I Just Did The Most Stupid Thing............

[troykm]

I was dx last june and have been hyper vigilant about everything that goes in my mouth since then. The labelling laws here in Australia do make this easy though which is good. However, last night i went shopping. I saw Greenseas flavoured tuna was on sale. I grabbed 4 tins and went on my merry way. 

 

This morning i gabbed one out and just started eating it with a spoon right from the tin. About a 1/4 of the way in, i suddenly realised! SHIT!!!! I looked at the ingredients, no wheat rye barley or oats. BUT underneath, Processed on equipment that processes wheat, may contain traces. Oh my god! 

 

Not only had i eaten it without checking, i did not even look or think to look at the label when i bought them. 

 

I ran to the loo and threw up as much as i could before i rang Greenseas to see just how much would be in it. Thankfully the lady told me there is most likely none in it as the machinery they use is throughly cleaned before swapping processes but the company wanted it on the label just in case. But she was confident there would be none in it. I guess I will find out later on though. I got rid of as much as i could but there would still be a small amount in my stomach.

I just can not believe i was so stupid! I mean how did i just stop thinking altogether? I have never not checked any label, even those that display gluten free i check. I wont eat any food that has been prepared by someone else, not even my housemate who knows my condition. 

 

Have you ever done something like this?

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Troy

[shadowicewolf]

Eh, it could be worse.

 

Ah, unless i know whats in it, i don't touch it.

[txgal748]

I have done this, because I forget to check for the "may be processed in a facility...".

[JNBunnie1]

Well THAT'S dedication! I've never gone and thrown up on purpose!

[psawyer]

To be honest, I think you are overreacting.

Many of us can eat products from shared facilities and shared equipment without problems. If you EVER eat at a restaurant, know that the facility also has gluten, and everything is in the same dishwasher.

I have been gluten-free for over 12 years. For a good number of those, my wife continued to eat gluten. So our kitchen was a shared facility and our dishwasher and dishes were shared equipment.

If I have a choice between two mainstream products where one has a "may contain traces" and the other doesn't, I tend to choose the second one, even though I know that the labeling is voluntary and there may be no actual difference in the risk.

As the customer service rep said, it is likely that there is no gluten at all in the product, but they are covering their hind quarters.

[kareng]

In the US, there is no law that that has to be on a label. You could be happily eating things made in shared facilities and never know it.

[mjhilton]

Hi Troy,

My sister was diagnosed around the same time as you, last June-ish. I wad then screened and although silent, also dx'd around September. Our family dynamic has become quite interesting with the Coeliac development - mum has taken it upon herself to learn everything there is to know, did the full kitchen cleanout, marking _every_ ingredient in the house with green or red stickers, seperate toaster etc. We're all pretty vigilant on the food and ingredients side of things. Sis and I had the exact same experience with the Greenseas tuna a few months back, although we didn't purge afterwards

I'm lucky as I live on my own, so my house is an entirely gluten-free zone, but I regularly eat at the parents' place. Just this week we had a freak out about our soup ingredients - lentils and split peas - which somehow we forgot to check. Turns out they all have a "may contain barley" on every packet. Needless to say, mum felt pretty bad. But I guess the upshot is that no-one can be perfect, so you really need to give yourself a bit of a break. By the sounds of things you're doing an incredibly good job so far! All three of us in my family (I almost consider mum a Coeliac even though she tested neg, 'cause she puts so much effort into ensuring everything for us is gluten-free) have screwed up in the last 6 months. I once started eating a soup a friend made, before realising the stock he put in it was made with wheatey soy sauce. It's a learning process, and takes time. To put it in perspective, just think - if you hadn't been dx'd until today, you would have still been eating gluten this whole time. One equipment disclaimer likely won't kill you, just take note for next time - buy John West instead