Daring Chicken - Company Response on Gluten

[dovahgolzseyol]

Hello all, 

I have celiac AND I'm a vegetarian, and I reached out to the company "Daring" about their plant based chicken, and wanted to share (as well as ask for your opinion). 

First off, the company has an FAQ page, and under "Does Daring contain gluten?" the page states:

"Our Daring unbreaded plant chicken pieces (Original, Cajun and Lemon & Herb) are 100% gluten-free. Our Daring Original Breaded Plant Chicken Pieces currently do contain Gluten."

Since I'm very sensitive to cross contact, I emailed the company asking if their breaded products were made on the same equipment as their non breaded products, explaining the gist of celiac disease. This was their response: 

"Thank you for reaching out to Daring! Great question!

Good manufacturing practices and sanitation protocols are in place to prevent the likelihood of trace contamination, and our gluten-free products are certified 🙂 I hope this helps!"

NOW - I don't see their certification on any products or on the website, so I think this person has "Gluten Free" labeling requirements mixed up with "Certified Gluten Free" requirements. 

I responded to the email with "I noticed your gluten free products don't have the gluten free certification label, just a regular gluten free claim. Do these products just abide by the rules for the regular "Gluten Free" label or are they actually "Certified Gluten Free," as there is a difference?"

I will update as soon as I receive a response. But what do you guys think?? I feel concerned about the fact that they are claiming certification despite no proof of that anywhere. Also, they kind of avoided answering my question directly. 

Would you guys trust eating this brand? I can't find any information on other peoples' experiences with this brand, since it's somewhat newer (and obviously not everyone with celiac eats plant based meat. )

[Rogol72]

  On 6/1/2022 at 4:20 PM, dovahgolzseyol said:

Hello all, 

I have celiac AND I'm a vegetarian, and I reached out to the company "Daring" about their plant based chicken, and wanted to share (as well as ask for your opinion). 

First off, the company has an FAQ page, and under "Does Daring contain gluten?" the page states:

"Our Daring unbreaded plant chicken pieces (Original, Cajun and Lemon & Herb) are 100% gluten-free. Our Daring Original Breaded Plant Chicken Pieces currently do contain Gluten."

Since I'm very sensitive to cross contact, I emailed the company asking if their breaded products were made on the same equipment as their non breaded products, explaining the gist of celiac disease. This was their response: 

"Thank you for reaching out to Daring! Great question!

Good manufacturing practices and sanitation protocols are in place to prevent the likelihood of trace contamination, and our gluten-free products are certified 🙂 I hope this helps!"

NOW - I don't see their certification on any products or on the website, so I think this person has "Gluten Free" labeling requirements mixed up with "Certified Gluten Free" requirements. 

I responded to the email with "I noticed your gluten free products don't have the gluten free certification label, just a regular gluten free claim. Do these products just abide by the rules for the regular "Gluten Free" label or are they actually "Certified Gluten Free," as there is a difference?"

I will update as soon as I receive a response. But what do you guys think?? I feel concerned about the fact that they are claiming certification despite no proof of that anywhere. Also, they kind of avoided answering my question directly. 

Would you guys trust eating this brand? I can't find any information on other peoples' experiences with this brand, since it's somewhat newer (and obviously not everyone with celiac eats plant based meat. )

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Personally, I wouldn't trust it or take a chance. I don't know what the Certified gluten-free Symbol is in the US, but over here in Europe certified gluten free products have the cross grain symbol with the country of origin and a "licensed to used" certification code printed on the packaging. Some companies use the cross grain symbol without the license code, which is not certified and can't be trusted. There is no legislation to address that.

[knitty kitty]

I would not eat it because it's made with soy.  Lots of Celiacs, including me, have a problem with soy.

Why does a Vegetarian want to eat imitation meat?  

Seems incongruous...

 

[dovahgolzseyol]

  On 6/1/2022 at 5:29 PM, knitty kitty said:

I would not eat it because it's made with soy.  Lots of Celiacs, including me, have a problem with soy.

Why does a Vegetarian want to eat imitation meat?  

Seems incongruous...

 

Expand Quote  

I haven't noticed an issue with soy personally, as I also regularly eat tofu with no issue. I'm more concerned about the gluten. 

I do have a general food allergy/sensitivity test scheduled to double check though, since I know many of us end up with other food issues aside from gluten! 

I personally don't like the texture/taste of real meat and tbh I also just get sad about the animals lol I'm not one of those trying to convert everyone else, it just bothers me personally! So I like some of the plant based "meats" for more protein variation than just tofu or beans, you know? And the texture is usually easier for me personally. 

[knitty kitty]

I see. 

 

After the Jurassic Park movies, I can't stand the thought of consuming poultry.  So I can emphasize a little bit.  

That Daring "chicken" uses a lot of spices.  Have you seen this article?

Do keep an eye on your B12 level, since vegetarians seem to be notoriously low.  

