Frequently Asked Questions
Here's a list of topics covered in this FAQ:
What allergens does your pasta have?
Our products do NOT have any soy or milk ingredients.
However, all of our ingredients (except flavorings) come from wheat, which could
be a problem for those with a wheat or gluten allergy.
Do I have to do anything special when I cook the pasta?
The basic cooking instructions are identical to standard pasta. We do occassionally get reports of overcooking, so I'd recommend cooking it a bit shorter than you usually would. For example, while the directions on standard store-brand fettuccine suggest 11-12 minutes of cooking, on our packaging we recommend only 8-9 minutes.
A lot also depends on how powerful your stovetop is. A good idea is to boil up a small amount of our pasta (perhaps a nest or two) the first time around, while keeping an eye on the clock. Start checking after 5 or 6 minutes, and once every minute after that. When it hits a consistency you're happy with, note the cooking time. The next time you want to cook up some FiberGourmet, just cook it for the same length of time and it should come out perfect.
And once you have the pasta prepared to your liking, please feel free to get creative
with the toppings and sauces! With such a unique, guilt-free foundation, you should be able to build really exciting meals around it.
If you're having sticking issues, we recommend rinsing the pasta in cool water after cooking and draining, in order to remove any excess starch and reduce sticking. This tip is not always necessary, though.
Is your pasta whole grain or whole wheat?
All of our products are nutritiionally even better than whole-wheat or whole-grain. Compared to whole wheat pasta, we have 35% fewer calories and almost 4 times the fiber! You can check out this handy comparison chart for more information, or just compare our respective labels.
Additionally, we've recently introduced our new FiberGourmet Whole Wheat pasta. This is the best of all possible worlds: it's healthier than even our conventional FiberGourmet pasta (20g fiber and 120 calories, instead of 18g fiber and 130 calories), and has the vitamins and minerals people expect from whole wheat. And as a 50% blend of whole wheat and our unique FiberGourmet flour-replacment technology, it also tastes great.
How many "carbs" are there in your pasta?
About half of the carbohydrates in our pasta are indigestible fiber, so while standard pasta has about 40g of carbohydrates that can actually get digested by your body, ours has only about 20g. If you're into that whole "net carbs" thing.
What's the shelf life of your pasta?
It's a dry pasta, so the moisture is very low (about 8-9%). The standard shelf life for dry pasta is about two years due to its low moisture content, and ours is even lower than most. Plus, we're never selling you old pasta - we do a new production about once a month. Another stability advantage our pasta has is that it is sealed in airtight plastic bags, not porous cardboard boxes.
In summary, it should be good for at least two years.
Why is your pasta so expensive?
We're actually quite a bargain if you compare us to other fiber-rich products on the market. A single 10-oz bag of our pasta contains 90 grams of fiber (18g per serving x 5 servings), and costs about $4.00, including the shipping. If you wanted to purchase that much fiber in the form of (for example) Metamucil, it would cost you a whopping $36.00!
And we'll even throw in some pasta ;)
Another point is that gourmet pasta (Tomato and Spinach flavors, in traditional Italian nests? Yeah, we're gourmet) is more expensive than its conventional commodity cousins which you can find in Wal-Mart. Rossi Pasta is the same price as us, and they aren't even saving you any calories.
As far as the shipping, we pull the costs directly from the UPS website, and can't really do much about it. We do have some ideas to help you minimize your shipping costs, though.
What's so special about your products?
We specialize in "light" or reduced-calorie products. Our products contain significantly fewer calories than standard products, without sacrificing on taste and texture.
So how do you get the calories so low?
By adding lots of insoluble fiber. Because your body can't digest it, each gram of insoluble fiber has 0 calories, as opposed to 4-9 calories for protein, carbohydrates, or fat. So as the proportion of insoluble fiber in the food goes up, the calories go down.
Well that just begs the question: How do you get so much fiber in there?
We replace half of the flour with resistant starch, which your body cannot digest. Resistant starch is a fiber which occurs naturally in many foods, such as bananas and potatoes, and is already a significant (but often unacknowledged) source of fiber for many people. You can find more info about resistant starch here.
