Mono And Diglycerides

[kay's mommom]

Does anyone know if mono and diglycerides contain gluten?

[skyepie]

These ingredients are on the "be wary of" list in the literature that I received from Mayo Clinic.

[psawyer]

Monoglycerides and diglycerides emulsifiers derived from vegetable oils.

The Canadian Celiac Association considers them to be acceptable in a gluten-free diet. Shelley Case's Gluten-Free Diet A Comprehensive Resource Guide Expanded Edition also includes them as gluten-free ingredients on page 44.

[SilverThea]

Monoglycerides and diglycerides emulsifiers derived from vegetable oils.

What kind of vegetable oils? I can't have anything soy either. This is all brand new to me, and I'm oh-so-very confused!

[happygirl]

Soy is considered a main allergen. Main allergens are required to be listed on the label. If you don't see soy listed, then it is safe.

[blueeyedmanda]

I have heard to be careful with those. I know on products that I buy from Wegmans, they are not labeled gluten free, and they appear safe looking, but I noticed when the product contains them it does not get the "G".

[hathor]

Soy is considered a main allergen. Main allergens are required to be listed on the label. If you don't see soy listed, then it is safe.

As I recently discovered, this is true IF the food is regulated by the FDA. If the food is regulated by the USDA (meat, poultry and egg products -- which may mean any product containing these things, the actual rules are complex -- I had a recent post on this), there is no allergen disclosure requirement. The USDA has said that it wants to issue rules so it will have labeling requirements the same as what the FDA has, but they haven't done so yet. I don't know to what extent the manufacturers of these products have decided to voluntarily identify major allergens. I also don't know why it is taking them so long to even start the rulemaking. They were asked to do this over two years ago, I believe. Perhaps the industries involved don't want such rules ...