Mcdonalds

[psawyer]

I am so confused now...so McDs fries are OK to eat? Or the actual fries themselves contain gluten?

Wheat in the McDonalds fries (in the US only) is a subject that has been beaten to death over the past three and a half years. Click here to read the original thread from February, 2006.

There have been numerous other topics since, but they just rehash the same points.

In the end, you make a personal decision that is right for you.

[jrhanson]

So if the fries are not safe because of a beef flavoring does this also mean they are not

vegetarian?

[kareng]

So if the fries are not safe because of a beef flavoring does this also mean they are not

vegetarian?

Not sure why ou are bringing up this old topic when we just had a recent one in the last few days.

Vegetarian isn't really addressed in this forum.

[psawyer]

This is an old topic about a subject that keeps coming back.

The fries at McDonald's are cooked in dedicated potato fryers. No contamination risk there.

The fries have artificial beef flavor. It is vegetarian, but not vegan. Portions of the flavor are derived from milk.

A flavor derived in part from wheat and in part from dairy is added to the oil in which the potatoes are partially fried at the production facility. At the store, the frying process is competed using vegetable oils with no additives.

The process has been examined and tested independently at the University of Nebraska. No detectable gluten was found in the fries.

If you are worried about the possible below-detection levels of gluten noted here, I would strongly suggest that you not even consider McDonald's, or any other fast food place.

[amber]

We are visting the USA from Australia later on this year. There may be times when it is convenient for us to go to McDonalds. Here the fries, hash browns and most of the shakes and sundaes are gluten free amd quite a few of the cakes in the McCafe.

After reading about the fries issue on here I have come to the conclusion that in the US the fries are under the recommended level of gluten content. Therefore they are deemed to be gluten free. Is this correct? Also are the hash browns gluten free? Are the shakes and sundaes and McFlurry's gluten free there? I have heard that you have Reeses McFlurry's there which is rather exciting. Are they gluten free?

Thanks

[psawyer]

Amber,

In the US (and in Canada), McDonald's potato products are fried in dedicated fryers at the front of the store by the window crew. Everything else that is fried is done in the back by the grill crew. There is no risk of contamination via the fryers. I eat the fries and the hash browns without concern, and have never had a problem.

I can't offer any advice about the other items. They are all full of sugar, which, as a diabetic, I avoid. Based on what I know, they are gluten-free, but I haven't tried them to see if I react.

[amber]

Amber,

In the US (and in Canada), McDonald's potato products are fried in dedicated fryers at the front of the store by the window crew. Everything else that is fried is done in the back by the grill crew. There is no risk of contamination via the fryers. I eat the fries and the hash browns without concern, and have never had a problem.

I can't offer any advice about the other items. They are all full of sugar, which, as a diabetic, I avoid. Based on what I know, they are gluten-free, but I haven't tried them to see if I react.

Thank you! I just wanted to clear that up as I have heard conflicting reports about McDonalds in the USA.

[kareng]

Open Original Shared Link

Here's the US list. I know it's hard for me to get a list for another country. I guess it looks at where you are and gives you your own country.

This list is a bit confusing. It does list the wheat for hash browns but says its hydrolized which is considered to be so processed it's gluten-free. The shakes are odd. It says vanilla shake syrup ( how helpful ). But if you go down it will list the ingredients of the syrup. The Reece's McFlurrys look Ok but I just glanced at them. You should read closely if you are putting them in your mouth.

[amber]

Open Original Shared Link

Here's the US list. I know it's hard for me to get a list for another country. I guess it looks at where you are and gives you your own country.

This list is a bit confusing. It does list the wheat for hash browns but says its hydrolized which is considered to be so processed it's gluten-free. The shakes are odd. It says vanilla shake syrup ( how helpful ). But if you go down it will list the ingredients of the syrup. The Reece's McFlurrys look Ok but I just glanced at them. You should read closely if you are putting them in your mouth.

Thank you. I had a look at your link and you are right it is a bit confusing the way it is set out. Our McDonalds site is much easier to read. Anyway, it is very helpful and I will print it out before we go. Looks like the Reeses shake is okay which my daughter will be happy about. I want to research where we can go before we get there. Just makes the trip less stressful. I don't want to be wasting time wandering around looking for gluten free food.

Also another question if you don't mind. Sometimes my daughter goes to TGI Fridays here and has the nachos. They tell her the cheese is not gluten free as it is American cheese and they subsitute it. Is it common for cheese in America to not be gluten free? Here I can't think of any cheese that has gluten in it. We always assume that cheese is okay here but when we go to the US should we be wary of cheese.

[BabsV]

After reading about the fries issue on here I have come to the conclusion that in the US the fries are under the recommended level of gluten content. Therefore they are deemed to be gluten free. Is this correct? Also are the hash browns gluten free? Are the shakes and sundaes and McFlurry's gluten free there? I have heard that you have Reeses McFlurry's there which is rather exciting. Are they gluten free?

Thanks

Remember, in the United States there is no law or FDA regulation as to "gluten free" labeling as in the EU and other countries. I know that comments were being submitted to the FDA in the last few months but I haven't heard anything further. Did I miss it?

