Ground beef processed using same equipment as products with gluten

[NoGlutensToday]

Hi folks,

I ordered some ground beef from a delivery service that offers free range meat, raised without antibiotics. When I received my delivery I saw the box had a warning that says MAY CONTAIN: WHEAT, SOY, MUSTARD, MILK.

I contacted the company that processed this and they said the meat doesn't contain wheat, but due to labelling laws (Ontario, Canada) they must list this since they process food (sausages, possibly some other things) that contain these products in the same facility. I asked for more details and it turns out that they use the same equipment, but wash it down in between items, according to their guidelines.

To me this is a red flag and now I don't think I should risk eating this meat. I'm looking for any thoughts/feedback from this community regarding this. Also, it has me wondering if this is commonplace in the production of ground beef ... are there typically shared lines like this in the production of ground beef?

[cyclinglady]

Hummm, I do not know.  I buy my meat from Costco.  They cut and grind the beef on site.  While they do season some cuts of meat (seasoning does not contain gluten), they do not put anything through the grinder except beef.    They do not make sausages.  
 

The company did say that they cleaned the lines, but if it were me, I would give that beef away.  Nothing is worth activating my celiac disease.  It could be a very low risk or no risk,  but I would worry.  I am a worrier.  Nothing like vomiting, laying on the bathroom floor and passing out from pain.  But that is just me.  Your mileage may vary.  
 

Did you try googling or reading any reviews?  

[NoGlutensToday]

11 hours ago, cyclinglady said:

Hummm, I do not know.  I buy my meat from Costco.  They cut and grind the beef on site.  While they do season some cuts of meat (seasoning does not contain gluten), they do not put anything through the grinder except beef.    They do not make sausages.  
 

The company did say that they cleaned the lines, but if it were me, I would give that beef away.  Nothing is worth activating my celiac disease.  It could be a very low risk or no risk,  but I would worry.  I am a worrier.  Nothing like vomiting, laying on the bathroom floor and passing out from pain.  But that is just me.  Your mileage may vary.  
 

Did you try googling or reading any reviews?  

Yeah, I'm like you in that I'm a worrier. I'm leaning towards not eating this. At the same time, I'm trying to learn more because this raises questions I hadn't considered before.

This particular warning ("MAY CONTAIN") falls under Health Canada's Food Allergen Precautionary Statements. I did some reading on Health Canada's website and it said: "Precautionary labelling should only be used when, despite all reasonable measures, the inadvertent presence of allergens in food is unavoidable. It must not be used when an allergen or allergen-containing ingredient is deliberately added to a food. Furthermore, the use of a precautionary statement where there is no real risk of an allergen being present in the food is contrary to the Department's goal of enabling a variety of safe and nutritious food choices for the allergic consumer."

So, it is voluntary because there isn't proof that allergens are present, but there is a real risk that it is there. The butchers say they washed the equipment according to their standards, but didn't outline those standards. And without them disclosing these details, they can't satisfy my concern enough to have me actually consume their product.

The question this raises for me is whether the local supermarket I otherwise get my beef from has the same risks, but opts to not include the voluntary statement. (After all, it is voluntary.) I'll have to follow-up by emailing them now.