What is Certified Free From™?
Certified Free From (CFF) is a certification program provided by MenuTrinfo LLC as a much needed, valuable resource for consumer-packaged brands (CPG) and food manufacturers that want to offer allergen-free products to people living with food allergies, intolerances and sensitivities! The program provides extensive third-party verification and validation of allergen-free claims on consumer-packaged products so you can protect the lives, safety and health of you or your family.
Why us?
Through our nearly 20-years’ experience with food allergy training and auditing, we are the leading subject matter experts in this arena and decided in 2016 to help make dining on college campus’ safer for students. It was then that we first certified Risley Dining Hall at the esteemed Cornell University as free from all peanuts, tree nuts (except coconut) and gluten for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Not long after that initial certification, food manufacturers also began to ask for our seal/certification on the packaging of their products. These early adopters asked to substantiate their soft claims of “allergy friendly” or “nut free” through our third-party certification process. And it was during those next two years we happily complied, certifying additional university dining halls and food products in the process.
A winding road
Certified-free-from came crashing to a halt In 2018 when MenuTrinfo’s founder and greatest champion, Besty Craig, experienced several medical challenges tied to an autoimmune disease called scleroderma. She fought back, won and relaunched CFF in 2019 only to be sidelined once again by the COVID pandemic. Staying true to her unstoppable roots, Craig decided to take a good idea and give it a back bone through international accreditation*. The ONLY certification of its kind to receive this level of recognition.
Today, MenuTrinfo provides CFF certification and audits for food products, vitamins, supplements and other consumer goods that have added CFF to their great brands. And we’re proud to say we’re the first company of our kind in the world that does what we do.
Accredited by the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB), the certification program is designed to meet the highest standards of accuracy, transparency and reliability. The program involves rigorous testing of products and facilities to ensure that they are free from either one to all nine of the top major food allergens: peanuts, milk, eggs, shellfish, wheat, sesame, soy, fish, and tree nuts (both including and excluding coconut).
