Inventure Foods, Inc. has received certification from the Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO) for its Boulder Canyon™ Natural Foods products and manufacturing facilities in Bluffton, Ind. and Goodyear, Ariz.
The Bluffton plant produces snack chips for the company-owned Boulder Canyon brand, in addition to salty snacks under the T.G.I. Friday's®, Nathan's Famous® and Vidalia Brands® licensed brands. Inventure's Goodyear plant is a state-of-the-art kettle-cooked potato chip facility, producing potato chips under the Boulder Canyon, Poore Brothers® and Bob's Texas Style® brand names.
All Boulder Canyon products will carry the certified Gluten-Free logo going forward.
The Auburn, Wash.-based GFCO is considered the leading global gluten-free certification program. The strict certification process includes periodic gluten testing of the manufacturing facility, regular plant inspections by a GFCO contracted auditor and random product testing in the marketplace. Products carrying the GF logo meet similarly strict gluten-free standards constituted by the GFCO. For a complete list of GFCO certified companies and products, please visit www.gfco.org.
Sales of certified gluten-free products in the chips, pretzel and snack category grew 54 percent from 2010 to 2011 and sales of the overall gluten-free food category grew 27 percent from 2009 to 2011, according to Inventure Foods. World-leading market research group, Mintel®, estimates the gluten-free food category will reach $8 billion in 2013, reports the release.
"We continue to place the utmost importance on improving our food safety and manufacturing capabilities, said Laura Setzfand, vice president of marketing for Boulder Canyon in a prepared statement."The growth in the gluten-free food category is a direct result of consumers' demand for better-for-you products. Boulder Canyon offers consumers a wide range of better-for-you snacks that will now also carry the GFCO certification."
