Taco Bell

[LandonL]

Does anyone know if tostadas at taco bell are gluten free or not?, or has anyone tried or had experience with them, any replies appreciated.

[daphniela]

I eat tosadas all the time and have no issues. It is pretty much the only gluten free item besides pintos n cheese and the rice.

[Lisa]

www.tacobell.com (800)TACOBELL

Taco Bell is last on my list of possible eateries. But then that wasn't your question.

[mattathayde]

Open Original Shared Link wow i remember them having a better selection of gluten-free before, i saw something that shows what to get and what to ask to not be in it so i guess that is what i was thinking of

-matt

[mysecretcurse]

From my understanding, nothing at taco bell is gluten free. Sorry.

Even the things they say are safe, I would not trust to be safe at all.

[larry mac]

With all due respect to msc, the Taco Bell link referenced above states that some Tacos, Tostados, Beans, and some other items do not contain wheat.

Now it may very well be that these items also include potential for CC. That's always a judgement call for any Celiac. After all, they are touching gluten and non-gluten items at the same time.

I've eaten there many times without incident, but I don't feel that proves anything for other Celiacs. I'm certainly not recommending Taco Bell to anyone. I could be mistaken, but I seem to recall something about the chips and corn shells being fried in the same oil as the flour stuff. Or was that Taco Bueno?

best regards, lm

[lovegrov]

Am I reading this correctly? Has TB removed wheat from their taco beef?

richard

[digmom1014]

My 12 year old son's favorite fast food place is Taco Bell. Since I have to go a lot with him, I always have the bean tostadas and the rice. I have never had a problem and I am sensitive.

[mattathayde]

With all due respect to msc, the Taco Bell link referenced above states that some Tacos, Tostados, Beans, and some other items do not contain wheat.

Now it may very well be that these items also include potential for CC. That's always a judgement call for any Celiac. After all, they are touching gluten and non-gluten items at the same time.

I've eaten there many times without incident, but I don't feel that proves anything for other Celiacs. I'm certainly not recommending Taco Bell to anyone. I could be mistaken, but I seem to recall something about the chips and corn shells being fried in the same oil as the flour stuff. Or was that Taco Bueno?

best regards, lm

idk according to their little allergy sheet online a lot of stuff containes wheat but only "may contain" gluten.

only the hard taco, hard taco supreme and tostida along with the mex rice and pintos and chese have no wheat, all the nachos are made is common equipment

-matt

[larry mac]

Am I reading this correctly? Has TB removed wheat from their taco beef?

richard

I don't know (I didn't ever know it did), but I went to tacobell.com and got an allergen chart like the one in the post above. It also said in fine print:

"The allergen information displayed on this page is based on standard product formulations and is current as of June 8, 2008. Variations may occur due to differences in suppliers, ingredient substitutions, recipe revisions, and/or product production at the restaurant."

What I'm curious about is why a taco, taco supreme, and tostado would not be made on shared equipment, but nachos, nachos supreme, and nachos bellgrande are? What do you think the "shared equipment" is?

best regards, lm

p.s., the allergen statement says the nachos, nachos supreme, and nachos bellgrande do not contain wheat but are made on shared equipment (at least that's my interpetation).

[mattathayde]

^^ i would be willing to bet they nachos are fried up in the same frier but they probably dont count the line as "shared equipment"

-matt

[elonwy]

Open Original Shared Link

The issues with a lot of their stuff is not wheat, but oats. I for one don't eat anything with mainstream oats, because I am very sensitive to CC, and mainstream oats make me sick.

The Tostada shell does not contain Oat products like the other shells do. The only thing I ever eat there, and its only a stop I make if there is no other choice, is the pintos and cheese and the tostada.

The ingredient statement also clearly states that they use a shared fryer for things like the chips, so those are not safe either.

[mysecretcurse]

For whatever reason I just don't trust taco bell.

Cross contamination is what would worry me. You guys have really ate the tostada with no reaction? That's pretty tempting. I used to love the tostadas! Then again, I could just make a better one at home.

[VioletBlue]

I seriously don't get why anyone would go to a place like Taco Bell and expect to be safe.

Have you seen how they line the products up and shove them down the assemly line? Hands that touch gluten items also touch so called non gluten items. Someone who just handled a flour tortilla is now handling your so called gluten free item. Ingredients slop over and get spilled all over the assembly area. gluten-free Items that go into mini ovens to melt the cheese are following gluten items that were just in the same oven. Why would anyone play the equivalent of Russian Roulette like that? I mean isn't it just common sense that Taco Bell is not a safe place to get a gluten free meal?

[sbj]

"Hands that touch gluten items also touch so called non gluten items."

Isn't that true of virtually any restaurant? Most food servers I see at any restaurant I've been to (Wendy's, Lone Star, PF Changs, etc.) don't wear plastic gloves and/or dispose of them between serving meals.

[VioletBlue]

That in a nutshell is why I don't eat at fast food places ever. The risk is too great. They do not have any allergen protocols in place nor would the workers there even understand the concept. It's hard enough to go into a good non chain restaurant and explain what you need and have them understand it. Trying to explain to most 16 year old part time employees that they need to use fresh gloves to handle your taco is like trying to explain physics to a 3 year old.

"Hands that touch gluten items also touch so called non gluten items."

Isn't that true of virtually any restaurant? Most food servers I see at any restaurant I've been to (Wendy's, Lone Star, PF Changs, etc.) don't wear plastic gloves and/or dispose of them between serving meals.

