Milk Contains Gluten!

[CMWeaver]

I called ConAgra the other day to inquire about Blue Bonnet Margarine. The first lady told me they are all gluten-free. The second person gave me the specific UPC code of only the Light margarine sticks being gluten-free. Today I called and got a guy who confirmed the light sticks were the ones on their gluten-free list. I inquired about the regular sticks and he says "Ma'am, they contain milk". Okay.....but where is the source of the gluten I asked (the artifical flavor,etc.) He put me on hold for 5 minutes and comes back to tell me they told him the gluten is coming from the milk in the product.

Does anyone have a margarine they KNOW for sure to be gluten-free that they like best? ConAgra makes alot of products but I almost cringe when I call them these days.

Thanks!

Christine

[flagbabyds]

Earth Balance is gluten-free is says it on the container

[darlindeb25]

otay--my list states that all of these are gluten-free:

blue bonnet

brummel & brown

canola harvest

canoleo

country crock

corman light butter

earth balance natural buttery spread

flieschman's

hain

heart beat foods--smart balance marg

i cant believe its not butter marg

imperial

mazola

molly mcbutter

mre filberts

nucoa

parkay

promise

safeway marg & veg oil spreads

shamrock

shedds

smart balance

smart beat

soy garden

soyco

to my knowledge--most butters and marg are gluten-free--some of us with soy intolerances need to watch more closely, but generally--they are all safe--especially milk--there isnt usually gluten in milk----deb

[MySuicidalTurtle]

Molly is right. I use Earth Balance Natural Buttery Sticks. . .they taste yummie and work just like regular with ooking and spreading. They are gluten-free, CF, and Vegan!

Ingredients -that I am typing by hand-: Expleller-Pressed Oil Blend (soybean, palm fruit, canola seed and olive oils), filtered water, pure salt, natural flavors (derived from corn, no MSG, no alcohol, no gluten), soy protien, soy lecithin, lactic acid (non-dairy, derived from sugar beats), colored with beta-carotene from natural sources.

I find them at Harry's/Whole Foods, and at a local heath food stores.

[strack2004]

yes, but isn't it the lactic acid in milk that makes it give trouble to lactose intolerant people. Is the lactic acid in sugar beets andy different from the lactic acid in sugar beets, or is lactic acid altogether different from lactose? Ruth S.

[MySuicidalTurtle]

I think I kinda undersatnd your question.

I did some looking into it and milks lactic acid comes from lactose.

(Open Original Shared Link)

With beets, "Lactic acid is a natural preservative that inhibits putrefying bacteria," and does not come from lactose.

(Open Original Shared Link)

[celiac3270]

I think this is the problem. When we talk about gluten, we're referring to the protein in wheat, rye, oat, barley, etc. that makes us sick. However, many gluten-free ingredients have "gluten", as well....but their gluten is not one from wheat, rye, etc....perhaps it comes from rice or something....so it's fine. Simply, gluten doesn't refer to the protein in the bad ingredients that destroy our intestines....i applies to every protein--we just refer to the select group of glutens when we ask if something is gluten-free.

[red345]

Cows do munch on grains, if I'm not mistaken. What did you expect?

[debmidge]

Milk is gluten-free despite the cows eat grain....I don't think the farmers are giving the cows grains that contain wheat, oats, barley or rye because they're expensive grains (as compared to grass and hay).

The price of the grain determines if a manfacturer uses corn or wheat as the thickener or filler. If wheat prices are higher tha corn, then they'll use corn. So far I believe wheat is down in price due to low carb dieters. Wheat farmers are upset about this.

[plantime]

Yes, cows eat grains. Most of the dairy cows in my area are turned out to graze in harvested fields, so it is very possible that they are eating wheat. I am in Kansas, after all, and wheat is a major crop here. However, the cow's digestive system transforms the wheat gluten into something else, so I do not think it is in the milk. I thought I read somewhere on a celiac site about this, I will have to check.

[celiac3270]

I've read that too....I think this is true with all the animals we eat---otherwise, we'd be at risk when we ate any meat, as well, right?

[tarnalberry]

The grain proteins that cows eat are broken down by the digestive tract and processed in the body before the cow produces milk; the grains they eat are not a problem for us.

[lovegrov]

Milk DOES NOT have gluten. Cows that eat grain DO NOT pass the grain properties into their milk or meat. Period. It doesn't happen. Where the heck did you get that Red?

I've never found a butter or margarine that has gluten. As for ConAgra, they list any of the top eight allergens in their ingredients. The do not list barley but I don't think you're going to find barley in magarine.

richard

[Carriefaith]

I agree with Richard,

The production of milk in a cow is a very complicated process, but I don't see how gluten would be in the milk. In general, the cow absorbs nutrients/vitamins/amino acids/fatty acids from its blood to produce milk. As far as I know, gluten cannot be transported into the bloodstream... so milk would not contain gluten. If you get reactions to milk or milk products you may be lactose intolerant which is very common in celiacs (I am lactose intolerant).

