Additives To Avoid

[Jimmy1964]

I have a list of food additives to avoid from a year ago. I have seen a few different lists and citric acid is not always on the lists. Can someone tell me if citric acid contains gluten?

[Lisa]

Open Original Shared Link

Citric acid is not gluten related.

[blueeyedmanda]

Not a problem from a gluten standpoint. Welcome to the board!

[hathor]

I have heard that some citric acid manufactured outside the country may be made from wheat. Googling just now, I found this reported more than once. Here is one site:

Open Original Shared Link

The stuff made in the US is safe, according to everything I've read.

Someone who researched this once (she found herself reacting to imported coconut milk, with the only other ingredient being citric acid) told me it is the citric acid made in China that is made from wheat, or may be made from wheat. This site indicates this to be the case:

Open Original Shared Link

I don't obviously know the truth of the matter. I just thought I should mention the difference of opinion.

[lovegrov]

Citric acid is not a problem. This is very very old info.

richard

[hathor]

Citric acid is not a problem. This is very very old info.

richard

And you know this, how? Not trying to be argumentative. But I haven't seen anything to indicate that China has changed how it makes citric acid. Or do you know of studies that show that no gluten makes it through to the final product?

Is there some source you can point me to that explains, well, we used to think this, but these tests have been run or whatever, and it isn't a problem?

If it isn't a problem, no matter what the source, that's great with me

[moldlady]

Citric acid is not a problem in terms of gluten issues but it is a problem of fungus and mycotoxins. Most people think that the citric acid used in food preserving is from citrus fruits. Years ago that may have been the case but very expensive and most used vinegar instead. Now, you see citric acid as preservative in everything.

What changed? Well, now they make it really cheap in big vats of aspergillus fungus and give it tons of sugar to grow and produce its mycotoxins. One of the fermentation results is the acid, citric acid.

So, if you have fungal issues this product of fungus is not a good thing. It is very hard to avoid however so what I do is to rinse rinse rinse those things that you buy in cans to eliminate as much of the citric acid as possible.

moldlady

[kenlove]

Every time I see / read a thread of messages like this one I have to think about truth in labeling laws and damned inaccurate and confusing they are. Sure it's getting better but eventually we will have to put our collective feet down and say that, for example, citric acid should be only acid from citrus.

In recent years, i've not only had to change my diet completely because of celiac but also because of the increased imports from countries I've worked in like China. Sorry, A USDA Organic seal on Chinese garlic is not something I can believe -- unless human feces is considered organic these days. Its not just imported foods but processed foods bought locally that contain things like the possibility of citric acid derived from something other than citrus -- how can we know? Perhaps we just need to change our entire focus.

I had to give a littel talk at our farmers market yesterday ---

1-26-08

Keauhou Farmers Market

Aloha

Yesterday my daughter Jennifer emailed me another of those internet jokes that as been circulating about as long as computers have been invented. It's the one about the guy who had an early day scheduled and set his

(MADE IN JAPAN) alarm clock for 6am.

While his (MADE IN CHINA) coffeepot was perking, he shaved with his

(MADE IN HONG KONG) electric razor

He put on a dress shirt (MADE IN SRI LANKA),

designer jeans (MADE IN SINGAPORE)

tennis shoes (MADE IN KOREA) Then cooked breakfast with his (MADE IN INDIA) electric skillet finally got into his (MADE IN GERMANY) car filled it with GAS (from Saudi Arabia) and continued his search for a JOB in the US

The joke was actually much longer with about 10 other countries making items we take for granted everyday.

I started to realize that we know where all of these items came from but don't really know where our food comes from -- kind of warped priorities. (unless you buy food here at the Keauhou farmers market which is the only market that can guarantee that its only locally grown produce.)

If we walk into any of the area groceries we don