Con-agra Confusion....email From Them Is Confusing.

[wolfie]

July 26, 2006

Dear Kim,

Thank you for contacting ConAgra Foods. We appreciate comments and

questions from our consumers.

We do not have a gluten free list of our products available at this time.

The flour used in our products is often wheat flour and should be avoided

by individuals with gluten sensitivities. The modified food starch used

in our products is corn or potato starch unless otherwise stated on the

ingredient label. We always advise consumers who may have sensitivities

to recheck the ingredient list on each package. Products are oftentimes

reformulated and the ingredients may change. If you have a question

regarding a specific ingredient in a specific product, please let us know.

We would be happy to contact the supplier to determine if the ingredient

in question contains gluten.

We appreciate the time you have taken to contact us and your interest in

our products. We hope this information is helpful in selecting our fine

products in the future.

Sincerely,

ConAgra Foods Consumer Affairs

051111956A

Anyone else confused or is it just me? LOL!

TIA!

[psawyer]

The information that I have always had is that ConAgra will clearly label wheat but not other sources of gluten. In light of FALCPA, this is not terribly useful since now everybody must clearly label wheat.

The list of manufacturers I have that will clearly list all gluten sources is:

Aunt Nelly's, Balance, Baskin Robbins, Ben & Jerry, Betty Crocker, Blue Bunny, Breyers, Campbells, Cascadian Farms, Celestial Seasonings, Country Crock, Edy's, General Mills, Good Humor, Green Giant, Haagen Daz, Hellman's, Hershey, Hormel, Hungry Jack, Jiffy, Knorr, Kozy Shack, Kraft, Libby's, Lipton, Martha White, McCormick, Nabisco, Nestle, Old El Paso, Ortega, Pillsbury, Popsicle, Post, Progresso, Russell Stover, Seneca Foods, Smucker, Stokely's, Sunny Delight, T Marzetti, Tyson, Unilever, Wishbone, Yoplait, Zatarain's.

[wolfie]

Thank you Peter. I have emailed them back about a few specific products that my son eats, so I will post those answers if and when I get them.

I am going to make a note on my list of the companies you posted.

[2Boys4Me]

I always thought ConAgra was a company that clearly listed Wheat, Rye, Oats and Barley.

[VydorScope]

I always thought ConAgra was a company that clearly listed Wheat, Rye, Oats and Barley.

So did I dang it.

[plantime]

When I called them, I was told they would clearly list anything with gluten in it.

[psawyer]

When I called them, I was told they would clearly list anything with gluten in it.

If so, that is good news. It was not always so, as I have seen several lists where they were noted as "wheat only" or "major allergens only."

[jerseyangel]

I called them last fall. The man that I spoke to told me that they would clearly list any gluten ingredients on the label. I jotted this info in my CSA Product Guide Notebook, that's why I can say it was gluten that he said, and not only wheat. Perhaps things have changed since then?

[psawyer]

My guess would be that they have changed their policy to include all gluten sources, but some lists (including mine) still reflect the older policy. I can't believe that, having begun to list gluten, they would move backwards. Patti, your check is more recent than my most recent one, so I would take yours as being correct.

[plantime]

I was specific about gluten, and so was the lady I was talking to. I made that phone call in Jan or Feb of this year.

[psawyer]

Okay, I'm adding ConAgra to my list.

[debmidge]

If I am not mistaken, I believe ConAgra was bought out by someone else just this year....

[VydorScope]

If I am not mistaken, I believe ConAgra was bought out by someone else just this year....

I just emailed them too, and thier response was very cryptic, I plan to email them again and see if I can get more info....

[wolfie]

Wow.....talk about lots of different answers! LOL!!

There really isn't anything of theirs that I can't find a substitute for, so I guess I can just avoid them until I get more info. I will also call them on Monday and ask about the email response that I was sent. I am really beginning to depend on Kraft these days.

Thanks to all who responded to this so far.

[VydorScope]

Heres what I received from them TODAY (ie as current as possible)

On 7/28/06, consumeraffairs@conagrafoods.com < consumeraffairs@conagrafoods.com> wrote:

July 28, 2006

Dear Mr. Trigili,

Your communication concerning our many products was most welcome. We

appreciate comments and questions from our consumers.

We do not have a gluten free list of our products available at this time.

The flour used in our products is often wheat flour and should be avoided

by individuals with gluten sensitivities. The modified food starch used

in our products is corn or potato starch unless otherwise stated on the

ingredient label. We always advise consumers who may have sensitivities

to recheck the ingredient list on each package. Products are oftentimes

reformulated and the ingredients may change. If you have a question

regarding a specific ingredient in a specific product, please let us know.

We would be happy to contact the supplier to determine if the ingredient

in question contains gluten.

We appreciate the time you have taken to contact us and your interest in

our products. We hope this information is helpful in selecting our fine

products in the future.

Sincerely,

ConAgra Foods Consumer Affairs

051117065A

So my reply is...

Reading a label can be confusing as many ingredients are hidden by names such as "natural flavors". Some companies, such as Kraft Foods are very good about disclosing any potential gluten sources (Wheat, Barley, Rye, Oats, Malt, Spelt, etc) right on their label. Will your labels disclose all gluten sources too, or will we have to call about every product?

When I get a reply I will post it. I do not like the cryptic emails though, and probably will remove ConAgra from my "safe companies" list.

[wolfie]

Heres what I received from them TODAY (ie as current as possible)

So my reply is...

When I get a reply I will post it. I do not like the cryptic emails though, and probably will remove ConAgra from my "safe companies" list.

Thank you. That is exactly what I am concerned about. For myself, I react to any gluten; DS on the other hand, not sure if the reacts or not, he has only been on the diet 2 weeks.

If I find anything new out, I will make sure to post as well.

[plantime]

I went to the company history pages on their website:

Open Original Shared Link

and found that they did not sell out. They did change leadership and sell a few brands. Their new email response is probably a cya response thought up by lawyers.

[Guest nini]

my mom called them last week about a product and was told they will clearly label all gluten sources, wheat, barley, rye, oats... she was watching my daughter and wanted to give her a snack and couldn't get a hold of me to verify if something was safe so she just called them. They've been on my safe list after I contacted them last year, I haven't had any problems either. It sounds like a standard CYA letter...