Once restricted to a few shelves at your neighborhood grocery store, gluten-free foods have come a long way in the last 10-15 years. But consumers still face challenges in finding gluten-free products they can trust. Packaging that includes certification marks is one way to tell at a glance whether a product meets standards for gluten-free food handling and packaging, but not every manufacturer pursues this type of validation. In many cases, the consumer must conduct their own research to determine whether a gluten-free product is truly safe to eat.
When food products don’t carry certification marks, consumers will often look for products labeled as gluten-free or check ingredient lists to ensure they don’t eat something that could make them sick. However, the process of researching products can be time-consuming due to insufficient information or confusing labeling. For this reason, consumers will often gravitate toward gluten-free brands they already know. Manufacturers can build trust and encourage consumers to try their gluten-free products by adopting transparent labeling and providing detailed information about product ingredients.