[sbj]

That in a nutshell is why I don't eat at fast food places ever. The risk is too great.

I gotta tell you, Violet, that I was diagnosed with celiac disease via blood/biopsy some 7 or 8 months ago. I recently retested the blood panel and I have no issues! I have been eating at Wendy's, Taco Bell, Carl's Jr., Lone Star, PF Changs, etc etc (many restaurants without gluten-free menus) so I think it's quite possible to simply eat naturally gluten free menu items at many restaurants and keep your celiac disease in check. Now, granted, I am one of the lucky ones who does not suffer GI symptoms from cross contamination, but my experience shows that miniscule CC does not result in positive blood test. (I'll be getting another endoscopy in October, I think, so I will get the chance then to see if the intraepithelial lymphocytosis and villi blunting is under control, although I believe gut damage can take two plus years to heal.)

If you don't have much in the way of symptoms due to microscopic amounts of CC I would suggest you try to eat out every once in a while as a treat. It's awfully tough making every meal at home!

[VioletBlue]

If most fast food were quality food with modest amounts of sodium and fat I might buy your argument about convenience, but 95% of the stuff served at Fast Food places is nutritionally poor to terrible and drenched in oil. It doesn't begin to be worth the risk to me.

I suffer from intestinal as well as neurological problems when I ingest gluten. The neurological problems scare me way more than the diarrhea the brain fog and the mood swings. My health means too much to me. I want to be able to still walk talk and drive when I'm 70. I've been glutened enough in the last three years by gluten I didn't know I was ingesting, I'm for sure not going to go out and knowingly risk being glutened for the sake of mere convenience. My quality of life is too precious to risk for the thrill of a quick greasy taco.

I gotta tell you, Violet, that I was diagnosed with celiac disease via blood/biopsy some 7 or 8 months ago. I recently retested the blood panel and I have no issues! I have been eating at Wendy's, Taco Bell, Carl's Jr., Lone Star, PF Changs, etc etc (many restaurants without gluten-free menus) so I think it's quite possible to simply eat naturally gluten free menu items at many restaurants and keep your celiac disease in check. Now, granted, I am one of the lucky ones who does not suffer GI symptoms from cross contamination, but my experience shows that miniscule CC does not result in positive blood test. (I'll be getting another endoscopy in October, I think, so I will get the chance then to see if the intraepithelial lymphocytosis and villi blunting is under control, although I believe gut damage can take two plus years to heal.)

If you don't have much in the way of symptoms due to microscopic amounts of CC I would suggest you try to eat out every once in a while as a treat. It's awfully tough making every meal at home!

[teacherkd]

^^ i would be willing to bet they nachos are fried up in the same frier but they probably dont count the line as "shared equipment"

-matt

If you watch them, though, they always put the wrapper down on the line first, so there theoretically shouldn't be any CC from the line itself. Theoretically. Scoopers and spatulas are another issue entirely.

[SLB5757]

I do not see any difference between having a toastada shell or a taco shell there. Why wouldn't someone with Celiac be able to have both the tostada and the hard shell tacos? None of them have a wheat statement or a statement following them that say they are fried in the same frier as the wheat protein products. Is there something in the beef that I should be concerned about

"Beef, Water, Seasoning [isolated Oat Product, Salt, Chili Pepper, Onion Powder, Tomato Powder, Oats, Soy Lecithin, Toasted Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Maltodextrin, Sugar, Soybean Oil (Antidusting Agent), Black Pepper, Oregano, Cumin, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Citric Acid, Caramel Color, Cocoa Powder (Processed With Alkali), Lactic Acid, Natural Flavors, Natural Smoke Flavor, Modified Corn Starch], Salt, Sodium Phosphate. "

Is it the "Oats", and possibility of CC?? It would be great to find out that I could eat tacos!! I would be thrilled!!

[psawyer]

To me, the oats would be the issue. Even for those celiacs who can tolerate oats, almost all commercially available oats are seriously contaminated with wheat at every step of the way.

Certified gluten-free oats can be purchased at a considerable cost--I would bet that TB uses "ordinary" oats.

[lovegrov]

I missed the "oat product" in the beef. At one time, the beef seasoning also contained wheat. Perhaps they use oats now instead.

I do eat at the occasional fast food place, but at TB CC would be a serious concern.

richard

[teacherkd]

Is it the "Oats", and possibility of CC?? It would be great to find out that I could eat tacos!! I would be thrilled!!

The short version is "Yeah." When I called the company they said the taco shells are NOT safe and neither is the beef or steak because of the wheat in the seasoning. The chicken for chicken tacos or taco salad was, at the time, okay, but there's nothing to put it on but a tostada. The tostadas are considered safe [relative term] because the shells are corn meal. salt, and oil only and are constructed in the box. The beans, theoretically, are gluten-free but there's always the possibility of CC, so talk to the manager and let him know your concerns. The guac is a mystery as I've never asked.

On the other hand, if it's a combo TB/KFC, all bets are off. Run away, run away, run away.

[teacherkd]

I missed the "oat product" in the beef. At one time, the beef seasoning also contained wheat. Perhaps they use oats now instead.

I do eat at the occasional fast food place, but at TB CC would be a serious concern.

richard

The TB seasoning available in the grocery store has wheat in the allergy statement. That was as of last night.