[dovahgolzseyol]

  On 6/1/2022 at 4:20 PM, dovahgolzseyol said:

Hello all, 

I have celiac AND I'm a vegetarian, and I reached out to the company "Daring" about their plant based chicken, and wanted to share (as well as ask for your opinion). 

First off, the company has an FAQ page, and under "Does Daring contain gluten?" the page states:

"Our Daring unbreaded plant chicken pieces (Original, Cajun and Lemon & Herb) are 100% gluten-free. Our Daring Original Breaded Plant Chicken Pieces currently do contain Gluten."

Since I'm very sensitive to cross contact, I emailed the company asking if their breaded products were made on the same equipment as their non breaded products, explaining the gist of celiac disease. This was their response: 

"Thank you for reaching out to Daring! Great question!

Good manufacturing practices and sanitation protocols are in place to prevent the likelihood of trace contamination, and our gluten-free products are certified 🙂 I hope this helps!"

NOW - I don't see their certification on any products or on the website, so I think this person has "Gluten Free" labeling requirements mixed up with "Certified Gluten Free" requirements. 

I responded to the email with "I noticed your gluten free products don't have the gluten free certification label, just a regular gluten free claim. Do these products just abide by the rules for the regular "Gluten Free" label or are they actually "Certified Gluten Free," as there is a difference?"

I will update as soon as I receive a response. But what do you guys think?? I feel concerned about the fact that they are claiming certification despite no proof of that anywhere. Also, they kind of avoided answering my question directly. 

Would you guys trust eating this brand? I can't find any information on other peoples' experiences with this brand, since it's somewhat newer (and obviously not everyone with celiac eats plant based meat. )

Expand Quote  

I can't figure out how to edit my post guys, but they got back to me with this: 

"Of course, happy to help! While we do have the general gluten-free claim on the front of our packaging, we do also have the certified label on the back of the package, right next to the bar code 🙂 We take gluten-free very seriously and will soon have some additional news regarding advancements for us in that area!"

  On 6/1/2022 at 8:28 PM, knitty kitty said:

I see. 

 

After the Jurassic Park movies, I can't stand the thought of consuming poultry.  So I can emphasize a little bit.  

That Daring "chicken" uses a lot of spices.  Have you seen this article?

Do keep an eye on your B12 level, since vegetarians seem to be notoriously low.  

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That's all we celiacs need is reactions to spices, I swear! 😩😭 Thank you, i will look into this too. 

I do get my levels checked though and take a supplement as well just in case! 

Also, I can't figure out how to edit my post but I did just post a comment on this page under my post, with the most recent response I got from the company!

[knitty kitty]

The three dots to the right of your name gives you the option to edit, but there's a time limit.

 

[knitty kitty]

Yet another thing to be aware of....

 

[C4Celiac]

You're playing with fire there. just eat a different chicken meal that's certified gluten free

[soundslikedelicious]

  On 6/1/2022 at 5:29 PM, knitty kitty said:

I would not eat it because it's made with soy.  Lots of Celiacs, including me, have a problem with soy.

Why does a Vegetarian want to eat imitation meat?  

Seems incongruous...

 

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I signed up solely to let you know how infuriating this statement is. "Seems incongruous." No, seems like you are a rude, judgmental individual. Most vegetarians that I have known, including myself when I was one, grew up eating meat. We learned to enjoy meat as a food and its placement in meals. Consequently, it's comforting to have options that can fill the space left behind by the real meat dishes that we grew up with. It does not help anyone to navigate their particular dietary journey for you to impose your own opinions. Please stop.

[knitty kitty]

@soundslikedelicious,

Thank you for explaining that to me.  

I'm not rude nor judgemental.  I was having difficulty understanding.

Now you've clarified reasons why you want pretend meat on your plate, I'll go back to eating my pretend toast.  

 

[soundslikedelicious]

  On 10/11/2022 at 12:58 AM, knitty kitty said:

@soundslikedelicious,

Thank you for explaining that to me.  

I'm not rude nor judgemental.  I was having difficulty understanding.

Now you've clarified reasons why you want pretend meat on your plate, I'll go back to eating my pretend toast.  

 

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I'd like to apologize. Clearly this statement affected me, and while I'm typically able to exercise a bit more discretion, in this case I did not. 

My wife is a celiac, so we eat pretend toast, too

Also, on topic: just had the breaded nuggets last night, and she got glutened. It says gluten-free on the bag, but after coming here, I have learned that they don't discount the chance for cross-contamination. Really sad, cause she actually liked them.

[knitty kitty]

@soundslikedelicious,

Apology accepted.  

I've met only proselytizing vegetarians who were of the "I can't eat anything with a face" persuasion, so was completely baffled why someone so adverse to eating meat would consume a food that mimicked meat.  

Thanks to your explanation and that of @dovahgolzseyol,  I understand a bit more.  Thanks for that.

I hope your wife feels better soon. 

So disappointed food manufacturers don't know better.  

Thought this might interest you.  

"Meat glue" has begun to be used in tofu.... 

 

Edited October 11, 2022 by knitty kitty
Typo correction