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Ghirardelli Chocolate Squares?

WinterSong

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WinterSong Community Regular
WinterSong
Posted

There was an old post on this. Apparently, the squares are made on the same line as one square that has barley malt in it. However, the company cleans the machines and throws away the first two batches. So....do you think it's safe?

 

I won't be heartbroken if it's not, but if it is I have a gift in my kitchen that will find its way into my stomach very soon  B)

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IrishHeart Veteran
IrishHeart
Posted

Gemini and I have both eaten them and I'm alive and kicking. 

 

Last I checked, about 2 minutes ago via email, she was too.  :lol:

 

Yo, GEM...are you still cool with Ghirardelli? ( let's see if she heard me..........)

GF Lover Rising Star
GF Lover
Posted

Ok, I'm not Gem but I do love the squares and I have  no problems with them :D

 

Colleen

kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

this is new:

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

Not sure if throwing out chocolate is true.  Looks like most candy is made on shared equipment so you can choose for your self.  Looks like almost everything they make is gluten free.  I will still eat them.

Gemini Experienced
Gemini
Posted

I'm still alive....maybe a few pounds heavier today but alive and WELL!   ;)

 

Ghirardelli chocolates are safe, Wintersong. I promise I would not lie to you.  I eat WAYYYYYYYYYY too many of these on a yearly basis for them not to be. I really am quite sensitive yet ingest too many of these and am perfectly fine. No hints of tummy distress ever.  They are one of a few chocolate brands I eat.  All the rest I had to give up except Ghirardelli.   The peppermint/dark chocolate and the caramel/dark chocolate are downright addictive but the little squares are such a perfect serving size....eat them without guilt!      :)

Adalaide Mentor
Adalaide
Posted

I eat Ghiradelli when I'm slumming it. It's also my preference for chocolate chips and baking chocolate. I've never had problems with it and for as long as my husband acts like he's dying every time I buy a $10 chocolate bar I suppose I'll keep eating Ghiradelli. :lol:

WinterSong Community Regular
WinterSong
Posted
  • Author

Thanks for all the responses! Good news! I know what I'll be doing tonight when I get home : D

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JNBunnie1 Community Regular
JNBunnie1
Posted

It looks like the only gluten thing their equipment also processes is the chocolate with the crispy rice in it, which would be crisped rice with barley malt, I think. That's gotta be such a tiny amount, just to start with in the rice, that I wouldn't think that could really carry over to other flavors. On the rare occasion I eat chocolate (not doing that voluntarily btw..... :angry: ) I stick to Endangered Species because I might as well splurge if it's only once a month lol ;)  so I can't tell you if I react to Ghirardelli, but I'd say they're safe (except the crisp-y flavors obviously).

WinterSong Community Regular
WinterSong
Posted
  • Author

GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I was just at the store to pick up more Ghiradelli cocoa powder, and the company has these new 8 oz pouches rather than the old container with a lid. This is the 100% unsweetened cocoa premium baking cocoa. On the back it says "May contain tree nuts, WHEAT, soy, dairy and egg"

 

Where did this wheat come from?!?!?!

Gemini Experienced
Gemini
Posted

Open Original Shared Link

 

Here is the allergy information from Ghirardelli.  Not everything is made in the same facility, from what I can gather. The only product listed that has any reference to wheat are the classic white chips.  Everything else does not, even the cocoa powder, according to their website. I am not aware of a Ghirardelli crispy rice chocolate bar so I am not even sure if they make one. I do not use their cocoa powder so have no idea, other than a shared facility with the white chips, of why it would be marked that way. On their website, that cocoa powder is listed as not containing wheat or being processed in the same facility as wheat, which makes this a little confusing.  

 

As far as their chocolates are concerned, they are completely safe and I would recommend them to any sensitive Celiac.  As for the cocoa powder, give them a call and ask.

kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

this is new:

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

Not sure if throwing out chocolate is true.  Looks like most candy is made on shared equipment so you can choose for your self.  Looks like almost everything they make is gluten free.  I will still eat them.

