Ez Gluten Test Strips

[dilettantesteph]

A company called ELISA Technologies Inc, www.elisa-tek.com, offers EZ Gluten test kits which can be used at home to determine if a food or beverage contains gluten. You can get a pack of two for $25, or ten for $110, plus shipping.

One person on this site used them to test 4 samples. Since they gave a negative result with wheat containing soy sauce, she determined that they were a useless waste of money.

https://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/index.ph...52627&st=75

I called the manufacturer and he said that they don't work for soy sauce because during the long fermentation process, the gluten is broken up into pieces that are too small to be identified by the strips. I asked the company for documentation about the product. They sent me a copy of their validation report. They tested 100 samples of known gluten content and found all but two gave correct results. One was teriyaki vegetables (which I think contains soy sauce) and the other was ketchup. The ketchup gave a positive result when it was negative. In addition some types of tumeric will cause the whole solution to turn red so that you can't tell if it is positive or not, since the indicator is red.

I have found the test very helpful. In one case my son got a gluten reaction when we hadn't changed his diet. Without testing I wouldn't have known what to do. With testing, I was able to find the gluten containing food after two tests and remove it from his diet and he got better. For those not sensitive, don't worry, it was less than 5 ppm gluten. The biggest limitations for me are the cost and the sensitivity. I have found that the sensitivity can often be improved by increasing the sample size. I almost always double it. In the case of things like nuts or grains in which only the outside will be contaminated, I fill the whole test tube with the food and shake it to dissolve any gluten that might be coating the outside. That way the sensitivity of the test can be increased to about 1 ppm and I can be confident that I am eating really gluten free foods.

I would like to hear from other people who have used the tests. Do you find them useful or a waste of money?

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I don't know anything about the test strips, but thought it very interesting that they didn't work on soy sauce. Kikkoman claims that the fermentation process, as you describe, breaks down the gluten so that it doesn't affect those who are sensitive or allergic to gluten.

I have a colleague who was diagnosed with celiac 50 years ago (amazing, when you think of it), yet she has always insisted that she didn't react to soy sauce. I don't cheat with soy sauce, because I don't get obvious reactions, and wouldn't know if I were damaging myself or not.

Is it possible that wheat-containing soy sauce might actually be safe for all but the most sensitive celiacs?

In which case, those test strips would have been accurate after all, and not a waste of money!

[weluvgators]

We have used a few of the tests and enjoyed the information that it did provide. I tested some of our more prominent staples. I did find the results to be a little bit "Too Much Information" with regards to understanding gluten contamination. But it was extremely helpful for me to better understand how sensitive our family is. It also gave me better understanding of how some of our seemingly safe staples are chipping away at our gluten loads, leaving us with less capacity for when we venture into the real world. Additionally, I came away with a much better understanding of the inherent risks of consuming packaged food.

To highlight my findings of concern that we are continuing to follow up on:

1 - Our main cleaning agent tested positive. While not in a gluten free container, it is widely publicized as gluten free in many of today's resources.

2 - Three products from one manufacturer tested positive. Upon calling their Customer Service, I was informed that their products are gluten free, and that they test to <3ppm. They took this stance based on one test done one time a while ago. They did not convey any understanding of my concerns. I tested two processed products and one raw ingredient. I confirmed that the raw ingredient comes direct from the field to the processing and packaging facility and that no other products are in that facility. Interestingly enough, this has been a suspect product for me for some time, but I was struggling to eliminate. We still have not eliminated the product, but we are doing better by simply reducing our intake. I know that is not a good position, but I need some time to figure out where to go from here.

I enjoy hearing others' experiences with this testing, as it does help to put things in perspective a bit. Our family is unique as we are dealing with very young, very gluten sensitive kids. While I have come to recognize that I am extremely sensitive as well, it is nice to have another seemingly objective take on some of our exposures.

Thanks, Keila

BTW - We had a negative ketchup test - yeah!

[dilettantesteph]

Can you give brand names? It could be really helpful to others who are very sensitive. I haven't even thought of testing my cleaning products. Thanks.

[still tiredofdoctors]

1 - Our main cleaning agent tested positive. While not in a gluten free container, it is widely publicized as gluten free in many of today's resources.

Keila,

Would you mind giving me the name of the cleaner you are using? It's a little disconcerting that it tested positive for gluten.

Thank you,

Lynne

[weluvgators]

I wanted to post a few more details from our discoveries as follow up to this.

1 - Our main cleaning agent that tested positive was a store brand of distilled white vinegar. I just did not understand the inherent risk of using vinegar. I feel a bit angry at all of the resources out there that dismiss the concern of distilled vinegars for celiacs. I now understand that many distilled vinegars contain trace amounts of gluten, some more so than others. I also understand that it is next to impossible for me to figure out which vinegars are truly gluten free. The EZ Gluten tests are not sensitive enough to determine if a distilled vinegar is indeed 0.00% gluten. We had been using vinegar as a cleaner for floors, windows, bathrooms, kitchen, etc. We used it with a sprayer, and we were letting the kids use it for cleaning too. I am glad that I had a way to finally recognize the risks that we were taking!!! I don't know why people dismiss vinegar as a gluten containing food because it seems to me that most vinegars contain trace amounts of gluten.

2 - I have been so discouraged and utterly frustrated in my attempts to address my several positive EZ Gluten tests with one particular manufacturer that sells their products with Gluten Free labeling. I have asked for some additional information, and they have provided very little. I was dismayed when the hemp milk that we use tested positive, yet things started making sense when I could start wrapping my head around it. I tested a chocolate, an unsweetened original, another unsweetened original, and a few tests on hemp nuts. ALL milk tests came back positive. Tests on the hemp nuts in my cupboard were weak positives, but I did purchase a new bag of hemp nuts that came back negative. The manufacturer has come back saying that they test for gluten with FARRP at University of Nebraska for <3ppm, and that they will likely not have an explanation for my positive test results. I feel angry that it took me so long to figure out this source of CC, so I am posting this in case it can help someone else that may be using hemp milk. I did find suspicion of hemp milk CC with this particular brand on a blog somewhere (after getting my positive EZ Gluten test when I began searching harder), but the information provided by the manufacturer (IIRC from the blog post) then was that it was possibly a brown rice syrup issue . . . so imagine my surprise when it showed up in the UNSWEETENED version.

3 - I have had no follow up from another potato chip manufacturer that I contacted (contacted by phone and email). This particular manufacturer is now reporting that they are a gluten free facility after discontinuing the one gluten containing flavor that they had - YEAH!!! However, I am a bit concerned because while the Salt & Vinegar chips tested negative at 10 minutes, the gluten line was showing the next morning.

Hope it helps! I would love to hear more stories from others!! Keila

p.s. I am also trying to figure out how to make my own milk that is good for hot coffee drinks. Suggestions and experiences would be appreciated! Most importantly, I am looking for truly Gluten Free sources of whole nuts and seeds (if verified by personal EZ Gluten testing and/or super sensitive consumption, that would be awesome). Thanks!!