Canada has its first officially certified gluten-free product: Lay’s potato chips. In order to obtain the designation, four facilities in Canada and one in Mexico were certified under the Canadian Celiac Association’s Gluten-Free Certification Program.
The chips, made by Pepsico Canada, for the most part have always been made without gluten, but now customers can be assured that Lay’s facilities and manufacturing processes have been verified by a third party. (Only one variety, Lay’s BarBQ Flavour, won’t bear the new CCA logo.)
Paul Valder, the consultant developing the CCA’s certification program, says this is just the first of a number of certified products consumers will see over the coming months.
The CCA is in discussions with a major retailer for certifying its private label line, and also in the gluten-free pipeline are: a national brand that makes crackers and cookies, a national bakery, and a generic drug manufacturer.
