The Gluten-Free Girl Flour Blends — questions answered

Thank you SO much to all of you who have pledged to the Kickstarter for our flour blends already. We’ve had a couple of good days — the staff at Kickstarter picked our project as one of their favorites within one hour of its launch; we made 10% of our goal less than 12 hours before launching — but we have a loooong way to go.

This is hard work, work we are happy to do, but work that is taking all of our resolve. It takes persistent hard work to build a company that we want to thrive for years to come. We’re not the types to retweet kind statements others say about us, to remind people all day long that we need your support, or even to ask for other people’s support, out loud, for 30 days in a row.

But we do need your help. And we want to help you make great gluten-free food, with ease, for your friends and family. That’s why we are doing this.

And we want to be transparent and open about everything we are doing in this process. With that in mind, we’d like to answer some of the questions about our flour blends and our Kickstarter that have arisen in the past few days.

Can you explain how the Gluten-Free Girl All-Purpose Flour Blend will be tree-nut-free if you are using almond flour in the other blend?

This is a great question. It’s vitally important to us as well. We scoured the country, researching and talking to every co-packer that could meet our needs for these two flour blends. We chose the co-packer we have chosen because of the great care they take in avoiding cross-contamination.

Our co-packer has two completely separate facilities within its factory:  one for the allergen-free flour blends and mixes, and one for blends and mixes that uses tree nuts and dairy.

Our producer visited the co-packer and saw their protocols in action. Anyone who steps in the factory has to wear coats, disposable hair nets, booties, and gloves.  Everyone has to change out those garments and put on new ones before entering the other facility. This is done to meticulously prevent any possibility of cross-contamination between the two facilities.

The Gluten-Free Girl All-Purpose Flour Blend and the Gluten-Free Girl Grain-Free Blend will be produced in completely separate gluten-free facilities, by an entirely professional team who insists that protocol be followed to keep the Gluten-Free Girl All-Purpose Flour Blend allergen-free.

Of course, they are both completely free of gluten!

Are the flour blends made in a dedicated gluten-free facility?

Absolutely.

Our co-packer is scrupulous about using only dedicated gluten-free flours. They only allow flours into the factory that have been certified gluten-free. They test every blend or mix they pack on a daily basis to make sure it tests less than 10 ppm. (The FDA only requires that it be less than 20 ppm to be labeled gluten-free but our co-packer has a stricter standard.)

The factory has also undergone the GFCO gluten-free certification, the leading gluten-free certification program in the United States. They also undergo routine inspections and certificates of analyze to ensure they are following their protocols.

We would not work with a co-packer unless they were dedicated to making entirely gluten-free foods. We have utter confidence in the co-packer we have chosen.

How will you ensure that your flour blends are kosher?

Our co-packer is a certified kosher facility. Part of the funds raised through this Kickstarter will be used to specifically certify our flour blends kosher, using the same strict certification process our co-packer uses.

How big are the boxes?

Our first run will come in 20 oz. boxes.  We hope to add different sizes to the flour blend line as we grow.

Will you ship outside the U.S.?

We hope to expand our business to ship outside the United States one day, but at the moment, we will only be able to ship in the United States.

Will the flour blends be organic?

Our intention is to eventually do an entirely organic line. But, as you can imagine, organic grains and flours are far more expensive than traditionally grown grains and flours. However, if you and others can help us fund the Kickstarter for even more than we’re asking for, we can do the organic line more quickly than we now imagine. If not, we’ll grow the company toward the organic flour blends as soon as we can.

If you have any other questions, we’d love to hear them.

Other than that, please do pledge to our Kickstarter!

The post The Gluten-Free Girl Flour Blends — questions answered appeared first on Gluten Free Girl and the Chef.