Shopped But Feel Like I Failed!

[GFAnnie]

Did my first grocery shopping since being diagnosed today and I have a feeling I blew it!  I have an appointment with a nutritionist next week and I'm sure she'll help me, but I'd love some feedback on some of these items I'm unsure about.  Besides the obvious safe stuff like fruits and veggies (I'm vegetarian so no meat.) here are grey area items:

 

Ocean Spray dried cranberries - found 3 brands, two said "Gluten Free" but went on to say they were produced in a facility that manufactures wheat products, this one said nothing about gluten but also didn't say they were manufactured in a facility blah, blah, blah.  I went with the Ocean Spray, the one that said nothing about gluten, and the ingredients were clearly gluten-less.

 

tortilla chips - no mention of gluten or gluten facility, but checked ingredients and there's nothing in them that contain gluten

 

vanilla greek yogurt - the only thing in it that seems like it could contain gluten is vanilla extract, but then I read somewhere that because vanilla extract is distilled you don't have to worry about gluten anyway - true?

 

Utz potato chips - after the ingredient list it just says something about it being a "Gluten free food". But is cross-contamination an issue?

 

Blue Diamond almonds - I know almonds don't have gluten, but is this a cross-contamination risk?

 

Nutella - Yum. Again, no mention of gluten.

 

I guess these are the items I'm most uncertain about.  Any imput would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

 

 

[kareng]

Those are all things I would and have eaten.

[GFAnnie]

Ahhhh... thank you!  So stressful but I'm sure it will become second nature eventually.  So if an item says "Gluten Free" but then says it was produced in a facility that manufactures wheat, I should probably avoid, right?  It's crazy how willy-nilly the gluten free labeling rules seem to be.

[kareng]

Ahhhh... thank you!  So stressful but I'm sure it will become second nature eventually.  So if an item says "Gluten Free" but then says it was produced in a facility that manufactures wheat, I should probably avoid, right?  It's crazy how willy-nilly the gluten free labeling rules seem to be.

If it says gluten-free, it is likely tested gluten-free. I don't worry about the shared facility thing. They do clean the machines but shared facility is different then " may contain wheat". Many times they are even separate machines.

Here is a secret - many things may be made in a shared facility and not tell you. Usually the ones that do are the more careful ones.

[bartfull]

Shared facility doesn't bother me, but shared equipment does. I wouldn't trust that they could clean all the gluten out of shared equipment. I think some folks here don't worry about that, but I wouldn't take the chance. I think that if they disclose that it is made on shared equipment, they think it might be a problem for us too.

[mbrookes]

Here is my take on that:

Shared facilities would be cooking something with gluten and something without gluten in the same kitchen. Just keep them separate.

Shared equipment would be cooking something with gluten and something without gluten in the same pan. As long as you thoroughly clean the pan it is OK.

[bartfull]

I guess I'm just cynical, but the way so many people EVERYWHERE seem to do a slapdash job, I'm thinking the folks in food factories might too. I mean, I see it at the grocery store where they don't rotate the stock. I see it at my insurance agent's where I drop off my payment several days before the due date and they don't process it in time to avoid a late notice. I see it at the department store where they move in slow motion and never call another cashier no matter how long the line is. And I saw it as a quality control inspector when I worked at a factory - when I would take something back to the person who made a poor quality item, they'd often say something like, "Well it's Monday and I had a rough weekend!"

 

The work ethic in, probably not just this country but everywhere, seems to have degraded so much!

[MGR]

I agree with BARTFUL here, I don't take any chances her anymore- I have learned this the hard way.... I have been gluten-free only for two months now and I keep glutening myself precisely in these situations... Foods that should be naturally gluten free but are produced in shared facilities ( for example arepas with corn flour), gummy bears from my daughter which are gluten-free in terms of the ingredients , but may contain traces because they are made in a shared facility.... Fruit juice containing "fibre" . flavoured yoghourts with hidden ingredients (for example, in Spain they are listed as a no-no thing for celiacs)- every time I have one of these things I get blisters in and around my mouth, joint pain, D, tummy ache... It is tedious, and you always have to keep remembering...

[BethM55]

I prefer to keep purchased foods as simple as possible.  For example, I buy plain, organically produced yogurt and flavor it myself.  A couple spoonsful of a favorite preserve stirred into a serving of yogurt makes a tasty combination, and I know exactly what is in it.  It's taken me a long time to convince family and friends that yes, even a little bit can hurt me.  So, I generally make my own food.

[mommida]

I would have bought all that stuff too.

 

I was recently taken in by chocolate covered almonds.  It was the Stevia that must have gotten to me though, not gluten.

 

A word of warning that is just something I noticed...  Celiacs complain a lot about dried fruit products.  I have noticed I have a hard time with foods high in Iron.  Dried fruit tends to have a higher iron count per serving than its fresh fruit serving size.  Raisins vs. grapes as an example. Or dried apricots I would eat 3 dried apricots, but I would only eat one apricot.  ~ Just my own gut reaction and what posters say.

[answerseeker]

I would have bought all that stuff too.

I was recently taken in by chocolate covered almonds. It was the Stevia that must have gotten to me though, not gluten.

A word of warning that is just something I noticed... Celiacs complain a lot about dried fruit products. I have noticed I have a hard time with foods high in Iron. Dried fruit tends to have a higher iron count per serving than its fresh fruit serving size. Raisins vs. grapes as an example. Or dried apricots I would eat 3 dried apricots, but I would only eat one apricot. ~ Just my own gut reaction and what posters say.

Dried fruits also have sulfates. That's a huge issue for me. It's the reason I don't drink red wine.....I get sick every time.