Citric Acid

[Karina]

This is in a lot of things, so it is important to know. Has anyone heard this is NOT always gluten-free? Someone told me today that they have a friend who cannot have citric acid as it is sometimes from a gluten-containing source. This was news to me. Anyone heard about this?

[celiac3270]

Citric acid is always fine.....

Maybe since this wasn't the actual celiac, but a friend, it was a different ingredient? If you check the ingredient list, too, citric acid won't be there. It's fine.

[KaitiUSA]

If you have trouble with citric acid it do not think it would not be a celiac issue because as celiac3270 said citric acid is fine. I've never heard of it being a problem in the US...outside of the US I'm not sure.Hope this helps you out a bit

[tarnalberry]

I've never heard of citric acid being a problem due to gluten.

It can sometimes be a problem for those who are CORN sensitive, because it can often be derived from corn.

[seeking-wholeness]

I think outside the US citric acid is often derived from wheat (since corn is pretty much an American crop), so if the food was imported there might be a problem. I keep having problems with artichoke hearts imported from Spain--but I can't find any that are packed in the US to compare them with!

--Sarah

[flagbabyds]

I have never heard of it in the US being a problem, I wouldn't know outside the US of course...

[girlygirl]

As a matter of fact citric acid is a problem. Citric acid many times contains MSG which is off limits to many celiacs. MSGmyth.com and truthinlabeling.org are excellent sites that will give you a wealth of information on how msg is hidden in your foods. I recently had a rash that would not go away (good old comming back DH), I was very perplexed as to how I getting gluten since my diet has very little room for improvemnt. I found that citric acid was in my vitamins and calcium supplements. I found that the butter I porchased from Whole Foods (thier own brand) contained annatto. I also found out the the TAZO Zen tea I was drinking was not considered gluten free after calling the manufacturer to question what the spices on the label were all about. So unfortunately it gets very tricky these days!!

[lovegrov]

Once again, MSG is NOT off-limits to people with celiac. This is just flat-out wrong.

richard

[KaitiUSA]

Yes Richard again is correct. MSG is NOT off limits to celiacs. And I have never known citric acid to be a problem in the US.

[2new2celiacs]

I would be very surprised if citric acid was truly harmful to celiacs. I am a Mountain Dew fanatic and it so happens to contain citric acid. Although, I know it is one of the worst sodas out there for my body's sake , I have never had any reaction what so ever. Also, my dietician made it very clear that this was indeed safe for me to consume.

[KaitiUSA]

Citric acid is fine in the US and I have never had a reaction to anything with citric acid in it.

2new2celiacs-I'm a mountain dew fanatic too and I never had a reaction either and I am pretty sensitive now

MSG is fine in the US as well.

http://www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/sn/spnk9804.html

Here is a link that has a section near the bottom about MSG.

[Guest gillian502]

I also wanted to mention that as far as I know, Annato is also fine. I know there has been some dispute over annato in the past, but as far as I know it is now known to be ok. Am I wrong on this?

[lovegrov]

Annatto is gluten-free. No question.

richard

[girlygirl]

On celiac.com it is stated "Soy and Msg are examples of products that many celiacs have trouble with". I have been reading over and over again that MSG is a problem. Not only is it a problem for celiacs but it is a problem for many people. MSG is not in any way shape or form healthy. Just because something is gluten free doesn't mean that it is always healthy i.e. soda, ice cream,cake, cookies, candy bars, potato chips, etc....

On allergiesabout.com:

On celiac/gluten intolerance;

"Other key words to watch for are farina, flour, caramel coloring, enriched flour, cereal, malt flavoring and extracts, MSG, modified food starch, emulisfiers, stabilizers, distilled vinegar, semolina, durum and tritcale".

It seems like many celiacs are asking about some of these ingredients that I have responded to because they may have already had a reaction or suspected something about the additive. I know that NOT everyone will experience a reaction but to just plain say that MSG is not a problem for celiacs at all is not the case.

[KaitiUSA]

Wheat and gluten can be hidden under alot of things yes . MSG most of the time in the US is derived from corn and is therefore NOT off limits to celiacs.

MSG is bad for you altogether it is not healthy. It's not good for anyone but many celiacs are in fact fine with it because it is derived from corn. It can be derived from wheat and that is mostly seen outside of the US.

Soy is also fine for Celiacs unless you are allergic to soy.

Some people very well may have a problem with MSG but not all of celiacs do...as far as I know a majority actually don't have a reaction.

