Figs Dusted With Flour To Prevent Sticking!

[BelleVie]

Today I was really hungry while out and about, so I grabbed a package of dried figs. The label stated that they were 100% figs, with no preservatives. Well, I ate most of the package, and started to feel unwell, and within about twenty minutes I was in the middle of a full on glutening. I looked at the package again, and everything seemed fine, but when I took a close look at one of the remaining figs, I could see a very faint dusting of something white, which I am assuming was flour. GRRRR. Anyway, just letting you all know that this is an issue you might want to think about before eating dried fruit! I did consider it before eating the figs, but then I figured that if they were dusted in flour, it would have to say so on the label. They were processed in Germany, so I don't know if maybe Germany has different labeling laws. 

 

Note: I am assuming, based on the severity of my reaction and the white powdery stuff on the figs, that they are dusted with flour. I'm not 100% sure, so please don't take this as absolute fact. I'm sure that there are plenty of brands of dried figs that are safe for celiacs, but this one LOOKED okay and, as it turns out, wasn't. 

[GF Lover]

Hi Bellvie,

 

I hope you know that figs have a laxative effect and it sounds like you ate a lot of them.  They will cause cramping and send you to the bathroom very quickly.  Usually figs, like shredded cheese, is dusted with cellulose powder to prevent sticking together.  

 

Colleen

[dilettantesteph]

I am sorry that you were made sick.  Perhaps assuming a dusting with flour is an overreaction.  I've done that sort of thing myself plenty, and I'm trying not to do it anymore.  We have a fig tree and our figs get that same appearance when they dry.  Try buying some fresh ones and allowing them to dry and see what happens.

[BelleVie]

Hm, maybe, but my reaction to gluten is typically not diarrhea. I have some stomach cramping, then a lot of neuro reactions. I get hit with a wall of exhaustion, then feel very detached, as if I am in a dream. Then I get super emotional and either irrationally angry, or weepy, then get a really bad headache. That's what happened. There's no doubt in my mind it was a reaction to gluten. It's possible that I ate something else that might have made me sick, or got something on my hands and THAT made me sick, as I was out and about and did not wash my hands properly. Fresh figs never bother me. I love them, in fact. Anyway, I just wanted to share in case that's what it was, in the hopes of preventing someone else from making the same mistake. I felt really dumb after doing it. 

[dilettantesteph]

I didn't mean eating fresh figs, I meant letting them dry and comparing the appearance. 

[kareng]

Today I was really hungry while out and about, so I grabbed a package of dried figs. The label stated that they were 100% figs, with no preservatives. Well, I ate most of the package, and started to feel unwell, and within about twenty minutes I was in the middle of a full on glutening. I looked at the package again, and everything seemed fine, but when I took a close look at one of the remaining figs, I could see a very faint dusting of something white, which I am assuming was flour. GRRRR. Anyway, just letting you all know that this is an issue you might want to think about before eating dried fruit! I did consider it before eating the figs, but then I figured that if they were dusted in flour, it would have to say so on the label. They were processed in Germany, so I don't know if maybe Germany has different labeling laws.

Note: I am assuming, based on the severity of my reaction and the white powdery stuff on the figs, that they are dusted with flour. I'm not 100% sure, so please don't take this as absolute fact. I'm sure that there are plenty of brands of dried figs that are safe for celiacs, but this one LOOKED okay and, as it turns out, wasn't.

Full disclosure- you aren't in the US, are you? Korea? I have no clue what their labeling laws are or if they have any.

In the US and Canada, even if a food is imported, it must follow the labeling laws.

[kenlove]

i eat a package of dry figs a week form many difference  sources and never had any problems. The white is nature sugars when the figs dry.I have  heard on the past that wheat starch might be used but have talked to producers in Greece and Turkey who say no.  I consider myself very sensitive ( will cross the street to avoid being near a bakery door being open). Figs can cause upset stomach as    well as the runs. Fig leaves even dry can cause some allergic reaction too. sometimes  from the dried latex in the leave stems. When your feeling brave, I  would try one fig and see what happens. You  would not be the first person who allergic to figs. good luck

[BelleVie]

I'm in Korea. The figs were imported from a German company. 

 

I did have a gluten reaction after eating those figs. Whether the reaction came from the figs, or maybe came from something else that I had eaten that day, I don't know. But the timing seemed to suggest that it was the figs that made me sick.

 

As any of you would surely claim for yourselves, I know the "personalities" of my reactions very well. 

 

Like I said in my original post, I can't say for sure that it was the figs that made me feel unwell, but it certainly seemed to be the case. I just thought i would post my experience here in case anyone else may have made the same mistake. Maybe it was the figs. Maybe it wasn't. The figs looked like they were dusted in flour. I ate them. I got sick. It seems that the dusting with flour is an uncommon practice, according to what you are all telling me. So it seems likely that I'm wrong about that. But I won't be eating packaged figs anymore, unless I can verify that they are gluten free. 

[dilettantesteph]

I do think that something as sticky as figs are likely to contain some cross contamination from whatever was in the facility where they were packaged.  I personally think that I may have over restricted my diet choices by jumping to conclusions too quickly.  I was trying to help you not do the same thing.  I didn't mean to sound like another one doubting your known gluten reaction.  I've gotten that way too many times myself.

[BelleVie]

Thank you. I felt that way, just a teensy bit. But I'm also very sensitive. In the emotional way. 

[Juliebove]

I have seen chopped fruit that has been dusted with oat flour.  But I think it was dates, not figs.

[GFinDC]

I saw a program where they were making gummi bears once.  They dusted the molds with corn starch before filling them with gummi guts.  the corn starch was used as a mold release agent.

[Berlin1]

I'm a Canadian that has been living in Berlin, Germany for a little over two years now. One of the things that I first noticed was the labeling laws in Germany. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING needs to be labeled properly. The label needs to specify which starch they have used, which specific flour they have used, what allergens are contained in the product and most companies are now putting a gluten free logo on the package. (They even stick this on bacon and meats). I find it very odd that the label would not have specified if it was dusted in wheat flour. I can say that this is not normal and in fact against the German law.

If it was a German product, the label should have clearly stated weizenstärke or weizenmehl in the ingredients. Although you never know sometimes ... 

[BelleVie]

good to know! I've realized that they likely weren't dusted directly, but they were certainly cross contaminated!