Jump to content
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Wheat Starch


JodiC

Recommended Posts

JodiC Apprentice

Hi,

I'm sure this has been asked already but I don't get on too often. What is the deal with Wheat Starch in foods? Is it safe for us or not? I noticed that alot of previously safe food have now added this but do not claim the wheat in the allergen label.


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



blueeyedmanda Community Regular

Hi,

Wheat starch is bad....sorry.

cruelshoes Enthusiast

Open Original Shared Link

WHEAT starch By-product of WHEAT processing. Cannot be guaranteed to be 100% gluten-free. Sometimes added to food items during processing. No form of WHEAT starch is considered appropriate for a zero tolerance level gluten-free diet in the United States and Canada. Codex WHEAT starch is considered gluten-free by some foreign governments. Gluten level must be 200ppm or less to be labeled as Codex WHEAT Starch [Europe].
gfp Enthusiast

BAD BAD BAD ....

Food grade wheat starch is not particularly pure... its just what washes away from the wheat and bits of gluten get carried along and its 'food' so its not really important. I have had reactions to the much purer pharmaceutical grade wheat starch... used in some tablets as a binder/filler let alone food grade.

larry mac Enthusiast
.... What is the deal with Wheat Starch in foods? ....

Sometimes, in a misguided bout of false hope, I'll read some cereal box ingredients at the grocery store. You know the drill. Corn, good. Rice, good. Everythings looking OK until towards the end. Then there it is, wheat starch. Or malt flavoring, or simply wheat. You know since it's at the end, and based on weight, it's got to be a miniscule amount. Surely it couldn't be that critical to the formulation.

Seems like they just throw that stuff in there so as not to have to deal with us.

best regards, lm

gfp Enthusiast
Sometimes, in a misguided bout of false hope, I'll read some cerial box ingredients at the grocery store. You know the drill. Corn, good. Rice, good. Everythings looking OK until towards the end. Then there it is, wheat starch. Or malt flavoring, or simply wheat. You know since it's at the end, and based on weight, it's got to be a miniscule amount. Surely it couldn't be that critical to the formulation.

Seems like they just throw that stuff in there so as not to have to deal with us.

best regards, lm

I guess its just short cut... and extremely cheap as its essentially a waste product.

I have to admit though, sometimes it FEELS like they just throw it in for good measure...

blueeyedmanda Community Regular
Sometimes, in a misguided bout of false hope, I'll read some cerial box ingredients at the grocery store. You know the drill. Corn, good. Rice, good. Everythings looking OK until towards the end. Then there it is, wheat starch. Or malt flavoring, or simply wheat. You know since it's at the end, and based on weight, it's got to be a miniscule amount. Surely it couldn't be that critical to the formulation.

Seems like they just throw that stuff in there so as not to have to deal with us.

best regards, lm

I know....that bugs me! I get all happy looking at cereal and then at the end....I walk away disappointed :)


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



JodiC Apprentice

So they don't have to list it in the allergen warnings? Is it because it is listed in the ingredients? I'm so sick of these food companies messing up food. Additives, fillers, flavorings, etc........I'm tired of the fakeness of it all.

ravenwoodglass Mentor
Sometimes, in a misguided bout of false hope, I'll read some cereal box ingredients at the grocery store. You know the drill. Corn, good. Rice, good. Everythings looking OK until towards the end. Then there it is, wheat starch. Or malt flavoring, or simply wheat. You know since it's at the end, and based on weight, it's got to be a miniscule amount. Surely it couldn't be that critical to the formulation.

Seems like they just throw that stuff in there so as not to have to deal with us.

best regards, lm

They do that so they can say the cereal is 'multigrain' cause that is sooooo very good for us. :angry:

cruelshoes Enthusiast
So they don't have to list it in the allergen warnings? Is it because it is listed in the ingredients?

Companies are not required to have an allergen warning per-se. They are, however, required to include the "big 8" somewhere on their ingredient statement if it is added to the product. They can do this one of 2 ways:

In the list of ingredients, put the name of the food source of the major food allergen in parenthesis after the common or usual name of the ingredient when that name does not already appear in the ingredient statement.

-or-

Immediately after or adjacent to the list of ingredients, put the word "Contains" followed by the name of the food for each of the major food allergens present in the food

NorthernElf Enthusiast

Yep, wheat starch is bad.

I LOVE Tera chips - but watch out for the Mediterranean ones ! I glutened myself a couple of weeks ago at Costco. I bought what I thought was regular Tera chips and scarfed done a couple of handfuls driving to another store. Ugh - it was quick enough for me to check the ingredients when I stopped and there it was - wheat starch.

Hello gut cramps, sinus pain, etc.

Isn't a terrible feeling to know you just ate some wheat and knowing that shortly you're going to be feeling ill ?!?!??!??! :angry:

  • 3 weeks later...
Guest swezzan

all the responses are sooooo right........It is horrible to know you are going to be sick and sometimes boy r u. not to mention your thinking process has slowed as well. :(

hathor Contributor
Companies are not required to have an allergen warning per-se. They are, however, required to include the "big 8" somewhere on their ingredient statement if it is added to the product. They can do this one of 2 ways:

In the list of ingredients, put the name of the food source of the major food allergen in parenthesis after the common or usual name of the ingredient when that name does not already appear in the ingredient statement.