As for citric acid..this article has a bunch of ingredients..citric acid being listed as gluten free.

http://www.glutenfreeliving.com/ingredients.htm

[lovegrov]

From my experience most people with celiac have no problem with MSG. Some do.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with suggesting that somebody who is having a problem might want to cut out MSG and then explain why. But your first posts clearly said ALL people with celiac needed to avoid MSG ALL the time, as if MSG had gluten or made all celiacs sick. And this simply is not true. We have enough problems with our diet without adding false alarms. Soy does indeed bother some people, but most ewith celiac have no trouble at all with it.

"On allergiesabout.com:

On celiac/gluten intolerance;

"Other key words to watch for are farina, flour, caramel coloring, enriched flour, cereal, malt flavoring and extracts, MSG, modified food starch, emulisfiers, stabilizers, distilled vinegar, semolina, durum and tritcale".

If this is the kind of information this site is distributing, I wouldn't trust it. We've know now for more than three years that distilled vinegar is not a problem. Caramel coloring in the U.S. is not a problem and it probably isn't anywhere else. Emulsifiers and stabilizers also shouldn't be a problem.

richard

[tom]

Certainly the msg and annatto comments may have been overstated, tho girlygirl's " . . . .MSG which is off limits to many celiacs" REALLY only says "many celiacs", not all.

While i don't know how many is many, i DO know that i'm one celiac w/ a problem w/ annatto coloring and/or annatto. I've read plain annatto may be fine while 'annatto coloring' isn't and i haven't tested myself for that. Annatto Coloring gives me symptoms almost as bad as gluten.

FYI: i am NOT claiming that these have gluten. Just that it's not uncommon for celiacs to have problems w/ them.

[lovegrov]

You are right that on this thread girlygirl said "some" celiacs. But she posted the same info on about four threads and on some of those she said things like msg is a "big NONO" for celiacs (not "some" celiacs") and "it is not safe for celiacs to eat." Her posts made it sound like MSG is chock full of gluten. It's not.

As I pointed out to her, there's absolutely nothing wrong with telling people about her experience with MSG and suggesting that they might want to see whether they are also sensitive to it. There's nothing wrong with her campaigning against MSG as not being good for people in general. But I think you need to be perfectly clear this is separate from the gluten issue. She did not and I was trying to clear it up. Apparently I offended her in the process. For that I'm sorry.

richard

[mommida]

It's just another issue about grammar then?

I personally have noticed problems with msg and annatto.

Maybe the best way to give advice about those ingredients would be...

They are listed as gluten free in the u.s.,

if you are unsure, check with the manufacturer

keep a food diary, if you notice a particular ingredient causes problems, research into that ingredient, and DON"T EAT IT!

There are products out on the market that people (Celiac or not) should reasearch further. Artificial sweeteners, msg, carrageenan, and others have had negative reports.

Laura

[lovegrov]

Post removed by author

[mommida]

All right then not a grammer issue, but not worded the way you feel comfortable with. (That is my best attempt at staying politically correct.) Some or all? Big difference. How many is many? "As if" or like?

Let's just get to the point. We are here to share information. The words that are used to convey our thoughts need to be chosen carefully. Some of the posts are starting to have an edge to them.

Richard,

I think you took my post as a personal post to you. It was not. I read her(girlygirl) post, and thought it was just an added concern about MSG. Your post was very clear, you think people could get the wrong message from that post. You stated clearly, MSG is gluten free. Citric acid is gluten free.

This is my opinion...

I wanted to add, if there is an ingredient you react to, don't consume it. It doesn't have to have gluten in it for a person to have a reaction to it. That's why someone might be on this website looking for information. They are reacting to something that is gluten free and want to know why.

Laura

[Donna F]

Edited to put in separate thread......

[lovegrov]

Laura,

My apologies for being testy and taking it personally. I read too fast and it was dumb of me. Yesterday was a bad day and I should have just quit posting. I've taken that post down.

richard

[mommida]

It must have been a bad day, that is not like you.

Hope you are feeling better today.

Warmest wishes, (since it's freezing here in Mi.)

Laura

[Lynne Billington]

Over on Celiacforums.com they're saying citric acid CAN be a problem. That it can be made from mold grown on bread. And there's a link over there that I went and read because my husband had a reaction this weekend from a store brand strawberry jam and that's the ONLY thing in it that could have done it.

This is getting way too confusing for me. My husband's reaction is mouth ulcers and he was doing so good and now for the last week, he just has this horribly painful mouth that we can't seem to get under control. I'm lost!