Doesn't that make it taste grainy and fibrous, like whole wheat pasta?
Not at all! Resistant starch has the taste, texture, mouthfeel, and even color of the standard starch you know and love - but none of the calories. But don't take our word for it - try some for yourself. You'll see it's almost indistinguishable from standard pasta.
Where can I find your products?
We are in some smaller stores in a few areas (mostly on the East Coast), but until a large chain picks us up your best bet is right here on this website.
You can also suggest stores for us to contact in your area, although it's much more
effective if you actually tell them about it yourself. Just print out our handy store brochure, and you've got all the ammo you need to get FiberGourmet right in your neighborhood!
The pasta's great! When are your other products coming out?
Soon! We have a long pipeline of incredible products, from cookies and crackers to muffins and pancakes. Eventually, we want you to offer "light" options for almost
every food you eat. We're working as fast as we can with our partners and distributors to get them on the market. You can speed things up by buying more of our current products, which gives us more capital to work with ;).
To keep up to date on when our latest products become available, simply fill in your e-mail address here:
These questions seem a little contrived...
That's because we wrote them! We'd much rather hear the questions from you, if only because then we only have to do half the work. If you have a question which isn't addressed here, please e-mail us, and we'll get back to you ASAP.
Why should I cut calories?
Maybe you'd like to lose a few pounds. When it comes to weight, there is only one equation which is scientifically
indisputable:
(calories consumed) - exercise = (your weight)
Eat more calories, gain weight. Eat fewer calories, lose weight. It's that simple.
It's what every doctor and nutritionist has been saying for decades. For a great
introduction, just check out the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) recent anti-obesity program, Calories Count.
On the other hand, not everyone needs to lose weight. For example, if you're anorexic, please stop reading this page and go gobble down some chocolate cake.
I always choose the reduced-fat version. Isn't that enough?
I wish it was that easy! When they take out the fat, what do they put in its place? Probably not fiber. More likely protein or carbs. Check out this illuminating comparison of the calories in standard vs. reduced-fat foods, again courtesy of the FDA. My favorite is how letting yourself have the regular frozen yogurt instead of the fat-free changes the calories from 100 ... to 104.
How much fiber am I supposed to eat every day?
The commonly quoted figure is 25g a day. It's not really a fixed number, since the FDA recommends about 14g of fiber per 1,000 calories consumed. Although 65% of people think
they have enough fiber in their diets, 80% of people do not consume enough fiber
- including 75% of those who claim that they do! (A fascinating - and disturbing
- statistic, courtesy of the USDA).
The bottom line is that even if you think you get enough fiber each day, you probably
don't (statistically speaking).
What's so great about fiber?
Insoluble fiber is indigestible. So even though it's as filling as any other food, it provides no calories. This combination can be a great help in preventing obesity. What's more fiber has been linked
to staving off a litany of diseases, from cancer to diabetes. (The last link is
also from the FDA. We use them a lot, because if you can't trust the federal government, then who can you trust? ;)
How soon will my order ship?
For most of the year, orders received by 10:00 AM EST will be shipped that day, provided the item is in stock. During the summer we take things a little slower, and will ship only on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
How do you handle out of stock items?
We'll notify you by e-mail in the next day or two, give you estimated in-stock times, and let you decide if you want to cancel your order or not.
Which shipping carriers do you use?
We send everything out by UPS Ground from our warehouse in Pennsylvania. The only exception is Canada, which goes by USPS Priority Mail, to avoid excessive brokerage fees.
What are your shipping rates?
Right now we're offering flat $5.99 shipping on all orders in the continental US, with
a mere $20 surcharge for Canada, Alaska, and Hawaii.
What about international shipping?
Soon! We're working on it, and we might have something pretty exciting any day now.
How do I start a return?
All returns require a RMA (Returned Merchandise Authorization) number. You can get one by filling out the RMA form.
How long do I have to return the items?
