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Gluten Free=malt Free? How Do I Find Malt In Ingredients? Frustrated And Confused!

confused1

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confused1 Newbie
confused1
Posted

So I was experiencing symptoms that I suspected to be related to celiacs (never been tested for it), just had an allergy test done today and tested positive for MALT allergy but negative for WHEAT allergy... I cant find anything on malt allergies, food lists, ingredient names and hidden ingredients. My question is do I just go on a gluten free diet to go malt free, are there foods that are malt free that arent gluten free? I have no idea what I should/shouldnt eat unless it clearly lists malt on the ingredients.....ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!

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mommida Enthusiast
mommida
Posted

Barley malt is the problem for Celiacs.

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woodnewt Rookie
woodnewt
Posted

Were you actually tested for celiac disease or just wheat allergy?

Although a person with celiac can be allergic to wheat/barley, etc, celiac disease is NOT an allergy.

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confused1 Newbie
confused1
  • Author
Posted

i was given 26 injections for different food allergens, one of which was wheat which was negative, and malt which was positive. I have been eating a strict gluten free diet for the past 3-4 months just as my own experiment. I was having constant constipation, bloating, belching, hearthburn, abdominal pains/discomfort. Even after eating gluten free i am still experiencing some but not all of these problems. My confusion is that some gluten-free foods contain corn malt, so I am assuming that some gluten-free foods are not malt free? I have searched endlessly for some info on this and have come up empty handed. I just need to know what to look for that indicates malt in an ingredient, and also if something contains wheat does that automatically indicate it contains malt. The doctors office provided me with a VERY vague description of malt, i will type it word-for-word so you will see where my confusion comes from:

FOODS THAT CONTAIN MALT:

All baked goods, bread, pancake and waffle mixes, biscuit mixes, soda crackers, confections, wheat flour, ice cream, candy, cake, baby cereals, malted milk, infant formulas, cooked breakfast cereal, dry breakfast cereal, potato chips, powdered milk, table syrup, malt extract, malt syrup, malt vinegar, soda fountain drinks, coffee substitutes, coffee and tea.

That was the information they provided me with and my instructions were to eliminate malt from my diet. So I went to my cupboard and pulled out some dry breakfast cereal expecting to see some sort of "malt" listed in ingredients, only to find nothing that came close to that. Pulled out my potato chips, same thing. Maybe someone can help me decipher these ingredients or give me some sort of a lead to someone or somewhere I can find out. Thanks for your replies and any help you can give me, it is VERY appreciated.

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confused1 Newbie
confused1
  • Author
Posted

Forgot to add, I was not and have not been tested for celiacs.

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psawyer Proficient
psawyer
Posted

First, your list of foods that "contain malt" should be foods that might possibly contain malt, which might be from barley. When we talk about malt here, we are usually referring to malted barley.

Barley malt is commonly used as a sweetener, but it is almost always declared in the ingredient list as malt flavor. Look for malt extract as well. But certainly not all of the foods on your list contain malt.

Most of us here are sensitive to wheat. There are many foods that contain wheat, but do not contain barley. Are you sure that malt is your problem and not gluten in general?

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GFinDC Veteran
GFinDC
Posted

Hi confused,

I think Peter has it right, the list of doc's foods may contain barley malt, not that all of those foods absolutely do contain barley malt.

It sounds like they did the skin testing for your allergies? That's where they put just a small amount of the allergen right under the skin to test for reactions. I don't think the skin tests will tell you about food intolerances. For celiac they would draw blood samples and send them to a lab to check for antibodies. Some people do have both a food allergy and a food intolerance though.

For celiacs wheat, rye and barley are the main food intolerances. You could ask your doctor for a celiac panel test. There are 4 or so different antibodie types they check. You need to stay on a regular gluten diet until the blood is drawn though. Quest labs and Prometheus Labs do blood tests, and Enterolab does a stool test. There are other labs that do testing these are just some I remember.

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  • 3 years later...
Dollee Newbie
Dollee
Posted

I was diagnosed with malt, whole grain and egg allergies about 5 months ago. I have no wheat allergy. I have suffered from most of the same "tummy" troubles as you for several years.  I have found that gluten free does Not mean malt free. Malt is hidden in foods under several names. my experience has been that the more processed a food is, the more ingredients it has and usually malt. i stick to fresh made foods, lots of fruit and veggies. I understand your frustration, it seems like malt shows up in places where it doesn't  need to be.

below is a list of names for malt. I hope it helps you

 

 

 

Malt

Malted barley (or corn, etc)

Malt Flavoring

Malt Extract

Malt Vinegar

Maltodextrin

Maltose

Malt Syrup

Ethyl Maltitol

Isomalt

Hydrogenated isomaltitol

Isomaltitol Maltitol

Maltol

Malt Sugar

 

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Dollee Newbie
Dollee
Posted

oh i also forgot that many snack foods that are flavored usually have malt i.e. bbq potatochips and the like. 

i have found a couple of organic soups and breakfast cereals that are malt-free, so look for foods in that direction. bread is troublesome

good luck. 

