Vita Herring Now Has Wheat?

[cycler]

One of my treats for the Jewish Holidays has always been Vita Herring so when I went to buy it today it had wheat listed as an ingredient (the chopped herring salad has Matzoh Meal which is definitely wheat) so I wrote to the company to ask why when most companies are removing unnescessary gluten they are adding it and this was their response -

Dear Susan:

While we have not changed our product, we did find out that the

supplier of

our vinegar does not certify that wheat is not present in the vinegar.

We

feel it is important that our customers have the following information

which

is printed on our website.

We are now required to put "wheat" on our label under allergens,

because the

suppliers of our vinegar do not certify that wheat is NOT present in

the

vinegar. The vinegar is distilled from grain which may include wheat.

The

distillation process results in a distillate that contains none of the

wheat

protein, gluten, that could cause an allergic response or adverse

affect in

people with celiac diseases for example. (These individuals have gluten

intolerance).

Since each individual is different, you and your physician/nutritionist

know

what is best for your own health. An individual should always seek the

counsel of his or her own health professional(s).

Joan White

Customer SErvice Manager

It's really annoying when they won't take the responsibility of determining for sure if there is something in it instead they just want to protect themselves!

[ravenwoodglass]

Boy do I wish more companies were like this one. They actually let us know and then let us decide whether we can handle this product instead of hiding it and leaving those of us who are super sensitive to wonder what got us. All companies should be this responsible, it would save folks like me from a lot of pain and/or a lot of time on the phone. It is going to be disappointing to someone who liked the product and now realizes it is not safe. So much better than companies like Rice Dream who now have removed the barley warning from their label and declare it gluten free because our government has decided how much poison we can take without knowing it. They didn't change the product, it still has barley but now they have hidden it.

[mandasmom]

Boy do I wish more companies were like this one. They actually let us know and then let us decide whether we can handle this product instead of hiding it and leaving those of us who are super sensitive to wonder what got us. All companies should be this responsible, it would save folks like me from a lot of pain and/or a lot of time on the phone. It is going to be disappointing to someone who liked the product and now realizes it is not safe. So much better than companies like Rice Dream who now have removed the barley warning from their label and declare it gluten free because our government has decided how much poison we can take without knowing it. They didn't change the product, it still has barley but now they have hidden it.

I think the herring explaination is quite good....its not a different product--just new labling. Most experts agree that distilling removes gliadin from the product and is safe for Celiacs...Ive eaten that product routinely without a problem. With this new information you get to decide how much risk is right for you!!

[cycler]

I did receive a second response from another ccustomer service representative and she said that she'd check it out but it is manufactured in a different location from where she is.