Here is a website that descibes cow milk production in full detail:

Open Original Shared Link

About the company... maybe they got confused? If you are still wondering about the product I would call back and ask what they mean and to explain what they think gluten is, maybe that would help.

-Carrie

[tom]

When margarine is a problem for a celiac, it's most likely due to the lactose or the casein. (in whey)

Only a couple brands of marg contain neither. The one in my local stores is called Nucoa.

Casein problems are also very common for celiacs. I'd recommend trying Nucoa to anyone who might think they have an issue w/ margarine.

[traci]

Hi All, hubby was a dairy farmer from birth to age 32. He also mixed custom blends for the cows on many farms. He knows cow nutrition.

Dairy farmers are very particular about what their cows eat. If that cow does not get what she needs, her milk goes down that means less money for the farmer so they do feed quality feed.

Typical diet for a cow, hay, usually alfalfa, grass hay is too low in protein. Corn is usually fed as well. Also added to most dairy cow feed, soybean meal, fish meal, cotton seed meal, for fat and trace minerals such as salt, iron etc. Used to add blood meal/bone meal but that is outlawed in it now due to disease control, as these 2 things can and do sometimes contain contagious diseases. Bone and blood meal comes from dead animals, they roast the bones and blood and get it to a powder form.. uggg. So essentially they were feeding cattle to cattle.

Wheat is not fed very often. Corn is a better grain for the cattle. Even if it was, you are very correct in saying that gluten is not put into the milk. The cow turns it into blood protein for muscle etc.

What can be in your milk is all the hormones and any medications that are put into the cow. That does come through in the milk. Hormones are allowed but many medications are not, they are found to be harmful to humans. Every tanker of milk is tested, if they find one trace of the meds in there, the whole shabang is dumped or used in animal feed. Then they trace it back to the farmer and fine him hugely. So its not done. Usually the milk is tested on the farm too for known toxic things.. if a cow is on forbidden meds, her milk is not added to the bulk tank, its given to the dogs or cats on the farm or dumped. No farmer wants to be responsible for a huge tanker full of thousands of gallons of milk being dumped. It could bankrupt him. And they test, believe me they test. Milk used to be one of the most disease ridden things in the world and still is in many countries but not here. It was mostly responsible for the spread of TB up to WWII. It is still responsible for radiation poisoning in Ukraine from when Cherynoble blew. Full of raditation.

If you dont want the hormones, buy organic or goats milk. But milk does not contain gluten.

Beef cattle are fed huge amounts of grain, its what makes them gain 2-5 pounds per day. We would all be in huge trouble if gluten were to stay the same in the animals we eat. So do pigs, chickens, turkeys, sheep, lamb and even farm raised fish and shell fish.

Lactose in milk and latic acid in other things are two different things. Lactose is a sugar found in milk and young cheese, ice cream. Its the thing that lactose intolerant people have problems with . They lack an enzyme or do not produce suffient amount of it which helps break it down to digestable level, causing gastric distress. Again many people with allergy to dairy can tolerate goats milk which is far lower in lactose.

[Eva12]

Does anyone know of a magarine that is safe for my husban & son to use. They both have an intorence to gluten,soy & dairy...If there is anything.I have been using olive oil to replace the magarine.

Thanks

Eva

[cdford]

Okay guys, I have to come into this one hard and heavy. I can figure why someone who has a problem with dairy might go to some of these margarines, but why on earth would an otherwise healthy (a treated celiac falls into this category) choose to put that stuff into your body?

You are almost always better off to have small amounts of "real food" unless you have an overwhelming reason to do otherwise. The same concept holds true for sugar replacements, etc. Unless you are a diabetic, why risk your health over a few calories? Just retrain your taste buds to use a smaller amount of sugar, or in this case butter. Margarine is no better than butter for fat and some other bad stuff. You have done so well adjusting to other dietary changes...make this logical choice as well.

If you react to soy as many of us do, good luck finding a margarine anyway.

[cdford]

By the way, to the one who asked due to a soy intolerance, we just use half butter and half light olive oil. It provides the mouth feel and tastes good without the strong taste of the EV olive oil.

[cdford]

Don't remember where I read it, but I did read somewhere that wheat is an additive in milks sold in certain parts of the country. If I remember which site I read it on, I'll message back. I know that in the southern state of Georgia our milk is just that...milk.

[calico jo]

Getting back to the original post...

ConAgra will LIST anything from gluten. For example, if it says artificial flavor it should list behind it "(derived from wheat)". I called them about 2 years ago and was assured that I could trust their labeling to list anything that had an allergen. (they classify celiac as an "allergy" for simplification) Kraft also has given me this assurance as well as several other companies. I don't call them regarding each individual item anymore since getting that kind of assurance. Just trust the label. I know that's hard to do, but so far I've been fine with that. Frito Lay, Coke & Pepsi products, Hersheys, Unilever, Haine Cellestial, Westsoy, Nestle, Hillshire Farms, Butterball, Oscar Mayer....OK...those are the only ones I can think off the top of my head. I've called all of the above companies and been told the same thing.