The RMA request has to be sent in within 2 weeks from the time of delivery.
Do you charge restocking or other fees?
It depends. If the fault is ours, then you will be refunded the total value of the unopened bags. If it's for some other reason, then you will be refunded the value of the unopened bags minus a 25% restocking fee.
Who pays for the shipping?
Again, it depends. If the fault is ours, then we'll both refund your shipping costs (up to the value of UPS Ground), and will send you a prepaid UPS label so you can return the product. If it's for some other reason, then we don't cover the shipping in either direction.
Do the products have to be returned in the original shipping container?
They should be. If you return the products using any other packaging, and they are damaged during the return trip, we will not be able to refund you for the damaged product.
What happens if I'm not home when UPS tries to deliver?
Generally, UPS will try to deliver three times, and will then hold it for a week for you to pick it up from their local facility. At the end of that time they will send it back to us, and charge us a return fee about equal to the original shipping fee. If this happens, we will refund the cost of the goods to you, minus whatever UPS charges us for the return trip.
We also have a check-box in our shopping cart called "Leave at Door", which authorizes the UPS driver to leave the package at the delivery address some place where you should be able to find it. If you suspect you won't be home or won't be able to sign for the package when UPS tries to deliver, we strongly suggest using this option to avoid having the package returned to us. However, if you use this option we cannot be responsible for packages which are damaged, lost, or stolen once the UPS driver leaves them at the address.
Your Privacy
FiberGourmet is committed to protecting your privacy. We only use the
information we collect about you to process orders and to provide you with support in the course
of fulfilling your order. Please read on for more details about our privacy policy.
What information do we collect? How do we use it?
When you order, we need to know your name,
e-mail address, mailing address, credit
card number, CCV, and expiration date. This allows us to process and fulfill your
order and to notify you of your order status.
When you enter a contest or other promotional feature, we may ask for your name,
address, and e-mail address so we can administer the contest and notify winners.
How do we protect your information?
This site is hosted on a secured server that does not allow access to the public.
Passwords and encryption technology protect the information about our
members we collect and store. Additionally, when you order via Google Checkout your information
is being entrusted to one of the largest and trusted IT companies in the world.
Google does not even share your credit card information with us, which is incredibly
secure: we can't leak what we don't know.
What about "cookies"?
"Cookies" are small pieces of information that are stored by your browser on your
computer's hard drive. We use cookies to keep track of what items are in your shopping
cart, what coupons you have applied, and what ZIP code you would like to calculate
the shipping for. We do not place any cookies on your computer or record any
information about our visitors other than for this anonymous and technical utilitarian purpose.
We do not share the cookie information with anyone.
Will FiberGourmet disclose the information it collects to outside parties?
FiberGourmet does not sell, trade, rent or publish your personal information
to any third party. FiberGourmet may provide anonymous aggregate statistics
about our members, site traffic patterns, and related site information to reputable
third-parties, but these statistics will not include personally identifying information.
FiberGourmet may release member information when we believe, in good faith,
that such release is reasonably necessary to (i) comply with law, (ii) enforce or
apply the terms of any of our member agreements or (iii) protect the rights, property
or safety of FiberGourmet our members, or others.
In Summary
FiberGourmet is committed to protecting your privacy. We use the information
we collect on the site to assist and promote our members. We do not sell, trade,
rent or publish any personal information.
Your Consent
By using our Web site, you consent to the collection and use of this anonymous information
by FiberGourmet. If we make any changes to our privacy policy, we will post
those changes on this page so that you are always aware of what information we collect,
how we use it, and under what circumstances we disclose it.
FiberGourmet also provides links to other sites, such as reviewers. The privacy
policies of these linked sites are the responsiblity of the linked site and FiberGourmet has
no control or influence over their policies. Please check the policies of each site you visit
for specific information. FiberGourmet cannot be held liable for damage or
misdoings of other sites linked or otherwise.
Questions and Feedback
If you have any questions or feedback related to our Privacy Policy, please email
us at info@fibergourmet.com
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