Gluten found in Bob's Red Mill TVP using Elisa Technology test

[Janet McAlpin]

Hello all,

I have been using Elisa tests to slowly go through many ingredients in my kitchen to confirm they are gluten-free.

Today, after eating Bob's Red Mill TVP, I didn't feel great. I decided to test it and the result found gluten. I am going to test all the Bob's Red Mill products I use regularly with the Elisa tests. I have found them to be quite accurate. I also use NIMA and can't wait for them to be back!

I'll keep you posted!

Janet

[trents]

Welcome to the forum, @Janet McAlpin!

Using the gluten-free label doesn't mean there is 0 gluten in a product. It means there is <20ppm of gluten according to FDA standards. So, it is not surprising that there is some gluten in this product. What is the sensitivity of the ELISA test you are using? And the NIMA device has a reputation for giving erratic results.

[Scott Adams]

I had to look up "TVP" and it is this product:

https://www.bobsredmill.com/product/tvp-textured-veg-protein

What type of test did you use? Was it a mail order kit, if so, what brand, or did you send out samples to be tested at a lab?

[Janet McAlpin]

Hello all, 

I used the Elisa Technology test by EZ Gluten. It is PTM sm certified and tests down to 10,000ppm. I order them online and use at home. Each test takes 25 minutes and it is the most accurate home test I have found. 

I am aware that gluten-free labeling indicates that a food has under 20,000 ppm of gluten according to FDA standards.  
 

I have heard discussions about Bob’s Red Mill not conforming to the certified gluten-free certified symbol but continued to use their own gluten-free symbol. I have not done my own deep dive on this topic  -yet! Largely because I have eaten Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free oats and Gluten Free flours of all kinds for years with no reaction. So I trusted their label. This is the first time I have had a reaction to a Bob’s Red Mill product. 
 

I am curious to read more and learn more if anyone knows about Bob’s Red Mill testing practices. 
 

thanks for your help and interest,

Janet



 

 

[Scott Adams]

That is a solid home test--feel free to share other tests you run.

[trents]

That's 20ppm, not 20,000 ppm. https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-education-resources-materials/gluten-and-food-labeling

"The rule specifies, among other criteria, that any foods that carry the label “gluten-free,” “no gluten,” “free of gluten,” or “without gluten” must contain less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten."

[Janet McAlpin]

Will do! Here are some other test results from the last few days using the Elisa Technologies tests.

All of these products tested Gluten Free, ( or more accurately, under 10ppm) 

- Teddies crunchy Peanut Butter 

- Philosopher Foods Sprouted Almond Butter

- Jacobsen Salt Co Black Garlic Ginger Salt

 

 

 

 

[Winnie-Ther-Pooh]

(I'm new to this forum!) I have always had problems with Bob's Red Mill's certified gluten-free oats and oat flour, but have been able to eat other certified gluten-free oats, from Only Oats for example. I'd be interested to know the results of other products you test as well, particularly beans, as I have a hard time finding gluten-free beans in Canada. 

[trents]

2 hours ago, Winnie-Ther-Pooh said:

(I'm new to this forum!) I have always had problems with Bob's Red Mill's certified gluten-free oats and oat flour, but have been able to eat other certified gluten-free oats, from Only Oats for example. I'd be interested to know the results of other products you test as well, particularly beans, as I have a hard time finding gluten-free beans in Canada. 

@Winnie-Ther-Pooh, Does Bob's Red Mill offer certified gluten-free oats in CN? I cannot find any certified gluten-free oats on their U.S. website, just gluten-free.

Edited August 26 by trents

[Winnie-Ther-Pooh]

I didn't realize that they weren't certified. I looked on their website and they say that they test their product to be below 20ppm but when you click on the link THEY provide about their certification process, it goes to their main page. Their website in Canada is very bad... (deliberately?). (no English translation sorry)

https://www.bobsredmill.ca/produit/flocons-davoine-a-lancienne-sans-gluten

 

[trents]

@Winnie-Ther-Pooh, we are talking about two different standards here. In the U.S, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set the standard for using "Gluten-Free" in product advertising at not more than 20 ppm of gluten. There is another standard, an internationally-recognized one, known as "Certified Gluten-Free" which is stricter, requiring not more than 10 ppm of gluten. Certified Gluten-Free products will bear the GFCO logo. But in either case, it is important to understand that there still may be some gluten in the product which, for the super-sensitive subset of the celiac community, may still cause reactions.

Edited August 26 by trents

[Scott Adams]

As I recall Canada created some special rules just for gluten-free oats--not other gluten-free products--right around the time that General Mills launched their gluten-free Cheerios. The move seemed more politically motivated given that other products could be 20 ppm or below, but not oats. Here is an article we wrote at the time:

 

[Winnie-Ther-Pooh]

5 hours ago, Scott Adams said:

As I recall Canada created some special rules just for gluten-free oats--not other gluten-free products--right around the time that General Mills launched their gluten-free Cheerios. The move seemed more politically motivated given that other products could be 20 ppm or below, but not oats. Here is an article we wrote at the time:

 

Fascinating, thanks! So Canada (at least in 2017) had changed the criteria for detection in oat products from 20 to 5ppm. If the regulation still stands in 2025 then that would mean that any product sold in Canada that contains oats and is claimed to be gluten-free must (theoretically) test less than 5ppm... 

[Scott Adams]

Yes, but what has really happened is that companies just removed "gluten-free" from their packaging, as General Mills has done for Canadian Cheerios. Why they would allow a 20ppm for gluten-free in other foods and only set this higher level for oats is very odd, and no other countries do this.

[trents]

Makes me wonder if it has something to do with the fact that the protein avenin in oats triggers a gluten-like reaction in some celiacs and that this stricter standard for oat products is concession to those people making noise on that basis.