Fear Maltodextrin, Modified Food Starch And Caramel Color No More

[dsaltzm]

My nutritionist at the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia let me know from her recent conversations with the FDA they are now saying that Modified Food Starch, MaltoDextrin, and Carmel Color are all safe unless it is in a protein. I.E If it is managed by the FDA it is safe. If it is managed by the USDA it to be questioned and avoided. I hope this helps some people. It has allowed me to put alot of foods back into my diet.

[Ursa Major]

How do you know the difference between food approved by the FDA and the USDA?

[hayley3]

I have to disagree with that. These are the same institutions that said it was okay to eat trans fats many years ago. And not to eat eggs, and so on.

[larry mac]

I have to disagree with that. These are the same institutions that said it was okay to eat trans fats many years ago. And not to eat eggs, and so on.

Scientific and medical thinking changes as knowledge improves.

However, in addition to that, these agencies primary goal is insuring businesses are unencumbered with as little oversight as possible. Wouldn't want to cut into they're profits with too many regulations, fines, or penalties. Ditto for the EPA, which has been seriously weakened in recent years. We can thank the Bush administration for that. You know, free market and all (free to rip us off)!

I don't worry about Modified Food Starch, MaltoDextrin, and Carmel Color anyway. If it doesn't have the word "wheat", or "malt extract" in it, I'm good to go. Haven't had a problem so far.

best regards, lm

[Guest CD_Surviver]

I just trusted the carmel color thing and drank a cup of coke today and now i am apying for it. that it the only thing that i had today that i could figure had gluten. anyone else want to tell my why this would happen if it were not the carmel color?

Lauren

[ravenwoodglass]

My nutritionist at the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia let me know from her recent conversations with the FDA they are now saying that Modified Food Starch, MaltoDextrin, and Carmel Color are all safe unless it is in a protein. I.E If it is managed by the FDA it is safe. If it is managed by the USDA it to be questioned and avoided. I hope this helps some people. It has allowed me to put alot of foods back into my diet.

Isn't it nice of the officials to tell me how much poison my body will tolerate. Of course these are the same folks who don't consider you to be celiac unless you have 2 specific genes and totally destroyed villi. I would take this info sit a grain of salt, from a cracker free shaker.

[hathor]

How do you know the difference between food approved by the FDA and the USDA?

I just posted this yesterday on another thread about USDA jurisdiction (important because the allergen labeling reg's currently only apply to FDA food):

Meat, poultry and egg products. Technically, something could have just a little meat in it and that would be USDA jurisdiction, not FDA. How the jurisdiction is divided up in practice is rather confusing. Researching yesterday, I found a public hearing for a rulemaking where the agencies were trying to rationalize things. From what I could tell, no action has been taken. Anyway, this is an explanation:

Open Original Shared Link

I found another explanation that 2 to 3 percent meat is enough for USDA jurisdiction. But I think for some items they have deferred to the FDA. It looks like the USDA decides what it wants jurisdiction for; what it doesn't want the FDA gets. I couldn't find a good and simple explanation at all. But finally I stopped because, heck, I'm a vegan so I'm not going to be eating USDA food anyway. Anyone else can research this for themselves if interested ...

It really makes no sense. Meat pizzas are regulated by the USDA. Cheese pizza by the FDA.

I also found that the USDA has said that they are going to issue allergen labelling rules like the FDA has. If I'm reading this correctly, the timetable calls for the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to go out in March of 2008: Open Original Shared Link

[lovegrov]

Coke is gluten-free. Wasn't the caramel color.

[ravenwoodglass]

I just trusted the carmel color thing and drank a cup of coke today and now i am apying for it. that it the only thing that i had today that i could figure had gluten. anyone else want to tell my why this would happen if it were not the carmel color?

Lauren

Just wanted to let you know your not alone. My DS and I are both very sensitive and many carmel colored sodas gluten us also. Repeatedly. So many have no problem with it that we kept trying figuring it must be something else. Nope it's the coke. Trust your body and your reactions, for me and my DS the DH blisters from these products make it really obvious it is a gluten reaction.

