• Question: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF GLUTEN FREE FOOD BEING TWICE THE PRICE OF WHEAT CONTAINING FOODS?

    Asked by MARYT to Anne, Florence, Mark, Neil, Sinead on 18 Nov 2015.
    • Photo: Sinead Balgobin

      Sinead Balgobin answered on 18 Nov 2015:

      Quite frankly I think it’s ridiculous- prices should reflect how much money it takes to produce the food, with enough on top to make a profit. But taking advantage of people with coeliac disease or other gluten intolerance because they can only buy that product is morally very suspect. It’s the same with charging more for organic or fairtrade food- the fairtrade farmers get a slightly better deal, but most of that profit goes to the big companies who know that people will pay more for those products.

    • Photo: Florence McCarthy

      Florence McCarthy answered on 18 Nov 2015:

      I think it is very harsh given that there is a trapped market – it may be something that could be changed by political will if you contacted your local politician they might look favourably on this and pursue it through the government. Again, there will be an extra cost involved in accessing the gluten free flour but given that Ireland has a percentage of people with gluten allergy it should not discriminate them.

    • Photo: Mark Collins

      Mark Collins answered on 18 Nov 2015:

      Hi, It is an interesting question and unfortunately not an easy answer as all food when it is produced in particular has to undergo extensive testing for eaxmple-to ensure no pesticide content and its nutritional content as well as shelf-life assessment. There is also continuous checking for microbial content and nutritional value and for your product to be sold in certain major supermarkets shops they require even more testing and only at certain laboratories who the supermarket have certified as the shop will not stock this item without that certification! Unfortunately as although there are a large number of the population who are gluten intolerant they still sell a lot less products than many mainstream products so unfortunately the costs of development and testing of the food-product is not absorbed as well with fewer products sold and this therefore leads to a higher cost per unit! Sorry this is not good news but I hope this provides you with confidence with the quality of food on our shelves is excellent. If you have any further queries I’ll be happy to answer.

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