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If This Is True, I'm Gonna Freak

MarsupialMama

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MarsupialMama Apprentice
MarsupialMama
Posted

I just found out that wheat gluten is used to coat fruits and vegetables. We are vegetarian and blow through boxes and boxes of produce. Does this mean my child can never eat strawberries or cherries (or the like) because I can't peel them?? Has anyone heard of sensitivities to eating fruits and veggies without peeling them? I know its a good idea and all, but with the way we go through produce, it's not even feasible. I have 5 people to cook for, and can't peel everything that passes through the house! On the other hand, my child is EXTREMELY sensitive to even flour dust or a crumb of bread and her gluten reactions are taking her DOWN.

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flourgirl Apprentice
flourgirl
Posted

I'm not aware of this. I do know that wax is often used to make some things look shiny and crisp. We wash everything that we eat that is "fresh" from the market. We also buy as much as we can from local farmers markets, so we know what isn't in our foods. Maybe we need to google this.

julirama723 Contributor
julirama723
Posted

I've heard of wheat paste being sprayed on oranges to prolong shelf life, though I'm not sure how true/untrue this is. I believe someone tested some produce with those gluten testing strips and it came up positive? Again, I don't know the validity of this, but I'm just saying that I have also heard these things.

Gemini Experienced
Gemini
Posted
I just found out that wheat gluten is used to coat fruits and vegetables. We are vegetarian and blow through boxes and boxes of produce. Does this mean my child can never eat strawberries or cherries (or the like) because I can't peel them?? Has anyone heard of sensitivities to eating fruits and veggies without peeling them? I know its a good idea and all, but with the way we go through produce, it's not even feasible. I have 5 people to cook for, and can't peel everything that passes through the house! On the other hand, my child is EXTREMELY sensitive to even flour dust or a crumb of bread and her gluten reactions are taking her DOWN.

Sounds like an urban legend, to be honest, and untrue. I know some waxes are used on some fruits to prolong shelf life and protect them but there is no gluten in that. Besides, I eat tons of veggies and fruits on a daily basis and if there was gluten on them, I would be in the hospital by now. If there was any wheat used in this, it would have to be listed as an ingredient as wheat is one of the allergens that are required to be listed by law.

irish daveyboy Community Regular
irish daveyboy
Posted
I just found out that wheat gluten is used to coat fruits and vegetables. We are vegetarian and blow through boxes and boxes of produce. Does this mean my child can never eat strawberries or cherries (or the like) because I can't peel them?? Has anyone heard of sensitivities to eating fruits and veggies without peeling them? I know its a good idea and all, but with the way we go through produce, it's not even feasible. I have 5 people to cook for, and can't peel everything that passes through the house! On the other hand, my child is EXTREMELY sensitive to even flour dust or a crumb of bread and her gluten reactions are taking her DOWN.

.

Hi,

This maybe what you are reffering to, I came across this a number of years ago.

.

As you can see the article is dated 2004 and on further checking there doesn't seem too many references to the item.

.

I personally won't lose any sleep over it, I think once you wash your fruit and veg well, there shouldn't be a problem.

.

Open Original Shared Link

.

Best Regards,

David

julirama723 Contributor
julirama723
Posted

I've been looking but haven't found any reliable info to substantiate my earlier post. I did find an interesting site that talks about food preservatives. (Not gluten-related, but interesting just the same!)

Open Original Shared Link

MaryJones2 Enthusiast
MaryJones2
Posted
I just found out that wheat gluten is used to coat fruits and vegetables. We are vegetarian and blow through boxes and boxes of produce. Does this mean my child can never eat strawberries or cherries (or the like) because I can't peel them?? Has anyone heard of sensitivities to eating fruits and veggies without peeling them? I know its a good idea and all, but with the way we go through produce, it's not even feasible. I have 5 people to cook for, and can't peel everything that passes through the house! On the other hand, my child is EXTREMELY sensitive to even flour dust or a crumb of bread and her gluten reactions are taking her DOWN.

Well...I have heard of this but have never found a company that uses wheat based films. If they did it would have to be declared. I think washing produce thoroughly is enough. You have so much to worry about already!

If it helps I am super sensitive and haven't had any issues with fresh, whole produce. (I don't do well with precut stuff but I think it's the freshness preservatives)

This is an old article but may put your mind at ease: Open Original Shared Link

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happygirl Collaborator
happygirl
Posted

There are a lot of urban legends out there.

If they used it (with any regularity), there would be people who have true allergies to wheat/rye/barley/malt (etc) that would be having anaphylactic reactions to it, and we would all know about it.

lovegrov Collaborator
lovegrov
Posted

I know of no one whop has has a celiac reaction to eating produce. Every single celiac expert I know of says fresh produce is gluten-free. This is not something to worry about.

richard

  • 1 month later...
MarsupialMama Apprentice
MarsupialMama
Posted
  • Author

Thanks for all the posts.

