Celiac Brand for Indian grocery

[Abhita Vij]

Hi, wanted to see if I can buy Suraj brand spices, lentils beans and chickpeas and corn maze flour. Are they safe for celiac people following gluten free diet. Please let me know if I can use this brand or which another brand will you recommend.

[Scott Adams]

While spices, lentils, beans and chickpeas are naturally gluten-free, the main concern with any brand is cross-contamination during processing and packaging. Since Suraj doesn't appear to certify their products as gluten-free or use dedicated gluten-free facilities, there is some risk of trace gluten exposure, especially with their corn flour which could be milled on shared equipment with gluten-containing grains. For absolute safety, I'd recommend looking for brands that are certified gluten-free by organizations like GFCO - good options include McCormick for spices, TruRoots or Bob's Red Mill for lentils and beans, and Anthony's for corn flour. That said, if you need to use Suraj products, be sure to carefully check labels for any wheat warnings, thoroughly rinse lentils and beans before cooking, and consider contacting the manufacturer directly to ask about their gluten testing protocols. Many in our community have found that investing in certified gluten-free brands gives them greater peace of mind and helps avoid accidental gluten exposure, especially for higher-risk items like flours.

[trents]

I remember reading an article summarizing testing done by Gluten Free Watchdog on several brands of dried lentils. They were all heavily cross contaminated with wheat and the commentary was to the effect that dried lentils in general were the most heavily cross contaminated product category in their testing data base. So, I would definitely not use any dried lentil product that was not tested to be Gluten Free (<20ppm of gluten) or Certified Gluten Free (<10ppm of gluten).