The New Chex

[taweavmo3]

I hate to even think this, b/c we luuuuuurve the new Chex, especially the Honey Nut, and I am thrilled to have new cereal.

But, my little girl has been showing signs of gluten exposure, and this is the only new thing we've added recently. We've had the Rice Chex before, but this is the first time we've eaten ALOT of Chex. Since we found the new flavors that say gluten free, she's had some for breakfast, and for snacks pretty much every day.

Does anyone know for sure if they actually removed the barley malt? I'm just asking, b/c the Rice Dream farse is still fresh in my mind, where they quietly removed the barley malt from their ingredient list, still kept it in the milk, but labeled it gluten free.

I'm sure this is not it, and I'll check with General Mills tomorrow, but just curious if anyone is having any problems with these new cereals. Thanks!

[taweavmo3]

Nevermind, I checked the GM site, and the malt was replaced with molasses. That's good to know....but I am noticing that my dd seems to react to alot of mainstream products that are gluten free by the "standards", but made by companies that produce wheat products as well. This makes navigating the gluten free world a little trickier, if you're a Celiac who can't tolerate less than the standard of 20ppm.

[WW340]

I am very sensitive and I have had no problems with the new honey nut chex. I cannot eat a lot of any kind of grain, even gluten free grains. I get symptoms similar to glutening when I over do it. Could your daughter be eating more grains than she is accustom to eating?

[taweavmo3]

Maybe that is it......we really don't eat alot of grains b/c they just seem to cause tummy aches for everyone. I didn't even think to put cereal in the grain category, lol. We all have pretty sensitive stomachs, so that makes alot of sense. Thanks so much!

[ENF]

I haven't tried Honey Nut Chex because it's mostly corn, which is hard for many people to digest. I do occasionally enjoy the gluten-free rice-based Chex product.

[hannahp57]

I bought a box of the honey nut chex that said gluten free. I got home and poured a bowl and chowed down. an hour later and i was too tired to move and my stomach was cramped up. I never got sick just the pains. I cannot say whether it was the chex or not... i haven't tried them again. I think maybe take them back out of the diet and re-introduce them later in a smaller amount. I don't want to make anyone paranoid to eat them because i eat the plain rice chex just fine so i know GM knows how to safely produce a gluten free cereal. Maybe it was just bad luck

[taweavmo3]

I bought a box of the honey nut chex that said gluten free. I got home and poured a bowl and chowed down. an hour later and i was too tired to move and my stomach was cramped up. I never got sick just the pains. I cannot say whether it was the chex or not... i haven't tried them again. I think maybe take them back out of the diet and re-introduce them later in a smaller amount. I don't want to make anyone paranoid to eat them because i eat the plain rice chex just fine so i know GM knows how to safely produce a gluten free cereal. Maybe it was just bad luck

We've eaten the Rice chex w/out problems too....maybe it's just something about the corn. Who knows, I threw them out today after my dd tore apart her room in a tantrum! I love that all these mainstream companies are coming out with gluten free products, but part of me is still a little skeptical. Gluten free is very trendy right now, and I can't help but think of companies like Rice Dream and Wellshire Farms who played dirty to keep a gluten free label. Just my two cents as a parnoid mom trying to keep my dd well, lol. I think we'll steer clear of anything new for a while, that's always our safest bet!

[NoGluGirl]

I hate to even think this, b/c we luuuuuurve the new Chex, especially the Honey Nut, and I am thrilled to have new cereal.

But, my little girl has been showing signs of gluten exposure, and this is the only new thing we've added recently. We've had the Rice Chex before, but this is the first time we've eaten ALOT of Chex. Since we found the new flavors that say gluten free, she's had some for breakfast, and for snacks pretty much every day.

Does anyone know for sure if they actually removed the barley malt? I'm just asking, b/c the Rice Dream farse is still fresh in my mind, where they quietly removed the barley malt from their ingredient list, still kept it in the milk, but labeled it gluten free.

I'm sure this is not it, and I'll check with General Mills tomorrow, but just curious if anyone is having any problems with these new cereals. Thanks!

Dear taweavmo3,

I was angry about the Rice Dream situation as well. It is infuriating, but the FDA does not regulate things as they should. A Chicago Tribune article a friend sent me told of how people with anaphylactic reactions nearly died due to eating foods that were not properly labeled. Testing is not done in most facilities, and this needs to change. I am now afraid to eat anything made by the Hain Celestial Group.

