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Frequently Asked Questions About Celiac Disease

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    Jefferson Adams
    General Mills Gluten-Free Oats Patent Could Be a Gamer Changer
    Celiac.com 09/25/2018 - In a patent application that could have a huge impact on the gluten-free industry, General Mills, Inc. has described its method and system for removing foreign, gluten-containing grains to establish gluten-free oats. Current FDA guidelines require all products labeled gluten-free to have a maximum gluten content of 20 parts per million (ppm). 
    Published August 23rd, patent application No. US 20180236453 A1 details a method for producing oat grains with gluten levels below 20 ppm and, more preferably, below 10 ppm. 
    Natural oats generally do not contain gluten, but after harvest, transport and storage, large batches of raw oats may contain small amounts of gluten-containing grains, such as wheat, barley, rye and triticale. These can sometimes occur at levels exceeding 20 ppm.
    The General Mills patent application describes a method of arranging mechanical oat sorting operations in series, or in both series and parallel operations. The multi-step process best includes width grading, multiple length grading steps, along with a potential de-bearding step.
    The resulting oats will be gluten-free to under 20 ppm, and possibly to under 10 ppm, and are suitable for the production of  gluten-free oat food products, including cereals and granolas.
    To receive a patent, General Mills will have to prove that their process does what they say it does. A successful patent for General Mills could have a huge effect on the gluten-free oat foods industry. For one, it may allow General Mills to become a major supplier of gluten-free oats for other manufacturers. 
    The benefits of larger scale, more economical gluten-free oat production could include more, and more readily available, gluten-free oat products, along with lower prices for both manufacturers and consumers. Stay tuned for more developments on this and related stories.
    Read more at Justicia.com
    Jefferson Adams
    AN-PEP Successfully Degrades Gluten in Rye Sourdough Products
    Celiac.com 09/24/2018 - A team of researchers recently set out to investigate the degradation of gluten in rye sourdough products by means of a proline-specific peptidase.
    The research team included Theresa Walter, Herbert Wieser, and Peter Koehler, with the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Lebensmittelchemie, Leibniz Institut in Freising, Germany.
    Their team monitored gluten content of rye sourdough during fermentation using competitive ELISA based on the R5 antibody. The team noted a decrease in gluten over time, but found that even prolonged fermentation did not bring gluten levels below 20 ppm requirement for gluten-free foods. 
    Interestingly, they did find that Aspergillus niger prolyl endopeptidase (AN-PEP) extensively degraded gluten concentrations of up to 80,000 mg/kg in rye flour, rye sourdough, and sourdough starter under specific temperatures and pH values. Nor did the enzyme inactivate the microorganisms in the sourdough starter. 
    Gluten-free rye flour alone or in combination with sourdough starter was used to produce gluten-free bread, which the team then assessed for its sensory characteristics. 
    Whereas gluten-free sourdough bread lacked any of the favorable qualities of conventional rye bread, the replacement of sourdough by egg proteins yielded gluten-free bread comparable to the conventional rye, and with better qualities than bread made with naturally gluten-free ingredients. 
    This study demonstrates the feasibility of using ANPEP treatment to produce high-quality gluten-free sourdough bread from originally gluten-containing cereals, such as rye. 
    Rye products rendered gluten-free in this manner have the potential to increase the choice of high-quality foods for celiac patients. 
    Source:
    European Food Research and TechnologyMarch 2015, Volume 240, Issue 3, pp 517–524
    Jefferson Adams
    Summertime Peach Caprese Salad (Gluten-Free)
    Celiac.com 09/22/2018 - We’ve done recipes for Caprese salad. We’ve done recipes for peaches. We’ve never done one for peach Caprese salad.
    This gluten-free treat adds fresh peaches for a sweet summery-sweet twist on classic Caprese salad. Easy to make and wonderfully tasty, this recipe is sure to be a hit at your next barbecue or grill session.
    Ingredients:
    1 ripe tomato 1 ripe peach 12-14 leaves of fresh basil 6 oz. ball fresh mozzarella Balsamic vinegar Extra virgin olive oil Directions:
    Slice tomato, peach and mozzarella into ½″ slices.
    Layer the tomato, peach and cheese slices with whole leaves of fresh basil.
    Drizzle with extra virgin olive and balsamic vinegar.
    Season with salt and pepper. 
    Lindsay Cochrane
    Living with Celiac Disease in South Korea
    Celiac.com 09/21/2018 - The English as a Second Language (ESL) pie is so large in countries such as South Korea that there seem to be enough helpings for anyone interested. However, these generous slices may be off limits to individuals with severe food allergies or intolerances, including those with celiac disease. If you have diet restrictions and are thinking of heading to South Korea or another Asian country, the following information will help you decide whether or not this move is a good idea.
    One might think that Asia, the land of rice-based meals, would be a celiac’s paradise. As one naïve dietician told me before I moved to Seoul, “You couldn’t be going to a better place.” This assumption could not be further from the truth. If cooked with traditional ingredients, many local dishes are gluten-free. However, in Korea, wheat flour is now cheaper than other kinds of flour, despite the fact that it has to be imported. Wheat flour and barley are currently the two most common ingredients in Korean food products.
    In Korea, eleven major food allergens must be included on product labels: poultry eggs, milk, buckwheat, peanuts, soybean, wheat, mackerel, crab, pork, peaches, and tomatoes. As for anything else, the Korean Food and Drug Administration states that only the five major ingredients in a product have to be labeled. Furthermore, a label need only include intentional ingredients, not things accidentally mixed into a product through cross-contamination. So you can say goodbye to warnings like: “this product may contain traces of peanuts.” Stricter labeling regulations will be put into effect in September 2006. However, these laws will remain less stringent than those in North America and Europe. According to a source at the KFDA, labeling restrictions are similar in Japan and more lax in China and South East Asia.
