Whole Foods Charcoal

[ebrbetty]

I shopped yesterday and wanted to know if the 365 natural charcoal was gluten-free..the girl at the desk had no idea but said they would find out and email me..to my surprise I jusr recived this email

Dear Elizabeth,

We have bounced around your question via email until we reached a knowledgeable, reliable source. This source, our Regional Grocery Buyer, has assured us that our 365 Natural Charcoal does not contain gluten or other addititives.

Thanks,

Jon Leonard

[francelajoie]

Does charcoal have gluten in it?

I've had my supper cooked on the charcoal grill every night for the last 2 weeks and have had no reaction what so ever.

We use Kingsford MatchLight.

Anyone know?

[Becky6]

I believe I read that Kingsford does have gluten! And my daughter who is very sensitive gets leg aches after eating bbq'd food. So we wrapped it in foil last night and no pains here!

[ebrbetty]

I was told Kingsford does have gluten, I emailed them yesterday..waiting to hear

[Moongirl]

Yes, when I was at my last support group meeting at Healthy Villi, they did mention that BBQs could be risky due to gluten in the charcols.

I only use gas grills...

[francelajoie]

I don't know what to think about the gluten in the charcoal. I mean, they are pretty much all burned to ashes before you even put food on the grill. If my food doesn't touch the charcoal, how could my food even have gluten in it?

Like I said in my previous post, I have had my food cooked on charcoal every night for the past 2 weeks, and no reaction at all. I had a I think was a little crumb from a crouton, and had major bloating that same night. Charcoal for 2 weeks and nothing?

[Moongirl]

I don't know what to think about the gluten in the charcoal. I mean, they are pretty much all burned to ashes before you even put food on the grill. If my food doesn't touch the charcoal, how could my food even have gluten in it?

Like I said in my previous post, I have had my food cooked on charcoal every night for the past 2 weeks, and no reaction at all. I had a I think was a little crumb from a crouton, and had major bloating that same night. Charcoal for 2 weeks and nothing?

i just found this on the Clan Thompson site,

QUESTION: I read on the celiac forum that Kingsford Charcole used Wheat as a filler. I e-mailed Kingsford this week and they said that even though they could not give me the ingredients in their product, it was gluten free. I have missed hamburgers and steak cooked over charcole. Do you have any knowledge of this?

CONNIE SARROS: I had heard that wheat was used in charcoal as a filler, but I didn't really know much about it, so I researched it. According to the Texas Wheat Producers Board And Association, and The Kansas Wheat Commission, wheat starch is used as a binder in most commercial charcoal briquettes. On another site, I found the Kingsford charcoal ingredients listed as folows: Wood Charcoal, Lignite Charcoal, Anthracite Coal, Limestone, Starch, Borax, Sawdust and Sodium Nitrate. This list does not specify where the starch comes from, but at an allergy site, more information about Kingsford Briquets was provided: "Both corn and wheat starches are used in this product, but they predominantly use cornstarch. They do not make any food products that do not contain gluten. This was confirmed by the company." There is a positive note to all this. While reading about charcoal in general, I learned that if you allow your coals to burn to a complete ashy surface before you start cooking, any glues and additives will burn off before you start cooking. Hope this helps.