They make Arrowhead Mills products as well as Rice and Soy Dream. A friend of mine got ill from using their gluten-free flours. I was using DeBoles pasta, which they also make. I become violently ill from a microscopic amount of gluten, so I am paranoid-careful. One company I feel sets a wonderful example is Kraft. This company has been labeling allergens clearly for 14 years, and they were the ones who notified the FDA about the salmonella outbreak in the pistachios.

For the record, I have had the new Chex cereals, and done well. However, eating too much of anything puts a person at risk for developing a sensitivity to that food. Varying your diet is essential to avoiding new food issues. That is what makes this disease so frustrating. If it is not one thing, it seems to be another!

Sincerely,

NoGluGirl

[larry mac]

Sometimes I'll have a slight mid-morning bout of (not quite) D accompanied by a slight tummy hurt. Nothing real bad, but still something irregular. I suspect the cereals. Not gluten but just the grains, sugars, who knows? maybe our diets have been so restricted for so long that we just can't eat some things successfully.

The same thing happens when I eat those frozen gluten-free waffles and english muffins with butter and syrup. Too rich?

best regards, lm

[GFMM88]

Just to voice my experience: I have tried the Rice Chex and Honey Nut Rice Chex, both of which clearly stated Gluten-Free on the box. I consider myself extremely sensitive and I have been fine with both. We should all be careful to avoid the old boxes of Rice Chex which contain barley malt as they phase those out.

[GFMM88]

That is not to say, Taweavmo, that you were buying the kind with barley malt! Just something for everyone to be aware of. There are many valid reasons why the Chex may be giving your daughter trouble. Best of luck trying to figure it out, and hopefully she'll be able to tolerate Chex- it's nice to be able to eat something so mainstream.

[LuvMoosic4life]

I havent had a prob with rice chex. but if I eat way too many its similar to a glutening. same with any grain for me. I just feel better away from them. I eat them only occasionally.

[jlbroyles23]

I went to the Chex website to get some recipe ideas. Some of them called for Chocolate and/or cinnamon chex. I could not find the ingredient list for the cinnamon and the chocolate said it had barley malt extract. How can this be gluten free as there recipe states. Or as I missing something?

[ravenwoodglass]

I went to the Chex website to get some recipe ideas. Some of them called for Chocolate and/or cinnamon chex. I could not find the ingredient list for the cinnamon and the chocolate said it had barley malt extract. How can this be gluten free as there recipe states. Or as I missing something?

If it has barley malt it is not gluten free. The cinnamon ones I found do have barley malt although they may be changing the formula. I would contact the company and let them know about the error in the recipe section.

[larry mac]

I went to the Chex website to get some recipe ideas. Some of them called for Chocolate and/or cinnamon chex. I could not find the ingredient list for the cinnamon and the chocolate said it had barley malt extract. How can this be gluten free as there recipe states. Or as I missing something?

The recent "Chex" threads here on the forum have said the company is phasing in the introductions of the gluten-free Chex cereals. That's exactly what I've seen here in the DFW area, ie. it's not happening all at once. What I have noticed, is when they finally introduce one, it's clearly marked GLUTEN FREE in big letters on the front of the box. There is no mistaking it.

IMO, It makes things confusing when we have multiple threads on the same topic. On some forums I frequent, the moderators will redirect new threads to the appropriate topic. For instance, how many new Mcdonalds fries threads are we going to have?

best regards, lm

[ravenwoodglass]

IMO, It makes things confusing when we have multiple threads on the same topic. On some forums I frequent, the moderators will redirect new threads to the appropriate topic. For instance, how many new Mcdonalds fries threads are we going to have?

best regards, lm

My opinion of course but I don't mind new threads on old topics at all. There is new info that comes out all the time. If all threads like this were linked together the threads would be very long and not everyone would want to take the time to go through page after page. We also have some folks on the board who are not real computer savvy and might have some initial difficulty with doing searches or not realize that they need to go through page after page of threads to find info. I think the mods do a great job here and often someone will give a link to a past relevant thread.

[larry mac]

Yeah, there's pros and cons for each format for sure. And it has nothing to do with the mods doing a good job or not, it's a basic decision the board owner makes (what kind of forum he wants). I'm certainly not complaining about anything, just inviting a discussion.

Lets see, what does each type offer?

