What Is The Strangest Place That You've Seen Gluten?

[BlessedMommy]

I thought that it would be fun to have a thread with the weirdest places that we've spotted gluten.

 

I think that the winner for me would be when I found jelly with gluten in it. It had wheat glucose syrup.   Also, barley sweetened soymilk.

[StephanieL]

The thing with theses kinds of list is that so often it starts this "there's gluten in WHAT?" when they are very often isolated instances. I just caution people that just because it is in ONE kind of thing may have gluten doesn't mean there needs to be a mass worry about it! I think that's how the whole envelope thing started.

[Waitingindreams]

I'm not sure if anything would surprise me at this point, after seeing gluten/wheat in so many products...but when I was first getting used to reading labels...

 

- Twizzlers. My sister bought me a pack because I used to be addicted to them. I checked the label just to be sure, but I didn't actually expect to see anything - sure enough, wheat flour!

 

- Some Salad dressings. I never would have guessed. I used to love those Good Seasons packets, you know the kind you pour into olive oil/vinegar so that you can "make your own" dressing. That was my favorite one! Checked the ingredients - wheat.

 

- Certain Rice packets. I always buy the Steamfresh rice/vegetables and I found one with peppers, onions and spinach blended into the rice. I grabbed it without looking at it too closely...come to find out there was orzo mixed in. Oops! I had never seen that before, so I had just assumed it was a regular rice/veggies blend. 

 

There has to be more, but I can't think of any right now!

[Tricia7]

I agree it varies from item to item, and just because one brand of something has gluten in it, it doesn't mean they all do. Also a food that was once safe may now not be. You have to read labels every single time!

 

The last thing to gluten me was  FROZEN PEAS

 

I didn't even realize it at first, and ate the meal then the leftovers over the course of 3 days. I noticed I felt a bit off, but not horribly ill.  I later was going to use the peas again and glanced at the label, like I try to do all the time (but obviously didn't do the previous time) and saw it "May contain traces of wheat"  Well, now I know why I felt sluggish. It probably didn't have a lot of gluten, just enough to make me feel kinda off.

 

Store brand items can be the worst offenders. My peas were food lion's store brand.

 

Walmart's version of crystal light once glutened me too (that was also on the label, but I didn't look, as I was only 1 week into gluten-free at that time)  However, if you buy real Crystal Light drink mix, made by kraft, it is labeled gluten free right on the package (at least newer packages do)

 

In going through my pantry I noticed a lot of walmart store brand items had "may contain wheat" on them. 

 

Bottom line, you have to read labels, and even if you think  you've already read it, read it again!

[CajunChic]

My clinique dramatically different moisturizer! I had that all over my face, lol.

[CathyO]

My shampoo and hair conditioner.  I had to change brands.

 

And Bumble and Bumble "hair thickening spray".  Got it in my eyes.  Crazy.

 

I found that Target's gluten free pasta is also processed on equipment that processes wheat items.

[GF Lover]

In our bed.  Hubs not allowed to eat late night snacks in the bed anymore 

 

Colleen

[BethM55]

Not exactly IN something, but......  Deep Fried Gluten on the menu in a Chinese restaurant.  Seeing that made me go pale, and I refused to eat anything there.  Pulled out a food bar from my purse and enjoyed the tea.

[SMRI]

Frozen vegetables.....seriously, why??

[GF Lover]

The only time I have seen gluten in frozen vegi's is if it has a sauce in it.  You must be careful selecting as it is getting more common for them to come in a light sauce.

 

Colleen

[SMRI]

The only time I have seen gluten in frozen vegi's is if it has a sauce in it.  You must be careful selecting as it is getting more common for them to come in a light sauce.

 

Colleen

SAMs club....all of their brands Made in a facility...some on shared equipment...

[GF Lover]

Maybe buy your frozen vegi's from a grocery store then.

 

Colleen

[Pollymo]

Cajun Chic...I didn't know about Clinques DDML.  I have a travel size I don't use very ofter.... never thought to look at it!  What's in it??

