Anyone have a bad reaaction to Schaer gluten-free products?

[corkfella]

I've had unpleasant reactions to a range of gluten-free products (mostly biscuits/cookies) produced by the Schaer company in the last year or so.

My gums get really swollen and sometimes painful depending on the product.  I could just avoid this range but they are tasty.  Would be curious to know what is the likely issue? Maybe its a non coeliac allergy that I have. What is lupine?

Ingredients here: Choco Chip Cookies 100g/ Gluten Free Chocolate Cookies (schaer.com)

https://www.schaer.com/en-uk/p/choco-chip-cookies-100g 

[trents]

I think lupine is a wild flower.

[Scott Adams]

Lupine, when used as an ingredient in foods, generally refers to lupin beans or lupin flour derived from the seeds of lupin plants, specifically various species from the Lupinus genus. Lupin beans are legumes, similar to peas or lentils, and they have been used historically in Mediterranean and Latin American cuisines. Lupin flour is made by grinding these beans into a fine powder.

Lupine is often used as a gluten-free alternative in various food products, such as baked goods, pasta, and snacks. It's valued for its high protein content and relatively low carbohydrate content. Lupine flour can be used to enhance the nutritional profile of products and improve their texture.

However, it's important to note that lupine is one of the eight major allergens recognized by many food regulatory agencies, including the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). This means that people who are allergic to peanuts or other legumes might also be allergic to lupine. As a result, the presence of lupine or lupine-derived ingredients in foods needs to be clearly labeled to alert consumers with allergies.

[corkfella]

Peanuts definitely are not great for me so maybe that’s it.

[Nick Cheruka]

Yes as a matter of fact I have and just recently! I use schar gluten-free Sandwich Rolls, Ciabatta Rolls and have tried there snacks like  Sch’nacks snack cakes and have found a similar reaction as ingesting Gluten! I am a Celiac of over 20+ yrs and normally make everything at home or my wife does for the most part but we both make sure everything we use is gluten-free so I do not like the fact that these are giving me issues like consuming Gluten again even though I believe to be avoiding it and my last bloodwork results were good prior to eating this companies products and also with my last endoscopy showed almost all Villi damage had healed, almost not all! So needless to say these are going in the trash and I won’t be buying anything from Schar and I had supported them as well! Just so you know the packages I just read say a Product of Spain where there guidelines may not be the same as are FDA guidelines even though with are FDA they allow 22ppm of gluten even though it says gluten-free it should be 0-ppm to be gluten-free! Lord help all of us Celiacs, we can’t win no matter how hard we try! The Struggle is real! Good Luck☘️

[Emmy208]

8 minutes ago, Nick Cheruka said:

Yes as a matter of fact I have and just recently! I use schar gluten-free Sandwich Rolls, Ciabatta Rolls and have tried there snacks like  Sch’nacks snack cakes and have found a similar reaction as ingesting Gluten! I am a Celiac of over 20+ yrs and normally make everything at home or my wife does for the most part but we both make sure everything we use is gluten-free so I do not like the fact that these are giving me issues like consuming Gluten again even though I believe to be avoiding it and my last bloodwork results were good prior to eating this companies products and also with my last endoscopy showed almost all Villi damage had healed, almost not all! So needless to say these are going in the trash and I won’t be buying anything from Schar and I had supported them as well! Just so you know the packages I just read say a Product of Spain where there guidelines may not be the same as are FDA guidelines even though with are FDA they allow 22ppm of gluten even though it says gluten-free it should be 0-ppm to be gluten-free! Lord help all of us Celiacs, we can’t win no matter how hard we try! The Struggle is real! Good Luck☘️

Hey there, it’s possible you are experiencing cross-reactivity, which is where your immune system mistakes a gluten-free food ingredient for gluten. Some examples of ingredients that can cause cross-reactivity are oats, casein, and soy. I highly doubt Schar’s products are contaminated with gluten as they are a company dedicated to making only gluten-free products. I am extremely gluten sensitive myself (cannot tolerate CC), and I’ve never had a problem with Schar’s products. I’d recommend examining the ingredients in Schar’s products and brainstorming which ones could be sources of cross-reactivity for you. 

[trents]

Schar has been in the gluten free food business since the inception of the gluten free food industry and is a trusted producer of gluten free products. I suspect you are reacting to something else besides gluten used in this product. Xanthan gum is a common offender found in many gluten free products.

Edited September 21, 2023 by trents

[Nick Cheruka]

6 hours ago, trents said:

Schar has been in the gluten free food business since the inception of the gluten free food industry and is a trusted producer of gluten free products. I suspect you are reacting to something else besides gluten used in this product. Xanthan gum is a common offender found in many gluten free products.

Trent I read in your replay Xanthan Gum is a common offender found in many gluten-free products? Can you elaborate on this! As it is in Schar’s ingredients claiming to be gluten-free!

[trents]

Xanthan gum does not contain gluten. It's a polysaccharide. 

"Xanthan gum is a popular food additive that’s commonly added to foods as a thickener or stabilizer.

It’s created when sugar is fermented by a type of bacteria called Xanthomonas campestris. When sugar is fermented, it creates a broth or goo-like substance, which is made solid by adding an alcohol. It is then dried and turned into a powder.

When xanthan gum powder is added to a liquid, it quickly disperses and creates a viscous and stable solution. This makes it a great thickening, suspending and stabilizing agent for many products. . . 

Even though it’s made in a lab, it’s a soluble fiber. Soluble fibers are carbs that your body cannot breakdown.

Instead, they absorb water and turn into a gel-like substance in your digestive system, which slows digestion (3Trusted Source).

Therefore, your body is unable to digest xanthan gum, and it does not provide any calories or nutrients."  from:  https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/xanthan-gum#TOC_TITLE_HDR_2

It can cause digestive upsets and it is also used in a lot of mainline food products, not just gluten free stuff.

[Nick Cheruka]

Thank you! I appreciate the info on Xanthan Gum I was not aware of the affects it can have on our digestive system or what it is made up of until now! 

[shadycharacter]

On 8/22/2023 at 4:26 PM, corkfella said:

I've had unpleasant reactions to a range of gluten-free products (mostly biscuits/cookies) produced by the Schaer company in the last year or so.

My gums get really swollen and sometimes painful depending on the product.  I could just avoid this range but they are tasty.  Would be curious to know what is the likely issue? Maybe its a non coeliac allergy that I have. What is lupine?

Ingredients here: Choco Chip Cookies 100g/ Gluten Free Chocolate Cookies (schaer.com)

https://www.schaer.com/en-uk/p/choco-chip-cookies-100g 

I think their products are reliably gluten free, but I've more or less stopped using that brand because I often feel vaguely unwell and bloated afterwards. It's mostly sliced bread I've tried, and though I liked it initially, I now seem react to something in it. I noticed the last one I bought contained pea protein, which probably makes the bread more nutritious, but I suspect wasn't good for me. I also had to stop using a gluten free muesli (different brand though) with pea protein.