[kbabe1968]

Okay. I LOVE mexican food. I love Ortega Taco Sauce. I went to B&G foods, and their Ortega products ARE NOT listed in their gluten-free list (cheering for them for even having one!). BOOO HOOO!!!

My two faves are the Mild and the Chipotle ones....any suggestions for replacements?

[Lisa]

Chi-Chi's Taco Sauce

Newman's Taco Sauce ...both gluten free

I am certain that there are many others, but just off the top of my head.

[LisaJ]

I found this on their website:

Q. Do you have a gluten free list for Ortega products?

A. Ortega has been following a strict labeling policy with regard to any allergens in our foods and incoming ingredients.

We have insisted that our suppliers notify us if gluten is used in any of their ingredients and yet is not declared on their labeling. Thus, we believe we have uncovered any potential use of gluten containing ingredients.

Therefore, any Ortega product is fully labeled for any presence of gluten or gluten containing ingredients. We find that this statement is much easier than our trying to maintain a gluten free product list.

[blueeyedmanda]

I use Ortega all the time, no problems. I actually made Taco's last night.

[tarnalberry]

Most fresh salsa's are gluten-free. Add some Louisiana hot sauce... yum!

[kbabe1968]

blueeyedmanda, on Jan 26 2007, 09:40 PM, said:

I use Ortega all the time, no problems. I actually made Taco's last night.

THANKS! Just after I posted I got the reply from B&G foods. IF you go on the website the Ortega products are not listed. BUT their customer service sent me an email that stated that ALL Ortega products are gluten free. ALL of them. There is not wheat, wheat derivitatives or "gluten" containing flours (ie. barley, rye, etc) used in ANY Ortega line. Including spice mixes!

Check me out! Doing a HAPPY DANCE!!!!

We are having Chipotle Creamed Chicken in Corn tortillas for dinner tomorrow night! YEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!

[psawyer]

Ortega is a brand that have a policy to clearly label gluten sources in the ingredient list on their products. You can read the label and know if the product is suitable for the gluten-free diet.

My list of companies/brands that can be relied upon to disclose gluten clearly has been posted many times here, but here it is again:

Arrowhead Mills, Aunt Nelly's, Balance, Baskin Robbins, Ben & Jerry, Bertoli, Betty Crocker, Blue Bunny, Breyers, Campbells, Cascadian Farms, Celestial Seasonings, ConAgra, Country Crock, Edy's, General Mills, Good Humor, Green Giant, Haagen Daz, Hellman's, Hormel, Hungry Jack, Jiffy, Knorr, Kozy Shack, Kraft, Lawry's, Libby's, Lipton, Martha White, Maxwell House, McCormick, Nabisco, Nestle, Old El Paso, Ortega, Pillsbury, Popsicle, Post, Progresso, Ragu, Russell Stover, Seneca Foods, Skippy, Smucker, Stokely's, Sunny Delight, T Marzetti, Tyson, Unilever, Wishbone, Yoplait, Zatarain's.

Most of these companies will not guarantee their products to be gluten-free, due to possible cross-contamination including ingredients that they buy from some other company. But I don't let that worry me.

[Cottage_Soul]

psawyer, on Jan 28 2007, 12:12 AM, said:

Ortega is a brand that have a policy to clearly label gluten sources in the ingredient list on their products. You can read the label and know if the product is suitable for the gluten-free diet.

My list of companies/brands that can be relied upon to disclose gluten clearly has been posted many times here, but here it is again:

Arrowhead Mills, Aunt Nelly's, Balance, Baskin Robbins, Ben & Jerry, Bertoli, Betty Crocker, Blue Bunny, Breyers, Campbells, Cascadian Farms, Celestial Seasonings, ConAgra, Country Crock, Edy's, General Mills, Good Humor, Green Giant, Haagen Daz, Hellman's, Hershey, Hormel, Hungry Jack, Jiffy, Knorr, Kozy Shack, Kraft, Lawry's, Libby's, Lipton, Martha White, Maxwell House, McCormick, Nabisco, Nestle, Old El Paso, Ortega, Pillsbury, Popsicle, Post, Progresso, Ragu, Russell Stover, Seneca Foods, Skippy, Smucker, Stokely's, Sunny Delight, T Marzetti, Tyson, Unilever, Wishbone, Yoplait, Zatarain's.

The label will state "Gluten - Free"? I don't have to go through all the ingredients looking for things like edible starch or hydrolyzed wheat protein? Sorry if this questions been asked before - I'm new here. Thanks!!

[rbh]

Hershey's in the U.S. has actually changed their policy -- they no longer claim that they disclose all gluten. So, you do need to verify particular products with them rather than rely on the ingredient list.

Cottage Soul -- if a compnay says that they will disclose all gluten in the ingredient list, the product does not necessarily say "gluten-free". You still need to read the ingredient label -- it generally means that these companies will indicate the presence of barley, rye or oats as an ingredient by using one of those words, instead of simply saying, for example, "natural flavors" (all companies now need to disclose wheat). For example, Jello is a Kraft company -- if you read the ingredient label of their pudding cup, and the words wheat, rye, barley or oats don't appear, then the product is not supposed to have a gluten containing ingredient in it. This does NOT mean that the products have been tested for their gluten levels, so depending on the product I suppose there could be potential cross contamination issues. For companies that don't claim to disclose all gluten, you do need to contact them to find out what ingredients such as "natural flavors" contain.

[psawyer]

Cottage_Soul, on Jan 31 2007, 08:32 PM, said:

The label will state "Gluten - Free"? I don't have to go through all the ingredients looking for things like edible starch or hydrolyzed wheat protein? Sorry if this questions been asked before - I'm new here. Thanks!!

No, the label will not say "gluten-free." However, these companies will use clear words to disclose gluten. Look for the words wheat, rye, barley and/or oats. If none of these words appear in the ingredient list, then there is no gluten in the product. These companies will not hide gluten with obscure or ambiguous words.

Most of these companies will not claim that they can guarantee the gluten-free status of anything. Too many lawsuits have left them gunshy.

I'm not sure about Hershey; they had a problem recently in Canada with a contaminated ingredient which may have made them even more reluctant to make any claims. (It wasn't gluten. It was salmonella.)