 

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

Here is the allergy information from Ghirardelli.  Not everything is made in the same facility, from what I can gather. The only product listed that has any reference to wheat are the classic white chips.  Everything else does not, even the cocoa powder, according to their website. I am not aware of a Ghirardelli crispy rice chocolate bar so I am not even sure if they make one. I do not use their cocoa powder so have no idea, other than a shared facility with the white chips, of why it would be marked that way. On their website, that cocoa powder is listed as not containing wheat or being processed in the same facility as wheat, which makes this a little confusing.  

 

As far as their chocolates are concerned, they are completely safe and I would recommend them to any sensitive Celiac.  As for the cocoa powder, give them a call and ask.

 

 

Odd that they would have 2 different allergy lists on their website.  The one I posted, above, is new - I hadn't seen it before.  In the past, I had only seen the the one you posted. 

 

We bought a multi-pack of flavors in San Francisco  and the hazelnut crunch was in it but I don't think it is very common.

Gemini Experienced
Gemini
Posted

Yes, it is strange they have 2 allergy statements.  I still trust them as a company for the simple reason I have never gotten sick from their chocolates that I researched to be safe.  Namely, those devilishly good little squares. If there was even trace gluten in them, from the amount I ingest on a monthly basis,

I would be sick again. I do not eat the white chocolate because white chocolate usually contains barley malt as a flavoring. Not sure if Ghirardelli uses barley malt but I know many companies do so I stay away from it.

 

I still consider Ghirardelli to be one of the safest chocolates out there. Many Celiacs I know eat them with no problems whatsoever and these are very sensitive Celiacs. 

IrishHeart Veteran
IrishHeart
Posted

They better be okay, I've got a mouthful of the caramel one right now and mmmfff  mfs ..yum.

 

We have an old-fashioned advent box with pics of antique Santas painted on the  little  cubby holes of December days.

yes, we "count down"

to Christmas ....so  I fill them with treats.

 

What can I say? the hubs and I are Christmas fools.  :D 

Nikki2777 Community Regular
Nikki2777
Posted

Can't swear it's safe, but I eat the dark chocolate ones all the time.

Gemini Experienced
Gemini
Posted

Can't swear it's safe, but I eat the dark chocolate ones all the time.

How could you not think them safe when you eat them all the time?  Welcome to Ghiraddiction.......   ;)

  • 2 years later...
GFrapunzel Newbie
GFrapunzel
Posted

I received some Ghiridelli squares for Christmas from my students and so I was worried they aren't safe. I read this and decided to try them. I am extremely sensitive and they did not bother me.

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      how much gluten do I need to eat before blood tests?

      By catnapt · Posted

      after several years of issues with a para-gland issue, my endo has decided it's a good idea for me to be tested for celiac disease. I am 70 yrs old and stunned to learn that you can get celiac this late in life. I have just gradually stopped eating most foods that contain gluten over the past several years- they just make me feel ill- although I attributed it to other things like bread spiking blood sugar- or to the things I ate *with* the bread or crackers etc   I went to a party in Nov and ate a LOT of a vegan roast made with vital wheat gluten- as well as stuffing, rolls and pie crust... and OMG I was so sick! the pain, the bloating, the gas, the nausea... I didn't think it would ever end (but it did) and I was ready to go the ER but it finally subsided.   I mentioned this to my endo and now she wants me to be tested for celiac after 2 weeks of being on gluten foods. She has kind of flip flopped on how much gluten I should eat, telling me that if the symptoms are severe I can stop. I am eating 2-3 thin slices of bread per day (or english muffins) and wow- it does make me feel awful. But not as bad as when I ate that massive amnt of vital wheat gluten. so I will continue on if I have to... but what bothers me is - if it IS celiac, it seems stupid for lack of a better word, to intentionally cause more damage to my body... but I am also worried, on the other hand, that this is not a long enough challenge to make the blood work results valid.   can you give me any insight into this please?   thank you
    • trents
      Accuracy of testing concerns

      By trents · Posted

      The biopsy looks for damage to the mucosal lining of the small bowel from the inflammation caused by celiac disease when gluten is ingested. Once you remove gluten from the diet, inflammation subsides and the mucosal lining begins to heal. 
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