It’s the Little (Gluten-Free) Things: A Breadmaker in trouble; News on Starbucks, Redbridge, Maggiano’s

There are a few rumblings in the celiac world that need to be touched on…A gluten-free breadmaker has the state of North Carolina on his case, Starbucks appears to be taking a safer approach at appealing to gluten-free folks, Redbridge rumors, and a Maggiano’s closure. HEEEERE GOES!

State Investigation Forces NC Gluten-Free Breadmaker to Close (for now)

A local television station in Raleigh is reporting that  gluten-free breadmaker Great Specialty Products is shut down for the next 10 days while the state investigates claims that  the company was marketing its bread as gluten-free when it really wasn’t.

The Raleigh News Observer reported early Thursday,

“The lawsuit [filed late Wednesday] says the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services began investigating [owner Peter] Seelig after complaints about Great Specialty Products breads that were sold at the N.C. State Fair. The lawsuit details complaints from three consumers who got sick after eating the bread or whose children got sick.”

Thursday night, NBC 17 reported the the judge in the case called for the shop’s doors to be  shut — at least for now.  As of Thursday night there was no mention of the closure on the company’s website.

Seelig wouldn’t comment to the television station after the court hearing Thursday.

The state Department of Agriculture says testing on the bread came back at 5,000 parts per million of gluten, they say that’s too high for regular cross contamination in the kitchen.

Stay tuned for new developments in this one.

Starbucks & gluten-free

It appears that Starbucks hasn’t forgotten about us after their Orange Valencia cake debacle last spring. But now I found out, courtesy of Gluten-Free Living’s blog, that Starbucks is now carrying a few gluten-free options—at least in a few stores.

Lucy’s gluten-free (and free of other allergens) cookies are now being stocked on some of the shelves at Starbucks. I reviewed these cookies last summer. They were yummy! I loved the gluten-free oatmeal cookies as I mentioned in a review I did last September. I am not a coffee drinker but I might have to stop by my local Starbucks to see if they have the cookies here in Minnesota.

Redbridge Rumors

Kudos again to Gluten-Free Living’s blog for debunking rumors that Anheuser Busch’s gluten-free Redbridge Beer isn’t going anywhere. There have apparently been rumblings that the company was going to discontinue what really has become a groundbreaking mainstream beer that celiacs have been enjoying now for several years.

The blog says,

“A company spokesperson…told Gluten-Free Living the beer giant has no plans to discontinue Redbridge in the near or distant future.”

Maggiano’s closing in Edina, MN

By the end of this month, a restaurant that offers gluten-free options, Maggiano’s Little Italy will be gone from Minnesota. The restaurant that would tweak pasta recipes and substitute them with gluten-free pasta, is closing its only restaurant in the state; which was located at Southdale Center in Edina. In fact it’s already off the map on the company website.

Such a bummer. Because Edina is a 30 minute drive for me, I didn’t get there often, but I was there last November and loved my meal! I even blogged about it. The closest one for me now is in Wisconsin. Boo…

Tags: beer, bread, celiac, gluten-free, lawsuit, maggiano's starbucks, Redbridge