[kareng]

Thank you. I had a look at your link and you are right it is a bit confusing the way it is set out. Our McDonalds site is much easier to read. Anyway, it is very helpful and I will print it out before we go. Looks like the Reeses shake is okay which my daughter will be happy about. I want to research where we can go before we get there. Just makes the trip less stressful. I don't want to be wasting time wandering around looking for gluten free food.

Also another question if you don't mind. Sometimes my daughter goes to TGI Fridays here and has the nachos. They tell her the cheese is not gluten free as it is American cheese and they subsitute it. Is it common for cheese in America to not be gluten free? Here I can't think of any cheese that has gluten in it. We always assume that cheese is okay here but when we go to the US should we be wary of cheese.

Cheese in the US should not be a problem. I have seen a few fancy cheeses with beer in them but that is obvious and not on nachos.

PF Changs , pei Wei, outback steak house , Wendys, Chick Fil A are usually good about gluten-free.

We have restaurants that have " gluten-free" menus that aren't really. They will say at the bottom or if you ask, that they don't use a clean place on the grill to cook or they fry with the the gluten stuff.

If you know what cities you will be in, you could ask on the restaurant thread by city.

[amber]

Cheese in the US should not be a problem. I have seen a few fancy cheeses with beer in them but that is obvious and not on nachos.

PF Changs , pei Wei, outback steak house , Wendys, Chick Fil A are usually good about gluten-free.

We have restaurants that have " gluten-free" menus that aren't really. They will say at the bottom or if you ask, that they don't use a clean place on the grill to cook or they fry with the the gluten stuff.

If you know what cities you will be in, you could ask on the restaurant thread by city.

Thanks Karen. I'm not sure what the problem with the cheese was as I wasn't there to ask them further about it. I can't imagine that cheese would have gluten. Thanks for that list of restaurants. It might be kind of embarrassing for us to go to Outback Steakhouse being Australian but at least they have a gluten-free menu. I will check out the websites of your other suggestions too. THANKS!

[kittty]

I've lived in the US for many years now, and I still don't completely understand what "American" cheese is. In restaurants it's usually "processed cheese food" or something like that, so it isn't actually cheese but a bunch of processed stuff that looks and feels like cheese. It looks a little like cheddar, but without much flavor. So it's very possible that wheat is one of the filler ingredients.

I see a lot of food in the store these days that say "made with REAL cheese" as opposed to the fake cheese. Personally I think the fake stuff should be labeled, and not the real stuff.

[lovegrov]

I've NEVER seen American cheese or processed cheese food with gluten.

richard

[kareng]

American cheese is a mild cheese. It is a style of cheese like Swiss or Cheddar. The processed cheese foods like Velveeta get lumped into that style or name - American. We have gotten American cheese at the Deli counter that is delicious and completely different from Kraft singles in flavor & texture. (not bashing Kraft or these products - I love some Rotel dip with Velveeta!).

If you were to purchase a "cheese sauce" like a jarred nacho dip or a fondue, it is possible they would have flour. Even those I have seen use corn starh or potato starch for the thickener. So just read the labels,

Restaurants that are serious about gluten-free, will tell you something isn't gluten-free if they can't be certain. This may be what happened with the cheese on the nachos at the Fridays.

[kittty]

Here's an old thread.

Apparently Land o Lakes American cheese isn't gluten free, but Kraft is. But this was an old thread, so the recipes may have changed since then. Some of those American slices in the grocery store have an ingredients list a mile long.

[kareng]

Here's an old thread.

Apparently Land o Lakes American cheese isn't gluten free, but Kraft is. But this was an old thread, so the recipes may have changed since then. Some of those American slices in the grocery store have an ingredients list a mile long.

First of all, ever believe product info that is 8 years old. Check for more up-to-date info. A good place to check for that is the companies website. Spreading rumors and ancient info is not helpful.

Open Original Shared Link

Do Land O Lakes

[kittty]

Whoa! Don't bite my head off. I did say that it was an old thread and the recipe may have changed since then. How is linking to an old thread "spreading rumors"?

The fact is, those processed cheeses have lots of ingredients, and may or may not contain gluten. It's going to depend on the brand.

[kareng]

Whoa! Don't bite my head off. I did say that it was an old thread and the recipe may have changed since then. How is linking to an old thread "spreading rumors"?

The fact is, those processed cheeses have lots of ingredients, and may or may not contain gluten. It's going to depend on the brand.

Sorry, I'm not trying to bite your head off.

Putting up old or inaccurate info can be very confusing. We have at least 500 people read these boards every day. We try to give them accurate and fact based info as much as possible. It took me less than a minute to check that that info was untrue . However, someone will read that the cheese isn't gluten-free and not see the correct info that comes after. We just want people to check thier facts before repeating old info or Internet rumors.

That said....those cheese do have a lot of ingredients and simple is usually best for food. And as several of us have said, gluten is rarely, if ever in cheese & cheese products.

[evilette13]

Velvetta is gluten free. I just figured this out and was very excited about it!