46 replies to this topic

[princessjessie]

hmm...

this is hard to hear because I have fallen in love with the cinnamon chex, but its beginning to make sence

ever since I picked up my first box at the store my tummy has been bloated on and off (I'm very tiny and this is noticeable even when it is a small bloat) but no other problems. In the past week or two I have been overly itchy and am going crazy trying to read and research all my detergents, makeup, and other products.
I had a bowl of the honey nut chex before bed last night, and then this morning I had a huge hive on my hand completely unexplained. I have been so frusterated the past few days and i'm wondering if that could be....

I think I should skip the chex for the next few days despite how bad I would like them.

[Becci]

I've been pretty lucky that my local Wal-mart carries gluten-free Rice, Honey Nut, Corn and Cinnamon Chex. BUT...I had an experience of my own with that.

I bought a box of Honey Nut Chex that had the gluten-free designation on the front. Ate half the box, no problem. Had a bowl one morning, prepared as I always do with fruit on the top and the same brand and type of milk as usual. As I was eating, I noticed 2 slightly smaller and darker appearing Chex in the bowl. It brought me up short and I hemmed and hawed around about eating them and/or finishing the bowl. Eventually, I figured they were nothing more than over-browned, over-cooked Honey Nut Chex and that I was just getting paranoid about nothing.

Yeah, wish I had THAT one to do over. Just those 2 little Chex glutened the crap out of me and I felt horrible for 4 or 5 days. The next time I went to the grocery store I made it a point to look at the box of Wheat Chex and compare what had been in my bowl with the photo on the front. Yahtzee! We had an exact match. How just those 2 got in my box of Honey Nut Chex is anybody's guess, but they were there, alright.

I've bought another box since then and have done just fine, but I will tell you that I look at each and EVERY spoonful to make certain I don't find any more stray Wheat Chex lurking there. There are times that I wish people and manufacturers could experience, just once, what it is that we go through when we get glutened. I'd hazzard a bet they'd be a H€LL of a lot more careful about assuring the "safety" of their products and/or more forthcoming in revealing hidden sources of gluten.

DID YOU CONTACT GM ABOUT THAT??? That was a HUGE mistake on they're part...


I eat no cereal other than Cinnamon Chex and never had a problem with it... It is alot better than spending $6 on a 1/2 box of cereal...

I am sorry you are getting sick. It may be something in the milk that they use, or you may have an intolerance to something else in them...
I am going to get my box now to see:

The regular contains area says: Milk, Soy and Peanut.

Could you have a problem with peanuts by any chance? or corn?

[Becci]

Okay, I jinxed myself.

I started feeling sick after eating my gluten-free Cinnamon Chex. I looked around, and figured that I hadn't gotten sick from them, because it had only been an hours... My normal times to start feeling anything is 1-3 hours.

Well, two hours after eating, I am throwing up blood... I only throw up after getting more than just a little cross contamination... Any chance that Wheat Chex was mixed in with mine?

I contacted GM to let them know that I had gotten sick from it, and they said they are going to look into it. I think I scared the woman when she asked me my regular Celiac symptoms.. and I told her.
She was all scared and asked if I needed to go to the hospital.. haha, I explained that it was a normal reaction for me when I get gluten, but that they're product was supposed to be Gluten-Free...

She apologized and said that they are sending the report all the way to the CEO who will do all he/she can to fix the problem and be sure that no Celiac's get messed up again..

She said that it is made in it's own facility, but it is possible that an employee may have accidentally contaminated it with Wheat Chex.

[laf2005laurie]

Chalk me up as another person who has had a reaction to GM gluten-free Chex Cereal. I first tried cinnamon chex, but it seemed to bother my stomach. I thought it was the flavoring bothering me, so I tried the plain gluten-free corn chex and then gluten-free rice chex deciding it must be the corn bothering. This has been during the past 2 months. I developed stomach issues, (nauseated and bloating) frequent headaches and recently low blood sugar symptoms. I completely eliminated milk products during the last two weeks, thinking dairy products were bothering. Rice milk had soy, so I blamed that. I then tried almond milk, which I could tolerate plain. I began re-reading every label, sure I was being glutened, somehow, although my symptoms were different from regular "glutenizing."

This wknd, I ate no cereal, but did drink almond milk and felt fine. This morning, I ate the last bowl of gluten-free corn chex from the box, with almond milk, as the only food eaten since dinner last night. Halfway through finishing, I began feeling nauseated, dizzy and sick. In less than a half hour I developed a headache. Knowing the almond milk did not affect me all weekend, I suspected maybe the corn chex, so I looked it up online. Sure enough others have had the same issue.