I am having a hard time finding out how my daughter keeps getting glutened, and this was the only possible thing I could think of when I came across it. The whole gluten issue for us has been a total nightmare of ups and downs. I've dealt with chronic health problems my whole life (most likely related to celiac from malnutrition) but this whole "avoid gluten" issue has totally floored me because of my daughter's sensitivity level and her age (2).

I've felt like it is trying to live in this world and avoid plastic....totally impossible.

Glad to know we don't have to live COMPLETELY isolated in our own bubble! :-)

Lisa16 Collaborator
Lisa16
Posted

The produce manager at my local store called his suppliers to ask about this. He said they used only a food grade parafin for citrus and apple (if they sprayed them at all.)

Mike M who tests with the home test kit also found that there was no gluten in the little stickers they use.

I hope this helps!

Gentleheart Enthusiast
Gentleheart
Posted
Thanks for all the posts.

I am having a hard time finding out how my daughter keeps getting glutened, and this was the only possible thing I could think of when I came across it. The whole gluten issue for us has been a total nightmare of ups and downs. I've dealt with chronic health problems my whole life (most likely related to celiac from malnutrition) but this whole "avoid gluten" issue has totally floored me because of my daughter's sensitivity level and her age (2).

I've felt like it is trying to live in this world and avoid plastic....totally impossible.

Glad to know we don't have to live COMPLETELY isolated in our own bubble! :-)

Mike M has said that strawberries are sometimes grown on straw. He contacted Driscoll, however, and they said they only grow theirs on plastic. As a super sensitive, he was getting a reaction before he switched to Driscoll strawberries, I believe. I have started peeling my non-organic apples, just to be safe. I really don't want all that paraffin residue on there anyway. And I've always made a practice of thoroughly scrubbing/washing any produce, even ones I plan to peel like oranges or lemons, with soap and hot water as an extra precaution. Remember the old statement, "You don't where it's been." :blink::ph34r: I've cringed more than once watching people casually grab a grape or two in the grocery store and eat it. Not wise. If you are trying to track down your daughter's elusive gluten contamination, you have to look everywhere until you find it. Wheat as a coating may not be true of most produce, but even if it's true of some produce and you happen to choose that one, then you have been compromised.

silk Contributor
silk
Posted
I've heard of wheat paste being sprayed on oranges to prolong shelf life, though I'm not sure how true/untrue this is. I believe someone tested some produce with those gluten testing strips and it came up positive? Again, I don't know the validity of this, but I'm just saying that I have also heard these things.

Jeez! That's really interesting and disturbing. After reacting to fresh apples and pears with terrible stomach pain and gluten-like symptoms, I figured I was simply intolerant to the fruit themselves and gave up on eating it. Was confused as to why I could eat the canned fruit, applesauce or things with those fruits cooked into them without any problem at all. Now I guess I have an answer. Here I was just thinking that maybe they were a problem to digest for me because they were a harder fruit. However, I also have shied away from oranges because they also seem to bother and thought that maybe they had too much acid. Never imagined that it could be something ON the fruit. It is so sad that perfectly good, natural food,that many of us choose to help replace some of the fiber in our diets that we lose without grains, can be screwed up like this.

I do know that any strawberries, other than those grown in California are suppose to be suspect because most states other than CA will 'rest' their strawberries on beds of straw during the growth period to prevent rotting of the fruits that come into contact with the ground.

Sorry for doubling up here. I should have read the last post before adding my two cents. Great minds think alike?????

Another good reason for supporting your local growers.

linuxprincess Rookie
linuxprincess
Posted

I grazed through most of the posts on this topic here, but being a fellow vegetarian I wanted to add one or two things.

I know that most fresh produce does not have any sort of sprays or powders put on them. If you're really really worried about that, you could just find a local farmer's market or farm to buy from (check out localharvest.org for that info). Also I do know that some dried fruits and veggies do have coatings on them to keep them from sticking together and coming out all in one block of Crasins ( <-- Stay away from craisins, they've got wheat in em for this very purpose). I really wouldn't worry about fresh, though. Dried would be where your problems could lie. Also, make sure the produce doesn't get washed in something that might have gluten in it. That could be another potential source of sickness.

  • 2 weeks later...
Gemini Experienced
Gemini
Posted
I grazed through most of the posts on this topic here, but being a fellow vegetarian I wanted to add one or two things.

I know that most fresh produce does not have any sort of sprays or powders put on them. If you're really really worried about that, you could just find a local farmer's market or farm to buy from (check out localharvest.org for that info). Also I do know that some dried fruits and veggies do have coatings on them to keep them from sticking together and coming out all in one block of Crasins ( <-- Stay away from craisins, they've got wheat in em for this very purpose). I really wouldn't worry about fresh, though. Dried would be where your problems could lie. Also, make sure the produce doesn't get washed in something that might have gluten in it. That could be another potential source of sickness.

If Craisens contained any wheat at all, it would have to be listed on the package. According to the ingredients listing and a response from Ocean Spray, absolutely no wheat is used in Craisens. I eat these occasionally and have had no problems whatsoever (and I would if there was even a speck of wheat in them) so what I have been told is correct....no wheat in Craisens!

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