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Please share cross contamination stories

jddh

By jddh
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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jddh Contributor
jddh
Posted

Hi friends, 

Wondering if I can pick your brain for any surprising sources of cross contamination that caught you off guard in your diet. I continue to have some non-responsiveness on pathology after many years of making mistakes, and more recently a year where I really thought I was being careful. 

The most likely explanation remains that I'm possibly getting in hidden gluten, and so again I'm scrutinizing my intake for possible issues. I'd love to hear if you had any surprises along the way—particularly if the gluten-free diet wasn't resolving issues for your until you found some hidden offenders. I need some ideas get my creative juices flowing. 

Best wishes,
J

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kmarsh1977 Newbie
kmarsh1977
Posted

The biggest surprise we had was bagged shredded cheese. It was a store brand. Apparently, according to some researchers and my son's reaction, powdered cellulose can be derived from gluten sources. I got glutened on Halloween using a glitter spray in my hair that had no obvious gluten ingredients...  Otherwise, it's been a big learning curve, with quite a few surprises, but those are the two strangest, most recent.

TrueNorthMom Newbie
TrueNorthMom
Posted

I had issues with Tazo tea (Starbucks) having gluten in it.  Unfortunately, it took me a week to figure it out because the ingredients don't indicate potential for problems.   I emailed the company and their response was "Because Tazo products and ingredients are not tested for gluten content, we are unable to say that they are gluten free."

Thanks for starting this thread. 

psawyer Proficient
psawyer
Posted
7 hours ago, TrueNorthMom said:

I had issues with Tazo tea (Starbucks) having gluten in it.  Unfortunately, it took me a week to figure it out because the ingredients don't indicate potential for problems.   I emailed the company and their response was "Because Tazo products and ingredients are not tested for gluten content, we are unable to say that they are gluten free."

Thanks for starting this thread. 

So they don't add any gluten ingredients, but don't test for gluten. This is the case with the vast majority of safe products marketed to the mainsteam consumer who does not care about gluten, and doesn't want to pay extra to have the product tested.  The manufacturer won't make a gluten-free claim since they don't test--they are avoiding legal liability for a possible mistake by their suppliers. Nothing to see here, folks.

Gemini Experienced
Gemini
Posted
On 1/30/2016 at 6:44 AM, kmarsh1977 said:

The biggest surprise we had was bagged shredded cheese. It was a store brand. Apparently, according to some researchers and my son's reaction, powdered cellulose can be derived from gluten sources. I got glutened on Halloween using a glitter spray in my hair that had no obvious gluten ingredients...  Otherwise, it's been a big learning curve, with quite a few surprises, but those are the two strangest, most recent.

There is no gluten in powdered cellulose.  It is derived from plant sources and some cheese manufacturers actually state, on their websites, that their cellulose contains no gluten.  I would expect they put that in there because they were getting a lot of questions on it.  I have never seen a shredded cheese with gluten in it but then again, I prefer to grate my own cheese as they don't put any added junk in a block of cheese.  Dairy can be harsh for some with Celiac so it may have been a dairy problem.

 

jddh Contributor
jddh
Posted
  • Author
On January 31, 2016 at 8:04 PM, psawyer said:

So they don't add any gluten ingredients, but don't test for gluten. This is the case with the vast majority of safe products marketed to the mainsteam consumer who does not care about gluten, and doesn't want to pay extra to have the product tested.  The manufacturer won't make a gluten-free claim since they don't test--they are avoiding legal liability for a possible mistake by their suppliers. Nothing to see here, folks.

Right, it’s boilerplate legalese, but why would it necessarily follow that the product is safe for all us “non-mainstream” consumers? Particularly the above user who feels they had a reaction to it? It’s been suggested on this site and elsewhere that some Tazo teas aren’t gluten-free, so seems to me there would be an opportunity there for cross-contamination. 

jddh Contributor
jddh
Posted
  • Author
28 minutes ago, Gemini said:

There is no gluten in powdered cellulose.  It is derived from plant sources and some cheese manufacturers actually state, on their websites, that their cellulose contains no gluten.  I would expect they put that in there because they were getting a lot of questions on it.  I have never seen a shredded cheese with gluten in it but then again, I prefer to grate my own cheese as they don't put any added junk in a block of cheese.  Dairy can be harsh for some with Celiac so it may have been a dairy problem.

 

Yeah that's an odd one. I once had an utterly horrible reaction to plain steak and a salad topped with lots of commercial powdered parmesan cheese, at a restaurant. I always suspected a flour or barley-based anti-caking agent in the cheese, but possible of course it was something else.

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bartfull Rising Star
bartfull
Posted

Think about it. The powder is on the shredded or grated cheese to keep it from sticking together. It is moisture that would make it stick together and the powder is there to absorb the moisture. Now, what happens when flour gets wet? It turns to glue, right? So they would never use flour as an anti-caking agent.

notme Experienced
notme
Posted

i grate my own cheese and pop it into the freezer.  like gem said, less crap added.  i'm a big fan of the less ingredients, the better.  cheese:  milk, salt, enzymes...  boom.  cheese.  

generally, it's less expensive, too :)  so, the cheapskate in me likes that.  and, i can have exactly the brand i want (cabot extra sharp white cheddar?  yes please!! ;) )

 that being said, i've eaten pre-packaged grated cheese with no issues.  cellulose isn't wheat or they would have to list it in the allergy part (it just says 'milk')

 

kmarsh1977 Newbie
kmarsh1977
Posted
2 hours ago, Gemini said:

There is no gluten in powdered cellulose.  It is derived from plant sources and some cheese manufacturers actually state, on their websites, that their cellulose contains no gluten.  I would expect they put that in there because they were getting a lot of questions on it.  I have never seen a shredded cheese with gluten in it but then again, I prefer to grate my own cheese as they don't put any added junk in a block of cheese.  Dairy can be harsh for some with Celiac so it may have been a dairy problem.

 

I urge you to look it up before you state that conclusively.  It can, and it did.

gilligan Enthusiast
gilligan
Posted
On January 31, 2016 at 10:04 PM, psawyer said:

So they don't add any gluten ingredients, but don't test for gluten. This is the case with the vast majority of safe products marketed to the mainsteam consumer who does not care about gluten, and doesn't want to pay extra to have the product tested.  The manufacturer won't make a gluten-free claim since they don't test--they are avoiding legal liability for a possible mistake by their suppliers. Nothing to see here, folks.

Yup, I don't have any problems with Tazo tea.

Gemini Experienced
Gemini
Posted
16 hours ago, kmarsh1977 said:

I urge you to look it up before you state that conclusively.  It can, and it did.

I urge you to tell us what brand of shredded cheese had gluten in the anti-caking agent because you would be doing the Celiac world a big favor by keeping us safe in our food choices. It would also be good to list the ingredients on here so we could see for ourselves because I have never come across one in 11 years gluten free.  That would be a first!

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