ZEGO launches a new visual to bring transparency to undisclosed residues that can harm health
San Francisco (February 26, 2020) — ZEGO established itself as the leader in the clean food movement a year ago by launching purity testing for all its breakfast and snack foods for over 400 chemicals and allergens. It also set up a communication system so consumers can scan the QR code on any product to access its test results or view them on the company’s website.
But the company faced a dilemma. Busy consumers don’t always have time to scan a QR code and look at test results for hundreds of chemicals and allergens. And, they may not know how to evaluate the results.
To make their testing more meaningful to consumers, ZEGO has developed a Purity Panel coded from green to red for key heavy metals (lead, arsenic, cadmium), chemicals (DDT, BHA, chlorpyrifos, glyphosate), gluten, and the most common allergens (peanut, milk, and soy). The panel is being launched at Expo West on ZEGO’s Peace.Love.Crispies rice cereal (North Hall #2325).
ZEGO’s Purity Panel visual is designed to use on larger packaging and websites and pulls together confusing and disparate toxin and allergen standards in a format that has scientific integrity and is easy to read at a glance.
Colleen Kavanagh, ZEGO’s CEO and founder, said that in developing the tool, the need for clear, non-conflicting standards presented in a meaningful and actionable way to consumers was obvious. “Consumers simply want to know if the cereal they are about to buy has lead in it, not to do mental math around parts per billion and then evaluate conflicting government standards.”
ZEGO wants the Purity Test Panel to become as common as the nutrition facts panel. Simply put by Kavanagh, “people have a right to know if there are toxic residues in their food.” ZEGO decided to focus on a handful of toxins of the over 400 it tests for based their health implications, familiarity with consumers, and prevalence in the food system.
Visuals like the Purity Panel usually take industry and government a decade or more to agree upon, if they can do it at all. But ZEGO felt time is of the essence and is taking the bold step of rolling out the Purity Panel on its own products. “We need to clean up our food system immediately,” said Kavanagh, “and brands can make a huge impact by requiring, and compensating their farmers and brokers for measurably clean ingredients.”
Using proven clean ingredients may cost more in the transition to a cleaner supply chain. The Purity Panel will help brands communicate their value and defend their price. Transparency will be the driver.
The Purity Panel launching at Expo West 2020 is a starting point. ZEGO is inviting people dedicated to improving the health of our food supply to make suggestions on how to improve it.
“Consumer demand is the fastest way to bring about a clean food and beverage revolution,” added Kavanagh. “We seek to inform that movement by removing the veil of secrecy around toxic residue.”
Links:
Instagram:@zegofoods / Facebook:@ZegoFoods / Twitter:@zegofoods / LinkedIn: ZEGO / Website:www.zegofoods.com
Hashtag: #PoweredByZEGO
Natural Products Expo West 2020:
Expo West North Hall #2325, Fresh Ideas #F14
About ZEGO
ZEGO makes delicious, purity tested foods that are appropriate for most all special diet needs and wants, from top 12 allergy free and gluten free to no added sugar, paleo, and vegan. ZEGO uses its packaging and marketing materials to educate consumers about the need for more transparency in food and how to advocate for it by asking other companies to provide the same purity transparency ZEGO does. The company’s vision is that more companies will follow ZEGO’s lead and start testing, reporting, and asking supplier for ingredients with less chemical and metal residue. The domino effect will mean cleaner food, cleaner fields, healthier people and a more sustainable planet. ZEGO has certifications for GFCO Gluten Free, USDA Organic, Non-GMO Verified and Kosher. ZEGO is certified as a B Corp and a Woman Owned Enterprise.
For interviews, images or samples, please contact:
Lisa Borden, Borden Communications, lisa@bordencom.com, 416.484.6489
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