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Compass Database Updates
Remember that February 28th 2025, is the deadline to submit any product or ingredient updates on our Excel template. Starting March 1st, all product and ingredient updates must be submitted through Compass. Please reach out to gfco.clientsupport@gluten.org to request Compass access, keeping in mind that GFCO can only provide access for the primary contacts from the companies that hold the certification contract (these primary users then have the ability to add additional users as they see fit).
A couple of reminders as you are entering new products and ingredients:
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In Compass, as with our old Excel system, you are generally free to name products however you’d like, but we ask that you observe the following guidelines:
- Please name your products in a way that consumers can match them to the product that’s on the shelf or in their hand and provide a UPC code when one is available. Your product names display in our public directory exactly as you enter them, and using unclear names or excessive abbreviations can be confusing for everyone. Having a UPC code available helps to verify certification in an unambiguous way, especially if the product name is not clear.
- Do not include the product brand name in the name of the product. The product’s brand name will always appear on the certificate in a column right next to the product name, so repeating it in the product name is unnecessary, and has the potential to lead to the release of confidential information.
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Unlike the old Excel system, your ingredient names in Compass need to be an exact match to an existing ingredient in our directory. You have the ability to request that new ingredients be added to the central directory but note that we may amend the way the new ingredient is named in order to match the Compass naming conventions. Some other important things to remember when submitting new ingredients for the directory:
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We will not include other certification statuses in ingredient names, so please do not submit ingredients that include “organic”, “non-GMO”, “kosher”, etc. in the ingredient name. Those certification references will be removed before we consider a new ingredient for the directory.
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Do not include brand names, part numbers, RMC codes or other internal identifiers in your ingredient names. Remember that every ingredient accepted into our directory is then available for every other user to see and select. We will do our best to remove these types of terms from newly submitted ingredients before they are approved for our directory, but the best case is for ingredients not to contain these terms from the start.
- Finally, when you have entered a new product into the system, and completed and saved all of the related information (ingredients, countries of sale, manufacturing location, etc.), make sure to hit the “Submit for Review” button – this is the only way we know that the product is ready for us to review.
We are all adjusting to the new system and getting up to speed on the new process, but in the long run the Compass system will help us provide you with a faster turnaround on updates and provide us all with one central location to see your current products and ingredients. Please reach out to gfco.clientsupport@gluten.org with any questions about accessing the system, and to receive a link to helpful training videos.
Call for Impartiality Panel Members
As part of GFCO’s accreditation to ISO 17065, we need to consistently demonstrate that our certification practices are fair and impartial – that we treat all certification applicants the same. As part of our impartiality practices, GFCO convenes a group of stakeholders every year to review updates and activities within the program, to ensure that our program remains fair and unbiased. This meeting typically occurs on the last Thursday in August and is 1-2 hours in length depending on the agenda. Materials for review are distributed one to two weeks before the meeting.
If you would be interested in serving on our impartiality panel, please submit a resume/CV to laura.allred@gluten.org. We will be able to accept the first two eligible applicants onto the panel for this year.
You can read more about our impartiality policies in the Impartiality section of the GFCO Manual.
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