    One can easily learn Korean for “I’m allergic to ____” in any phrasebook or from a Korean coworker, friend, or even the guy in the next seat on your Korean Air flight. Yet it is the cultural barrier, not the language barrier, which poses the most difficulties for a celiac.
    Korean culture revolves around the sharing of food due to food shortages during the Japanese occupation; Koreans do not ask, “How are you?” but, “Have you had your meal?” Co-workers, friends, and even the occasional stranger will offer to share food. The politest way to refuse is by saying, “Thank you, but I can’t. I’m allergic.” Also, rather than saying you are allergic to something in Korean—allerugi—it is much more effective to say you cannot have it. (see the list of useful phrases). Unfortunately, even these statements are unlikely to be fully effective when eating Korean food. Many Koreans are completely unaware that frequently-used ingredients such as tashida soup flavouring and soybean powder contain wheat.
    Most Koreans I spoke with were shocked to hear that, as a celiac, I could not eat food which had so much as touched gluten. Generally, they assume that people with food allergies are still able to consume a product with a 1-2% trace of the allergen. Food allergies, celiac disease, vegetarianism, and other kinds of diet restrictions are rare in this country and are not taken very seriously. Furthermore, according to gastroenterologist Dr. Kim of Severance Hospital in Seoul, only two people were ever diagnosed with celiac disease in Korea.
    The world of North American restaurants, where servers cater to those with food allergies, food sensitivities, and plain old picky eaters, is very far away. Koreans generally order what is on the menu without making any special requests. Even Westerners who learn enough of the Korean language to explain their diets often end up being served something they asked specifically not to have. Furthermore, Korean food is not served on personal plates: everyone at the table reaches his or her chopsticks into the various communal dishes, causing cross-contamination.
    I was at a restaurant with some Korean friends and was trying to explain my gluten-intolerance to them, when one young man told me he was so sensitive to peaches that he could not so much as touch a peach without breaking out into a rash. Five minutes later I saw him eat a dish containing peach slices. This is the attitude of Koreans to food allergies—both theirs and yours.
    The gluten-free meal which is safest and easiest to find in Korea is samgyupsal. This dish features fatty, thick slices of pork cooked over a clean grill right at your table. Just make sure that all sauces are kept off the grill. Bibimbop is a rice, vegetable, and egg dish usually served with kochujang, a red pepper paste which unfortunately contains wheat. Bibimbop can be ordered, however, with the kochujang on the side.
    Most foreigners are in Korea to work rather than visit, and having an apartment provides the extra advantage of having one’s own cooking space. There are a few of us who have managed the gluten-free diet in Korea. However, it has not been easy. If you have celiac disease or food allergies and are thinking of moving to this part of the world, I can guarantee you that it will be a monumental challenge.
    Useful Korean phrases:
    Thank you, but I can’t. I’m allergic: kamsa hamnida man, allerugi issoyo. I cannot have barley, rye, or wheat: chonun pori hago homil hago mil motmuhgeyo. Barley: pori Wheat: mil Rye: homil Bibimbop with the red pepper paste on the side: bibimbop kochujang garu Grilled Pork: samgyupsal
    Jefferson Adams
    What’s the Deal with Gluten Sniffing Dogs?
    Celiac.com 09/20/2018 - Some people with celiac disease experience extreme symptoms when they eat gluten. These folks adopt various strategies for navigating the world. One of those strategies involves getting a gluten-sniffing service dog.
    We’ve done a few stories on gluten-sniffing dogs over the years. Dogs like Zeus and Hawkeye are famous for helping their owners sniff out gluten before they can eat it.
    Can Gluten-Sniffing Dogs Help People with Celiac Disease?  The stories are always popular. People love the stories, and people love the dogs. After all, pretty much anyone with celiac disease who has ever read about gluten-sniffing dogs would love to have one. Who could say no to a warm, fuzzy dog that can take a sniff of your food and signal you when it contains gluten?
    The stories almost always generate plenty of feedback and more than a few questions. To answer some of those questions, we’ve decided to do an article that provides some facts about gluten-sniffing dogs.
    Here are a few factors to keep in mind about gluten-sniffing service dogs:
    Gluten-free Dog Status:
    One thing to remember is that proper gluten-sniffing dogs are professionally trained service animals, much like seeing-eye dogs or hearing-ear dogs. 
    As professional service animals, the dogs must be trained and certified as service animals. The dogs may then accompany their master pretty much anywhere they go, and are available to assess all food and snacks.
    Gluten-free Dog Training:
    Proper training takes time, which equals money. Professional trainers might only train one or two dogs, and the training can take about a year. There are very few trainers for gluten-sniffing dogs, and there are also currently no official guidelines or certification.
    Gluten-free Dog Cost:
    In our recent story on the gluten-sniffing black Lab, Hawkeye, we noted that the dog cost $16,000, not including food, and vet bills. 
    Gluten-free Dog Reliability:
    Nimasensor.com notes that “[g]luten-sniffing dogs may detect gluten in amounts as small as .0025 parts per million with 95 percent to 98 percent accuracy.”
    The Mercola.com website says that Willow, a gluten-sniffing German shorthaired pointer in Michigan, can detect gluten with 95 percent to 98 percent accuracy. 
    Read more on gluten-sniffing dogs:
    Gluten-Sniffing Dogs Are Game Changers for People With Celiac Disease Gluten-sniffing dogs help people with celiac disease What to Know About Gluten-Sniffing Dogs Gluten-Sniffing Assistance Dog Helps Celiac Sufferer Lead Normal Life
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