-or-

Immediately after or adjacent to the list of ingredients, put the word "Contains" followed by the name of the food for each of the major food allergens present in the food

  • 4 years later...
Huntress Newbie

I find the topic of wheat starch confusing given the following statement in this research publication. (It would appear that the researchers considered the wheat-starch based bread as gluten-free.):

Gluten-Free Bread from Sorghum: Quality Differences Among Hybrids

Tilman J. Schober,1

JNBunnie1 Community Regular

It's likely this research was done in a country where the govermnment has decreed wheat starch below a certain gluten ppm threshold is considered acceptable to a gluten free diet. Many of the residents of said countries would disagree.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,905
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    klmgarland
    Newest Member
    klmgarland
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Xravith
      Yes, you are right. Indeed, I’ve been feeling anemic since the beginning of this week, and today I felt horrible during a lecture at the university, I was trembling a lot and felt all my body incredibly heavy, so I had to come back home. I’ll do a blood test tomorrow, but I’m just worried about the possibility of it coming back negative. I’ve been eating two cookies in the morning as my only source of gluten over the past two weeks—could that affect the final result?
    • trents
      Welcome to the forum, @Judy M! Yes, he definitely needs to continue eating gluten until the day of the endoscopy. Not sure why the GI doc advised otherwise but it was a bum steer.  Celiac disease has a genetic component but also an "epigenetic" component. Let me explain. There are two main genes that have been identified as providing the "potential" to develop "active" celiac disease. We know them as HLA-DQ 2.5 (aka, HLA-DQ 2) and HLA-DQ8. Without one or both of these genes it is highly unlikely that a person will develop celiac disease at some point in their life. About 40% of the general population carry one or both of these two genes but only about 1% of the population develops active celiac disease. Thus, possessing the genetic potential for celiac disease is far less than deterministic. Most who have the potential never develop the disease. In order for the potential to develop celiac disease to turn into active celiac disease, some triggering stress event or events must "turn on" the latent genes. This triggering stress event can be a viral infection, some other medical event, or even prolonged psychological/emotional trauma. This part of the equation is difficult to quantify but this is the epigenetic dimension of the disease. Epigenetics has to do with the influence that environmental factors and things not coded into the DNA itself have to do in "turning on" susceptible genes. And this is why celiac disease can develop at any stage of life. Celiac disease is an autoimmune condition (not a food allergy) that causes inflammation in the lining of the small bowel. The ingestion of gluten causes the body to attack the cells of this lining which, over time, damages and destroys them, impairing the body's ability to absorb nutrients since this is the part of the intestinal track responsible for nutrient absorption and also causing numerous other food sensitivities such as dairy/lactose intolerance. There is another gluten-related disorder known as NCGS (Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity or just, "gluten sensitivity") that is not autoimmune in nature and which does not damage the small bowel lining. However, NCGS shares many of the same symptoms with celiac disease such as gas, bloating, and diarrhea. It is also much more common than celiac disease. There is no test for NCGS so, because they share common symptoms, celiac disease must first be ruled out through formal testing for celiac disease. This is where your husband is right now. It should also be said that some experts believe NCGS can transition into celiac disease. I hope this helps.
    • Judy M
      My husband has had lactose intolerance for his entire life (he's 68 yo).  So, he's used to gastro issues. But for the past year he's been experiencing bouts of diarrhea that last for hours.  He finally went to his gastroenterologist ... several blood tests ruled out other maladies, but his celiac results are suspect.  He is scheduled for an endoscopy and colonoscopy in 2 weeks.  He was told to eat "gluten free" until the tests!!!  I, and he know nothing about this "diet" much less how to navigate his in daily life!! The more I read, the more my head is spinning.  So I guess I have 2 questions.  First, I read on this website that prior to testing, eat gluten so as not to compromise the testing!  Is that true? His primary care doctor told him to eat gluten free prior to testing!  I'm so confused.  Second, I read that celiac disease is genetic or caused by other ways such as surgery.  No family history but Gall bladder removal 7 years ago, maybe?  But how in God's name does something like this crop up and now is so awful he can't go a day without worrying.  He still works in Manhattan and considers himself lucky if he gets there without incident!  Advice from those who know would be appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!!
    • Scott Adams
      You've done an excellent job of meticulously tracking the rash's unpredictable behavior, from its symmetrical spread and stubborn scabbing to the potential triggers you've identified, like the asthma medication and dietary changes. It's particularly telling that the rash seems to flare with wheat consumption, even though your initial blood test was negative—as you've noted, being off wheat before a test can sometimes lead to a false negative, and your description of the other symptoms—joint pain, brain fog, stomach issues—is very compelling. The symmetry of the rash is a crucial detail that often points toward an internal cause, such as an autoimmune response or a systemic reaction, rather than just an external irritant like a plant or mites. I hope your doctor tomorrow takes the time to listen carefully to all of this evidence you've gathered and works with you to find some real answers and effective relief. Don't be discouraged if the rash fluctuates; your detailed history is the most valuable tool you have for getting an accurate diagnosis.
    • Scott Adams
      In this case the beer is excellent, but for those who are super sensitive it is likely better to go the full gluten-free beer route. Lakefront Brewery (another sponsor!) has good gluten-free beer made without any gluten ingredients.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.