"Allergen free" not including gluten?!

[MollyMG]

I wrote to Allegro to ask which of their teas were gluten free and they wrote back to me that they were an entirely allergen free company. I wrote again to say I had seen oat straw in one of their teas which is not gluten free so she looked into it and then replied that their official statement is that they are allergen free but that that does not necessarily include gluten, she apologized for the previous mis-information. I urged them to change their "allergen free" stance but my bigger concern- is this common place? When we ask a company if they are gluten free how far do we have to go to make sure their response is accurate? Has anyone else heard of gluten not being included as an allergen? This company is also a subsidiary of Whole Foods I'm super shocked they would be so careless. 

[kareng]

The term " allergen free" doesn't mean much.  There is always someone allerigic to  an ingredient.  they may have meant the allergens that the US requires they list .  If that is the case, gluten isn't one.  They have to list " wheat".  Oat straw might technically be considered " wheat free".  

[StephanieL]

1) Oat's are not a gluten containing grain but often comes in cross contact with gluten.  They may use gluten free oat grass. I don't know.

2) Gluten is NOT considered one of the Top 8 allergens in the US.  Wheat would been to be listed, rye and barley (and oats that come into cross contact with gluten grains) do not need to be listed.

 

Gluten free is wheat free. Wheat free/allergy free/friendly is not necessarily gluten free. 

[MollyMG]

Thank you both, I knew that oats were not always gluten containing but I'm shocked that a company can make a blanket statement of "allergen free" and leave out such a big one. I am glad to learn this now I will know to go one step further when questioning a company as to what their specific allergens are.  

[Celiac Nutritionist]

Hey, Molly 

 

My recommendation is to always contact companies - so that is awesome that you have done so! Unfortunately it is pretty common for someone in the positions of replying back to customers to not know the answers correctly the first time and there for we need to push a little harder.    

If you can, try and choose products that have a certified gluten free label - it is usually a safer bet  (especially regarding teas - I have found all sorts of narly ingredients in teas you would never expect to be glutened on).

 

[Celiac Nutritionist]

39 minutes ago, StephanieL said:

1) Oat's are not a gluten containing grain but often comes in cross contact with gluten.  They may use gluten free oat grass. I don't know.

2) Gluten is NOT considered one of the Top 8 allergens in the US.  Wheat would been to be listed, rye and barley (and oats that come into cross contact with gluten grains) do not need to be listed.

 

Gluten free is wheat free. Wheat free/allergy free/friendly is not necessarily gluten free. 

A lot of people with Celiac still react and have symptoms after consuming even certified gluten free oats  (they still usually contain up to 20ppm of gluten - which is enough to trigger issues in some of us - myself including).     

 

[StephanieL]

10 minutes ago, Celiac Nutritionist said:

A lot of people with Celiac still react and have symptoms after consuming even certified gluten free oats  (they still usually contain up to 20ppm of gluten - which is enough to trigger issues in some of us - myself including).     

 

Yes. I am aware of that.  From a labeling perspective oats are not under the gluten umbrella.

[kareng]

8 hours ago, Celiac Nutritionist said:

Oats grown anA lot of people with Celiac still react and have symptoms after consuming even certified gluten free oats  (they still usually contain up to 20ppm of gluten - which is enough to trigger issues in some of us - myself including).     

 

There have been studies that indicate that a few Celiacs may react to pure oats.  We have posted several on this site.   

and your warning that they contain " up to 20 ppm ", less than 20 ppm is considered gluten-free and safe for a Celiac.  Also, pure oats, grown and processed to be gluten-free , should have no more gluten than any other plant grown and processed to be gluten-free.  Now the mechanically sorted oats, like Cheerios and Quaker  gluten-free products, not  grown or harvested to be gluten-free - those have been showing some issues with gluten contamination.