A Healing Kitchen

We read almost daily about recalls of commercial foods which we thought were safe for a celiac disease diet. We are informed of contamination and undisclosed ingredients regularly right here at celiac.com thanks to vigilant posters. Jennifer and Destiny have both pointed out that which I have found is typical. You probably know, me as an unofficial self-designated drum beater for the SCD (Specific Carbohydrate Diet) which is probably stricter than your hated third grade teacher because it prohibits almost all commercially prepared foods. We warn people on our grain, starch and sugar free diet not only about undisclosed ingredients but the risk that even what seems to be an acceptable prepared food is subject to unannounced additions of unsuitable ingredients or changes in processing methods.

When it comes to this the label is a fable, because there is rarely public notification on the part of the product producer. One example is Applegate Foods which has made a number of changes in their hot dogs and deli meat over time making it sometimes suitable and sometimes not. What we do to validate ingredients is request a hard copy signed letter on company letterhead listing ingredients. If there are spices, we need a declaration that no anti-clumping or anti-caking agents have been added (I call them agent provocateurs). Larabar, which was taken over by General Mills, has long been a bar of contention and happily supplied us with detailed information both in both email hard copy. It remains a personal responsibility to periodically check with the companies supplying foods we find acceptable to see if anything has been changed because these recalls are wild!