trembath was wrong, but did not deserve jail, since she was unaware that proceeds of the fraud were intended for the purchase of a mansion by the friend, rather than as support for cancer research as Trembath was led to believe. Trembath was handed a suspended sentence of 18 months, and released on $2000 recognizance and immediately released. Read more in The Daily Mail

Celiac.com 07/16/2018 - Did weak public oversight leave Arizonans ripe for Theranos’ faulty blood tests scam? Scandal-plagued blood-testing company Theranos deceived Arizona officials and patients by selling unproven, unreliable products that produced faulty medical results, according to a new book by Wall Street Journal reporter, whose in-depth, comprehensive investigation of the company uncovered deceit, abuse, and potential fraud. Moreover, Arizona government officials facilitated the deception by providing weak regulatory oversight that essentially left patients as guinea pigs, said the book’s author, investigative reporter John Carreyrou. In the newly released "Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup," Carreyrou documents how Theranos and its upstart founder, Elizabeth Holmes, used overblown marketing claims and questionable sales tactics to push faulty products that resulted in consistently faulty blood tests results. Flawed results included tests for celiac disease and numerous other serious, and potentially life-threatening, conditions. According to Carreyrou, Theranos’ lies and deceit made Arizonans into guinea pigs in what amounted to a "big, unauthorized medical experiment.” Even though founder Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos duped numerous people, including seemingly savvy investors, Carreyrou points out that there were public facts available to elected officials back then, like a complete lack of clinical data on the company's testing and no approvals from the Food and Drug Administration for any of its tests. SEC recently charged the now disgraced Holmes with what it called a 'years-long fraud.’ The company’s value has plummeted, and it is now nearly worthless, and facing dozens, and possibly hundreds of lawsuits from angry investors. Meantime, Theranos will pay Arizona consumers $4.65 million under a consumer-fraud settlement Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich negotiated with the embattled blood-testing company. Both investors and Arizona officials, “could have picked up on those things or asked more questions or kicked the tires more," Carreyrou said. Unlike other states, such as New York, Arizona lacks robust laboratory oversight that would likely have prevented Theranos from operating in those places, he added. Stay tuned for more new on how the Theranos fraud story plays out. Read more at azcentral.com.