Combined "pinned" threads:

~ Obviously, do away with multiple threads on the same topic.

~ Avoid having to completely start anew each time a member first examines a subject.

~ Yes it would be a long thread, but all the info would be there, instead of a little here and a little there on a hundred threads, which make searching next to impossible (even if one tries to search, and sometimes it seems as if some don't).

~ Actually rwg, I think this would solve the uncomputer savvy problem. It's the searches that are difficult. Plus, as some may, or may not know, there are actually two search options, the Forum Search at the top right, and the Google Search, just below the top left, and they are very different. The combined thread eliminates the searches per se. One doesn't have to be computer savvy to read pages of a thread, anyone can do that.

~ Just as an example, when someone started to make a "new topic" titled "Must Read, McDonalds Fries NOT gluten-free" and then copies the ingredients statement, they hopefully would instead read some of the pinned thread and learn what the controversy is all about (no offense to anyone in particular, this is a very common thing, happens all the time, I've done it myself ).

~ Maybe there could be an "info" or "intro" for the first post on any topic that would inform the reader on that subject matter.

~ Can't think of any more at the moment, anyone?

Separate new threads on same topic:

~ Keeps threads short, avoids really long threads (of course there's no way to know for sure how long they would have been, since some might reconsider posting after reading more about a topic).

~ Avoids having a lot of pinned threads.

~ The system we have works and there's really no big problem, not that big a deal.

~ There's a lot more con's I'm sure, but I'm getting tired head now , can't think of any at the moment, anyone?

bests regards, lm

[rueyn]

I was getting really bad stomach aches from the Honey Nut gluten-free Chex, and I think it's from the ALMONDS that are part of the ingredient list. Just something to think about. I've never reacted to almonds before, and I can eat the gluten-free Rice Chex just fine (shrug)

[bisja]

I also have problems with the gluten free chex, they set my stomach on fire and as the hours go on I get the same affects as gluten does. I have tried the chocolate and Honey nut 4 or 5 times I kept thinking it just could not be what was causing me to feel rotten, but it is, I have no problems with corn or nuts, I even ate them without milk thinking maybe that was the problem but nope. So for me no more Chexs. Not sure what it is but just not taking the chance with them anymore. Bummed me out.

[hermitgirl]

I just wanted to ad the it could very well be something in the chex that doesn't like your system. In the past several months I have developed a sensitivity to honey. Pretty much gives me many of the same symptoms as a glutening, but without the migrane. I can have plain chex with no problems, and the chocolate chex has not caused me any problems at all. The honey nut and I did not get along at all, nor does my stomach like me when I put honey on rice chex. Kinda helped me narrow it down that way.

[jrc121]

People having problems with this should try their cereal without cow's milk and see if it makes a difference. Rice and almond milk are better alternatives.

[Lisa16]

Warning: the new chex are still in "transition" which means that in some places (like here!) the new ones are mixed with old ones on the grocery shelves.

I recently bought a box of the honey nut kind and was eating them only to discover to my horror that I had accidentally bought a box of the old ones with the barley malt extract. The other two boxes I bought were marked gluten free and this one was just mixed in there.

Double check before you buy! Triple check before you eat!

I won't be making that particular mistake again

[MomOf2PrettyGirls]

I recently bought the new Gluten Free Cinnamon Chex and they have given me an awful reaction. I didn't see anything on the ingredients that make me believe they contain any gluten, so then I decided possibly the milk was giving me the bad reaction. Either way, i'm staying away from it.

I've also found that most processed foods that are labeled Gluten Free have not settled well with me. I do much better on organic meats, fruits, and veggies.

[Anna and Marie]

I havent had a prob with rice chex. but if I eat way too many its similar to a glutening. same with any grain for me. I just feel better away from them. I eat them only occasionally.

interesting, my sister and i have experienced gluten symptoms with too many grains as well, we thought maybe because we haven't had them in so long, at least in any large quantity...

[Anna and Marie]

I went to the Chex website to get some recipe ideas. Some of them called for Chocolate and/or cinnamon chex. I could not find the ingredient list for the cinnamon and the chocolate said it had barley malt extract. How can this be gluten free as there recipe states. Or as I missing something?

we went to 2 stores today, one had gluten-free cinnamon, the other store had gluten-free chocolate, hope they get to you soon! haven't tried them yet b/c the stores we were at prices ran higher than usual...