Seeing all the ingredients in the Corn Chex as ones I have tolerated in other foods, I called General Mills to ask if there was any other ingredient, they could identify that I might be sensitive to. I am aware they do not have to list ingredients that account for less than 1%. I was put on hold, and then told their advise is to go see my doctor! I advised them that I was sure my reaction was attributable to their gluten-free cereal and would like to know what else is in the product. GM told me they didn't have to check for potassium, or similar ingredients but would do so if someone reported an allergy to a specific ingredient.

I got the impression that General Mills is playing games with their ingredients. Would they want to be forthright in disclosing what was in their product, when I requested it and explained how sick I was feeling and how through process of elimination knew it was their gluten-free cereal? Why did they not just flatly deny any other ingredients in their cereal? BHT is in the ingredients, but I have chips with BHT and sure other foods that have never given me a problem. I noticed on the box that General Mills is either supporter of a gluten free web site. So, I turned their for answers. Turns out General Mills is using the site to promote their new gluten-free products. In fact they have top status on the search engines and I couldn't find the celiac groups/sites I used to.

Having had the experience I did today with General Mills, I have developed a more serious reaction -- and that is to a large corporation setting up a non-profit--or buying an existing one, that is now being used to promote a General Mills products, request donations, explain their tax deductible status, etc, etc....all in the name of marketing their gluten-free products--one of which is making enough people sick that they have complained about it.....hmmmmmm.

While it's been good to vent here, I do hope my experience helps someone else identify a reaction to food and hopefully promote the importance of better--independent testing of gluten free food. Lower prices would be nice on gluten-free products, but I don't think we should have to pay twice, for testing them.............

[bentramer1981]

I would love to know thier manufacturing process too.....as for us, we aren't buying any more. My dd was acting glutened for weeks, and I could not figure it out. I finally just quit buying Chex all together, even the Rice Chex that I thought she was fine with at first.

She has been her old self again, it's so nice to have my sweet little girl back! I do think it was the Chex, it was the only thing I cut out of our diet, and I waited forever to do it b/c I thought for sure that couldn't the culprit. She is now eating other whole grains just fine, which I originally thought was the problem instead of the cereal itself. So, I don't hink you are crazy for thinking it's the Chex!!!

I tried Gluten Free Chex again(the Apple Cinn) and it is "not" gluten free because I suddenly have to go to the bathroom (to say the least) after each bowl. How is this possible??? Ugh

[kareng]

I tried Gluten Free Chex again(the Apple Cinn) and it is "not" gluten free because I suddenly have to go to the bathroom (to say the least) after each bowl. How is this possible??? Ugh

Perhaps there is another ingredient in processed foods that bothers you?

[Salax]

I too have had reactions to the cin gluten-free chex. And I have eliminated milk and eaten them plain and I still have an issue. But not a normal glutening type issue so I think it must be something else in that box.

[Chalula88]

The cinnamon chex make me very, very ill as well. This is the first time I have ever gotten sick from a gluten free food. I am pretty sure it is some kind of gluten CC because I have eaten all of the ingredients in other foods without a problem.

[Lynda Maynard]

I'm glad I found this thread. I had some of the cinnamon chex last night, no milk or anything, just plain finger-food snack, and 4 hours later, the "razor-blades in the gut" cramps started. (my usual reaction to getting glutened) I had been debating whether to call the company now, or to wait & try the cereal again in a few days, 'cause *maybe* it was something in the dinner I'd had 2 hrs before the cereal. Now I'm sure it was the chex and I will *not* be doing *that* experiment!

[rymorg2]

I react to the honey nut version as well. I stopped eating it a few months ago.

[kimpe]

I am so glad to see that others are having trouble with the gluten free Chex. I've tried rice several times now and can only get to about 3 bites and I'm having a major stomach ache. It was one of my fav cereals before all of this.

[shadowicewolf]

You guys are probably reacting to something within the chex (see BHT). Its not really all that uncommon. Some can handle it, while others can't. Also, if you have a soy issue it should be avoided as well.

[mendylou]

I thought it was just me. I have had all the various gluten free chex cereals and I too have reacted to the cinnamon version. I tried it more than once and I always get a reaction. My 1st clue is that my lips swell to twice their size and itch terribly. I also don't know if it is the cinnamon itself or something else. I haven't been brave enuf to try it again, or other cinnamon products.

[jebby]

I have reacted to just about all of the Chex as well over the past 2 years. Since then I've discovered that I have a sulfite intolerance, and looking back, I was probably getting sick from the molasses in all of them (molasses has a high natural sulfite load). The Apple Cinnamon Chex actually contain enough sulfites that General Mills is forced to label it, so if you want to test yourself to see if you are reacting to sulfites you can eat the Apple Cinnamon Chex and then see how you feel (for me, sulfites cause GI symptoms which feels like gluten cross contamination).

[sallyalewis]

Thank you for saying this!

I have been eating Gluten Free Chex for a few months.

Yesterday that was almost all I had due to a busy day at work.  I was sick as a dog!

Had some again this morning and have been in the bathroom all day.

I'll look into the sufites.