Stride Gum Reaction

[Shawn]

Hello,

I had the most awful experience last night. I chewed Stride fruit-flavored gum. Other flavors have not affected me - but fruit affected me - had an awful reaction. I looked at the ingredients and sure enough, it listed "Natural Flavors". Stay away from this gum! My DH flared up.

Have others had this reaction?

Thanks,

Shawn

[blueeyedmanda]

If it is sugarless gum, The chemical in it, pheynline or howover it is spelled could have bothered you....I know I have had reactions to the trident gum due to that....it is in most sugarless gums.

[Shawn]

If it is sugarless gum, The chemical in it, pheynline or howover it is spelled could have bothered you....I know I have had reactions to the trident gum due to that....it is in most sugarless gums.

Hi - thank you for the response!

Stride (fruit-flavored only) is the only sugarless gum that I've ever reacted to, so I don't think it's the artificial sweetener - I think it's the natural flavor. It's very bizarre.

[ravenwoodglass]

Hi - thank you for the response!

Stride (fruit-flavored only) is the only sugarless gum that I've ever reacted to, so I don't think it's the artificial sweetener - I think it's the natural flavor. It's very bizarre.

It could be either one. Some of the artificial sweetners are not gluten safe and we all know about the danger in those words, 'natural flavors'. Thanks for the heads up. Have you called the company to ask what was in it? Just curious as to what they say.

[tasha]

Email from Stride July 23, 2008:

Thank you for your inquiry concerning the presence of allergens in products produced by our company.

We are a food company committed to very high standards and we have a clearly defined policy of complying with food regulations. Additionally, we work closely with legislative authorities and other interested parties at all points along the food supply chain to ensure that safe and wholesome foods are provided to our consumers.

We have implemented an internal food allergen management policy, pursuant to which we have undertaken the labeling of any known allergens in the following categories: cereals (containing gluten and products of these including wheat, rye, barley, triticale, spelt, kamut, and oats, but not corn, rice, sorghum, or buckwheat), crustacea (including shrimp, prawns, crab, lobster, and crayfish), mollusks (including oysters, clams, scallops, and mussels), eggs, fish, peanuts, soybeans, milk, tree nuts, sesame seeds, and sulfites (greater than 10 mg/kg). Accordingly, we continuously assess our products and update supplier information in order to make new or existing labels accurately reflect the presence of the listed allergens.

If a product contains any of the top allergens, it will be on the ingredients list.

We appreciate your inquiry and welcome any additional questions you may have regarding any of our products.

Sincerely,

Consumer Relations

.......so it will be on the label

[lovegrov]

"Some of the artificial sweetners are not gluten safe "

I'm not aware of any artificial sweeteners that have gluten. Can you please tell us which ones you know of that aren't gluten-free?

richard

[larry mac]

... I had the most awful experience last night. I chewed Stride fruit-flavored gum. Other flavors have not affected me - but fruit affected me - had an awful reaction. I looked at the ingredients and sure enough, it listed "Natural Flavors". Stay away from this gum! My DH flared up.....

All the Stride varieties have artificial and natural flavors, yet only one affected you. So, not all natural flavors are bad for Celiacs. Plus, I don't have DH, but it seems to be a much different disease than regular Celiac. Certainly the symptoms are different and also some sensitivities.

If every Celiac had to "stay away" from every product anybody ever had a percieved reaction to, none of us would ever be able to eat anything.

I had a reaction to something the other night. Was pretty sick for a few hours. Never did figure out what it was. The only new things that I ate that could have caused it was a piece of fudge, some pistachios, or some pepperjack cheese. None of those things had gluten in the ingredients. Yet I'm not warning Celiacs to stay away from them.

It's unfortunate when we get sick. But please people try not to overgeneralize.

best regards, lm

[curlyfries]

I keep a binder where I write information I learn in this forum about what is safe and what isn't. I have a note that fruit flavored Stride contains wheat . I don't know how accurate the information is.

[munchkinette]

I chew Stride peppermint flavor like crazy, and I've never reacted. I've tried one of the other mint flavors without a reaction. I've only tried the fruit flavor once, but that was when I was having issues already, so I can't say for sure.

[Crazy C]

I was just recently diagnosed with Celiac, so I've started calling manufacturers of my favorites products. Today, I called the 1-800 number on Stride (gum) - peppermint - and was told by the customer service rep that ALL STRIDE GUMS are GLUTEN FREE. The statement was made without any qualifications. I don't know if they have changed the ingredients in the last year, but you may want to give it another try. Good luck.