Kraft "policy" To Not Tell gluten-free Or Not

[judy05]

Hey all,

I noticed that someone posted about product labeling. Is it true that as of January 2006 products all products containing gluten will be labeled "gluten free"?  I"m still kinda new to this so that's why I haven't heard of it.  That would totally rock if it's true.  I will keep my fingers crossed.

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This is not correct. On Jan 2006 labels have to say if they contain the top 8 allergens of which one is wheat. We still have to read the label for barley, rye and oats. Some of them are already doing this, the allergens are usually in bold type and some actually say gluten-free. Although this law is not perfect it is a step in the right direction.

I don't want to list the other 7 allergens because I'm not real sure, don't want to give the wrong information.

[VegasCeliacBuckeye]

Here is an article on the new Food allergen law -- sorry, coudn't get the link to post!

Depending on how it's interpreted, a new law designed to help the roughly 12 million Americans suffering from food allergies may cause them some grief, said a University of Nebraska-Lincoln food scientist who is an international expert on food allergies.

The federal Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004, or FALCPA, requires that, by 2006, food manufacturers must clearly state on the label if a product contains any of eight major food allergens: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, wheat and soy. Proteins in those foods are responsible for 90 percent of food allergies.

Steve Taylor, a professor in UNL's Department of Food Science and Technology, applauds the law. For the most part, it will help consumers identify products that contain food allergens.

"A good example is casein, which is a milk protein. If you see 'casein' on a food label, you may or may not know that it means the product contains milk. This law means that it clearly has to state that milk is in the product," said Taylor, who co-directs the university's internationally known Food Allergy Research and Resource Program.

But unless provisions are made, the act could become a nightmare for food-allergy sufferers, Taylor said. His research focuses on food allergies from the food industry's perspective.

"Congress didn't get this 100 percent right," Taylor said. "The law says all ingredients have to be labeled by source. That could mean that a food even with a very trivial amount of one of those ingredients – which would be very unlikely to cause an allergic reaction – would have to have the allergen listed as an ingredient.

"Unless certain provisions are made to account for this kind of thing, there will be hundreds of products with those ingredients listed. Consumers will say, 'I've been eating this for 20 years and never had a problem, and now it has this allergen on the label.'"

For example, nearly all commercial baked goods producers use lecithin, a soy product, as an anti-sticking agent, much like consumers use cooking spray at home. Lecithin contains minuscule amounts of soy protein, and the protein is what causes the allergic reaction, Taylor said.

"Such small amounts are used, the levels are likely very safe," he said.

However, if the law as passed by Congress was interpreted strictly by the Food and Drug Administration, any product with soy lecithin would have to have soy listed in the ingredients, leaving allergic consumers to wonder about its potential effects.

"Labeling should be based on risk," the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources scientist said. "If there's no risk, there should be no label."

Congress exempted only one class of food ingredients from labeling – highly refined vegetable oils derived from known allergenic sources, Taylor said. That's because studies including recent research by IANR food scientists showed that highly refined soybean and peanut oils contain only minute traces of protein. The amounts of these proteins typically found in foods made with soy or peanut oil do not cause allergic symptoms in soy- or peanut-allergic individuals. The United Soybean Board funding Nebraska's soybean oil research.

The law, which was signed by President George Bush in August, provides for a petition process in which companies could request exemptions from the labeling requirements in these sorts of cases, Taylor said.

"But the Food and Drug Administration will have to come up with that process, and they'll need to do it quickly so companies can have 2005 to go through the process and come up with new labels."

Research by these IANR food scientists could help clarify the risk issue. The food allergy team is working to determine threshold levels, or the exact amount of different food allergens that triggers a reaction. They want to determine precisely how much protein from peanuts, soy or other allergens needs to be present to cause an allergic reaction.

An estimated 3.5 percent to 4 percent of the U.S. population has a food allergy. About 29,000 people visit emergency rooms each year due to food allergy reactions and 150 to 200 Americans die annually, Taylor said.

"Food allergies are far more common than we thought when I started studying them 20 years ago," he said.

Taylor made his comments at a recent special seminar at Ohio State University's College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. He was invited to speak as the first winner of the Ohio State Department of Food Science and Technology's Ronald D. Harris Distinguished Food Scientist Award. Named for an Ohio State alumnus and former vice president of Kraft-Nabisco, the new award honors outstanding scholars who advance food science.

[VegasCeliacBuckeye]

I did also find this section of the Act after reading it...looks like 4 years to decide what is gluten-free and what is not -- even then, it could be wrong...sigh!

SEC. 206. GLUTEN LABELING

Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with appropriate experts and stakeholders, shall issue a proposed rule to define, and permit use of, the term ``gluten-free'' on the labeling of foods. Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue a final rule to define, and permit use of, the term ``gluten-free'' on the labeling of foods.

[Lisa]

This may be shortly off topic....but may pertain to Kraft:

When a "safe" company lists vineager, should be assusme that it distilled and therefore safe?

I have found some products on the delfi list that are "safe", yet on their product, it just says vineager on their ingredence.

There in is my confussion. Any help with this.

Lisa B.

(PS. Is there spell check with this site?) I need it!!!

[Guest CD_Surviver]

(PS. Is there spell check with this site?) I need it!!!

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I need it too.

Lauren

[celiac3270]

Kraft is wonderful. I would NEVER boycott Kraft:

1) They do in fact label all gluten.

2) They're a huge company, so it's easy to find their products--so if they're celiac-friendly, that's fantastic.

3) They don't give you lists and answers because they become outdated. Just look at the label every time and you'll know.

Distilled vinegar is widely considered to be safe (by the medical community, too). First, it may not even come from a gluten-containing grain. Second, even if it does, the gliadin is removed in the distillation process so even distilled vinegar from, say, wheat, is safe.

[tarnalberry]

nobody puts wheat starch they just put food starch. i never seen any product that says wheat starch

Lauren

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actually, they do, but it varies by product. far more do put modified food starch without saying it's wheat, but I've seen modified wheat starch, modified food starch (wheat), and wheat starch (the last one is listed on the altoids that use it).

[psawyer]

Since formulas change all the time, lists are quickly outdated, or may only reflect the latest formula. A food which is now gluten-free might not have always been. Perhaps you have a package of the old formula. The rep has a list which says it is gluten-free, but the version you have is not. Kraft's policy of explicit labelling, combined with telling you to read the label, is (at least in my view) the best one for our safety. You read the label on your package, and you know what you actually have.

[Claire]

I feel I need to jump in here. I am responding to the short post above about casein from Elonwy. I have posted on this issue before and will do so again now because I consider this a very important issue. A Gluten-free Casein-free diet has been recommended for celiacs from way back - with good reason. The milk protein Casein and the wheat protein gluten are, at the molecular level, almost indentical. As 'mimicry' is at the root of all autoimmune diseases we don't want to give the body something that will trigger an immune system attack. The fact that there are autoimmune diseases - resulting from the immune system attacking our own cells because they resemble some foreign body that has found its' way into the blood stream - suggests that we need to be very careful. If casein 'looks' like gluten it can initiate an attack as if it were gluten and subsequently an attack on the body cells that are structurally similiar. Claire