[hineini]

Ricola Natural Herb Cough Drops - The web site says they contain less than 0.01% gluten but are not guaranteed gluten-free. Which means had I been thinking (instead of having my head full of snot from a yucky cold) I would not have bought them. BUt I was an idiot and didn't think to check on the cough drops to make sure they were gluten-free. And I just used (ate?) one. I really hope I'm not going to get sick. Has anyone gotten glutened by these before?

[NJKen]

hineini, on Sep 7 2006, 03:49 PM, said:

Ricola Natural Herb Cough Drops - The web site says they contain less than 0.01% gluten but are not guaranteed gluten-free. Which means had I been thinking (instead of having my head full of snot from a yucky cold) I would not have bought them. BUt I was an idiot and didn't think to check on the cough drops to make sure they were gluten-free. And I just used (ate?) one. I really hope I'm not going to get sick. Has anyone gotten glutened by these before?

As a "silent celiac" I don't have any first-hand information on whether Ricola cough drops produce a reaction. I did, however, send an e-mail to Ricola USA a while back asking about their gluten content, and received this reply:

Because of the increase in requests regarding the gluten free question, we asked our Quality Assurance Dept. in Switzerland to supply us with a more detailed response. Please be advised as follows:

All Ricola products are manufactured in Switzerland and all products are within the limits for gluten established by the Swiss Celiac Association.

The limits are maximum 10 mg gluten per 1 kg of finished product. Product that is within this limit can be considered, according to the Swiss Celiac Association, as suitable for celiac patients.

In the United States, there are no established government standards as to what can be considered gluten-free or what is safe for use in celiac patients. Our products contain less than 0.01% gluten.

We urge you to share this information with your doctor to determine whether it is safe to use our products, or to contact the Celiac Sprue Association of the United States @ 1-877-CSA-4CSA.

Given that this threshold has been established, it is unlikely that they test for levels below that threshold, because there would probably be additional expense (assuming that testing for lower levels is possible).

I'm pretty sure that there are no gluten-containing ingredients, even in minute quantities, in their products, so you should be safe as long as you don't have secondary allergies to other ingredients.

[Lauren M]

I remember hearing they weren't gluten-free. I wouldn't risk it

Shame, because they used to be the only cough drops I would use. Interestingly though, since I was diagnosed with Celiac and have been gluten-free (3 years next month) I really haven't gotten colds/sick, so I haven't had to use them! Maybe some others can suggest some gluten-free cough drops.

- Lauren