[dsaltzm]

The way that my nutritionist explained it to me any carbohydrate with Maltodextrin, Modified Food Starch or Carmel Color is safe.If it is a protein you should be wary of these items and avoid them. Vegetable starch should be avoided as well. (There should be a USDA or FDA logo on all US manufactured products) I was told that the same rules apply for imported products, but I believe is slightly less reliable.

I know that many people have posted that they find that it makes them sick or not to trust institutions. I can only hope that the Celiac disease center is giving me the most accurate information possible. If I continue to get sick then I will re-evaluate. I think this is a decision we all have to make for ourselves. But only emphasizes the need to have yearly check ups to make sure that you are removing all gluten and not causing any more damage.

[ravenwoodglass]

The one thing we can count on with this diet is that it is confusing and different 'experts' will tell us different things. The key for each of us is whether we react or not. Some of us have been misdiagnosed for so long that our damage and sensitivity can be extreme. The only way we have to know for sure if stuff is safe when it is questionable, like carmel coloring, is to try the product when we are feeling well, use the product for at least 3 days with no other questionable items and watch for a reaction. This can be hard with a multiple ingredient item, especially if we have more than one intolerance. This can be really confusing if we happen to have an intolerance that we don't know about. Below I have posted another checklist that seems to differ from the one your nutritionist gave you. Not critizing your nutritionist just pointing out that on the issue of gluten there are many different levels of what the experts consider to be safe and what they feel needs to be checked before consumption. From what yours told you wheat germ oil would be safe, and it most definately is not. We sometimes need to research different views from different sources and blend together what the final expert, our own bodies, is telling us and listen to it.

Open Original Shared Link

Checklist for the Patient: Take this list with you when you shop. Look for products with "gluten-free" written on the label. It may not be clear what products contain gluten. This list contains items to look for when reading food and drink labels. Avoid buying products that have one or more of these ingredients:

__ Caramel flavoring, or non-United States manufactured caramel coloring.

__ Cereal extract or additive.

__ Cereal protein.

__ Edible starch or wheat starch.

__ Emulsifiers.

__ Flour.

__ Fillers

__ Hydrolyzed, hydrogenated, or texturized vegetable or plant protein (HVP or HPP).

__ Dextrin.

__ Malt, malt flavoring, or malt extract.

__ Mono-glycerides or di-glycerides

__ Stabilizers, such as gluten stabilizers.

__ Thickeners, such as modified food starch

__ Vegetable gum or protein, such as oat gum.

[blueeyedmanda]

Thats very good advice Raven.

[lovegrov]

I'm sorry you seem to react to a product like Coke, but are you saying that Coke is lying and is using a caramel color from overseas? Caramel color made in the U.S. is definitely gluten-free and they say the product is gluten-free.

I'm not sure what country the website you gave is geared toward, but while much of it is good information, there are definitely some things on their list that do NOT have to be avoided. New folks follwing this would definitely be avoiding things they can have.

[ravenwoodglass]

I'm sorry you seem to react to a product like Coke, but are you saying that Coke is lying and is using a caramel color from overseas? Caramel color made in the U.S. is definitely gluten-free and they say the product is gluten-free.

I'm not sure what country the website you gave is geared toward, but while much of it is good information, there are definitely some things on their list that do NOT have to be avoided. New folks follwing this would definitely be avoiding things they can have.

It is an US site. You check what you feel needs to be checked, you can avoid what you choose to avoid, I shall choose to listen to my body and check products. My reactions are severe and obvious. I am not saying that coke is 'lying' with the labeling laws they have in effect now they can legally say that this is gluten free if it tests below a certain amount. We saw this in Rice Dream when they started labeling their milk gluten-free and hid the barley under flavoring. Didn't change the formula but it now tests under the limit and barley is not required by law to be listed. It is a small amount and not all will react but many do. For me any amount of gluten is too much. I am not alone in my reactions, you are not alone in that you do not react. Each of us need to determine how much poison we can take and remain healthy. That level differs and what is 'safe' for one may have another remaining symptomatic and lead to a false diagnosis of refractory sprue or to people thinking the diet is not working. You are entitled to your opinions.