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kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

I was diagnosed with malt, whole grain and egg allergies about 5 months ago. I have no wheat allergy. I have suffered from most of the same "tummy" troubles as you for several years. I have found that gluten free does Not mean malt free. Malt is hidden in foods under several names. my experience has been that the more processed a food is, the more ingredients it has and usually malt. i stick to fresh made foods, lots of fruit and veggies. I understand your frustration, it seems like malt shows up in places where it doesn't need to be.

below is a list of names for malt. I hope it helps you

Malt

Malted barley (or corn, etc)

Malt Flavoring

Malt Extract

Malt Vinegar

Maltodextrin

Maltose

Malt Syrup

Ethyl Maltitol

Isomalt

Hydrogenated isomaltitol

Isomaltitol Maltitol

Maltol

Malt Sugar

Actually, many of these do not contain barley malt. Just because it has the four letters MALT in it does not mean it has barley in it.

These do not have barley malt in them:

Maltitol in all the ways you listed it

Maltodextrin

Maltol

Isomalt

Just to add - "Gluten Free" should and does mean barley malt free. "Wheat free" does not mean barley malt free. But a "wheat free" product might not have malt or any other gluten in it.

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psawyer Proficient
psawyer
Posted

I was diagnosed with malt, whole grain and egg allergies about 5 months ago. I have no wheat allergy. I have suffered from most of the same "tummy" troubles as you for several years.  I have found that gluten free does Not mean malt free. Malt is hidden in foods under several names. my experience has been that the more processed a food is, the more ingredients it has and usually malt. i stick to fresh made foods, lots of fruit and veggies. I understand your frustration, it seems like malt shows up in places where it doesn't  need to be.

below is a list of names for malt. I hope it helps you

 

 

 

Malt

Malted barley (or corn, etc)

Malt Flavoring

Malt Extract

Malt Vinegar

Maltodextrin

Maltose

Malt Syrup

Ethyl Maltitol

Isomalt

Hydrogenated isomaltitol

Isomaltitol Maltitol

Maltol

Malt Sugar

Well, that list is not accurate. Some, but not all, of those ingredients are an issue. Some of them are safe. I'm guessing somebody who did not really understand the question listed everything they could imagine that contained the letters m-a-l-t and assumed that they were malt. That just isn't so. I'll respond to each thing on your list:

Malt - Unsafe (assume barley unless stated otherwise)

Malted barley (or corn, etc) - Unsafe if barley, Safe if corn or rice

Malt Flavoring - Unsafe (assume barley unless stated otherwise)

Malt Extract - Unsafe (assume barley unless stated otherwise)

Malt Vinegar - Unsafe

Maltodextrin - Safe, regardless of source

Maltose - A sugar - Safe

Malt Syrup - Unsafe (assume barley unless stated otherwise)

Ethyl Maltitol - A synthetic, gluten-free flavoring agent, also known as Maltitol

Isomalt - Safe - A sugar replacement made from beets

Hydrogenated isomaltitol - Safe - see Ethyl Maltitol above

Isomaltitol Maltitol - Safe - see Ethyl Maltitol above

Maltol - Safe - A synthetic, gluten-free flavoring agent, similar to Maltitol

Malt Sugar - Another name for maltose, a safe ingredient

I took a long time to compose this...

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Kamma Explorer
Kamma
Posted

I was diagnosed with malt, whole grain and egg allergies about 5 months ago. I have no wheat allergy. I have suffered from most of the same "tummy" troubles as you for several years.  I have found that gluten free does Not mean malt free. Malt is hidden in foods under several names. my experience has been that the more processed a food is, the more ingredients it has and usually malt. i stick to fresh made foods, lots of fruit and veggies. I understand your frustration, it seems like malt shows up in places where it doesn't  need to be.

below is a list of names for malt. I hope it helps you

 

 

 

Malt

Malted barley (or corn, etc)

Malt Flavoring

Malt Extract

Malt Vinegar

Maltodextrin

Maltose

Malt Syrup

Ethyl Maltitol

Isomalt

Hydrogenated isomaltitol

Isomaltitol Maltitol

Maltol

Malt Sugar

 

 

That's interesting, Dollee.  If I'm understanding you correctly, you're allergy is based on the malting process in which enzymes develop the starches into sugars no matter what the source material is. 

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  • 4 weeks later...
jmryan83 Rookie
jmryan83
Posted

I'm still learning about all the different hidden meanings in reading food labels. So I don't have any more information to add, except if you try something (because your not sure, and think it's OK) and you have a reaction, you'll have an answer.

 

I suspect I have either Celiac or gluten sensitivity. I've been gluten free for a week and it's been going GREAT. I made a mistake though and ate a Kellog Rice Crispie treat today though and I didn't see "wheat" listed, I missed the "malt flavoring". I got a terrible attack. It took hours to get over it. So now I know, hard lesson, but well learned.

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