[jddh]

+1 for "gluten" read verbatim on Chinese menus. Quite possible the translation is at fault however...could be rice gluten for stickiness.

 

I wouldn't necessarily discount the whole restaurant on that. Soy sauce, though.

 

I had a crummy salad in Memphis with cheap powdered parmesan cheese on top...judging by my reaction, that was FULL of gluten.

[CajunChic]

Cajun Chic...I didn't know about Clinques DDML.  I have a travel size I don't use very ofter.... never thought to look at it!  What's in it??

Barley is an ingredient! I had been using it for a week or so before I read the ingredients. Learned to not assume anything, lol.

[SMRI]

Maybe buy your frozen vegi's from a grocery store then.

 

Colleen

 

Well, not that it matters but I usually do but I was at Sam's getting other things and was going to pick up some frozen veges since I was out and they have a good price on them...and low and behold, I couldn't....

[GF Lover]

I always get smacked when I try to be spontaneous...

 

Colleen

[LauraTX]

In our bed.  Hubs not allowed to eat late night snacks in the bed anymore 

 

Colleen

 

That has me cracking up!!!!!!! 

 

Well, not that it matters but I usually do but I was at Sam's getting other things and was going to pick up some frozen veges since I was out and they have a good price on them...and low and behold, I couldn't....

 

 I used to pick up frozen veggies at sams club but over the last year or so, I think all of them now are no bueno.  I always go read the back and then loudly scoff and throw it back on the shelf, LOL.  

 

 

My weirdest place I have seen gluten is in the chocolate ice cream at a place called Bahama Bucks.  They are opening one near me and I looked it up online... Allergen menu has nothing checkmarked under the gluten column, but I read the whole ingredients list (full of artificial crap and not worth my money btw) and the last thing there was chocolate ice cream with WHEAT FLOUR listed... I was like.... what the heck???!!!!

[mbrookes]

A can of roasted peanuts... I guess it was to keep them from sticking together. That was a strange brand that I found on the "weird food aisle" at Tuesday Morning.

[C-Girl]

Not exactly IN something, but......  Deep Fried Gluten on the menu in a Chinese restaurant.  Seeing that made me go pale, and I refused to eat anything there.  Pulled out a food bar from my purse and enjoyed the tea.

Some tea in Chinese restaurants contain barley!

[IrishHeart]

Some brand of Irish tea has barley in it too. Gemini learned that one the hard way while flying to the UK.

 

I do not eat it, myself, but I know that "imitation crab" has gluten in it and many people use that for sushi or "crabmeat salad". Note: just buy real crabmeat.

 

I was surprised by a Bernaise sauce that had gluten in it. I make classic bernaise all the time and there's no gluten involved.

Apparently, some restaurants (like Bonefish grill ) will add it for thickener.  That's just wrong..and that stupidity bit me on the arse one time because I tasted the hubs' side of it.  Really nice while traveling on I-95...to have to stop dozens of times for me to purge...what a fun day.

 

yes, even veterans get bitten from time to time by "ASSuming" things.

 

Hoison sauce. Again, no need for gluten in there!! 

 

This is where label reading skills are so important. Barley or malt does not have to be listed under any "allergen" law.

[across]

In veggie juice (grain vinegar). I got symptoms and didn't know why until I read the label.

[nvsmom]

I still think soy sauce is a weird one. Why? Why would it need that?

 

I remember being unpleasantly surprised when I learned that deep fryers needed to be dedicated gluten-free to be safe, but I suppose that is more of a cc issue.

 

And Daura (supposedly) gluten-free beer.   Yeah, someone needs to tell them that gluten -removed is NOT the same as gluten-free.  Ouch.

[chocominties]

Mayonnaise.  (Wheat flour.)

 

Marinara sauce.  (Wheat flour.)

 

An organic lollipop.  (Listed wheat as an allergen.)