Trying and trying again.

How do you represent ‘gluten free’?

Found this on a dinner menu tonight.  Sparked some good conversation around what symbols would most clearly convey their associated message.

Gluten-free already has a few attempts at a universal symbol: .  I had no idea, but it makes perfect sense.

Vegetarian too: . Both use a ‘v’ shape, but how universal is that?  I guess you could adjust the stalk shape to fit any character form, but that’s still not language independent.

I can’t find a universal symbol for contains nuts, which seems strange given the attention to gluten-free.  Aren’t peanut allergies more dangerous?  I don’t know, but it always seemed that way to me. The closest I could find was at kidswithfoodallergies.com.  It’s actually a pretty good start.  Using the peanut shape and no symbol gets the point across very well.  But I think an ideal universal symbol works across all languages, cultures and print capabilities.  If someone with artistic talent can convey a peanut in monocolor (minus the arms and legs), I’m on board.  This and gluten really deserve a solid symbol.

For garlic-free we thought a cross would work better:  , you know, because of vampires.  Why not?

Using the infinity loop for sustainable works great.