I was so tickled to get all those emails about those of you also being interested in buying Knoxville-milled White Lily at the store before it’s all gone!
I didn’t get a response to the email I sent White Lily on Wednesday. This was the message I had sent them:
Hi – I understand that the White Lily mill in Knoxville is closing, and I want to stock up on it so that I can avoid the new flour being milled up north. I plan to purchase several, several, several bags this weekend. Can you please tell me how I can differentiate on the bag between the flour made in Knoxville and that made elsewhere?
So…I decided to call them. I talked to Lori Ann, and asked her to please tell me the code on the bags of White Lily for the Knoxville mill. She wouldn’t tell me the code (and, really, you *know* they have a code on those bags because of all the food recalls that go on, so the FDA and whoever else can trace tainted ingredients back to their source. We aren’t talking produce w/out barcodes.) but she *did* say that everything that is on store shelves right now was milled in Knoxville.
I told her it was my understanding that the mills up north were already making White Lily. Does that mean that those mills haven’t started shipping the flour yet? She didn’t answer that but again said that everything that is on the store shelves right now is from Knoxville.
Really, I would be happy with that explanation but I don’t understand why I couldn’t just get the code so I would know that the ‘x’ number of bags I buy this weekend really are from Knoxville. You know?
She added that there was no way I would be able to tell the difference between Knoxville White Lily and the newly made flour anyway.
Well, I couldn’t help myself, so I very nicely asked her if she read the article in the NY Times which says that two other sources could tell the difference. She said that it was a (okay, yes! I did take notes!! you know me!!) “flawed test” and that one of the testers was a “former employee” so there you go.
I told her that the other tester, though, was not employed by the company and she gave me the pause. You know, …….the pause…….. After a few seconds, she said that they had a “lady in their kitchen that worked there over 14 years that could not tell the difference” and that the color change between Knoxville and the other mill was due to the fact that “flour changes color in age” meaning I guess that the other mill’s flour may have been older than the comparison from Knoxville. So how long then has the other mill been making White Lily without shipping it since everything on store shelves right now is from Knoxville? I’m not sure how much sense that makes.
Lori Ann was really nice and I thanked her for helping me. I do wish that she would have just told me that code, though! Maybe they aren’t supposed to because then they would have so many people wanting to stock up and freeze Knoxville flour. Of course, they are still making money on any sales no matter where the flour originated, so…not sure that makes any difference either…
It sounds like their office has had a *lot* of calls about this. If anyone else has any questions – or wants to try to get the code(!!) – their # is 800.595.1380. You have to promise me you’ll email me if you get it! hahaha!!
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Updated: got the code!