Omfg..now Whole Foods Isn't Even Safe!

[jasonD2]

This is nuts- Whole Foods is the ONLY reason I haven't completely lost my mind. Its my only salvation when I travel..and now they're saying this -- maybe this is why my gluten antibodies are still high. Im gonna put a gun in my mouth i swear!!

Thank you for contacting Whole Foods Market with your concerns.

Whole Foods Market tries to help our shoppers with food allergies by voluntarily listing all major allergens contained in the prepared food we sell in various departments of our stores. However, in the case of our foods prepared on site, we can never make a 100 percent guarantee that those products have not come in contact with allergens in our kitchens because they were not prepared in a dedicated allergen free facility and there is always a potential for cross contamination. Therefore, we are unable to make any claims that an item prepared on site is "gluten free."

We encourage our shoppers with food allergies to read labels carefully and consider the severity of their own allergy when considering whether or not to purchase a prepared foods product. If you ever have any questions, our knowledgeable team is always there to help.

We hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions please use our on-line response form.

Best regards,

[GlutenGalAZ]

I honestly do not see what the problem is with their reply.

I think that Whole Foods is awsome with how MUCH they sell there that is gluten free. It is neat that they make some of their products there and one day "maybe" (I am just saying) they will make a separate kitchen BUT just like any other gluten free item some of them say processed in facilites that also process wheat.

Now I may be jumping the gun on this BUT.... do they not have a warning on their packaging about being processed around ___ ___ ___ and wheat???? If it does not have the processed in a facility that also does wheat and.... then yes I can totally understand your frustration.

I personally try not to buy things that say processed in a facility that also does wheat b/c I am sensitive to these items and do react.

During the last two years that I have been gluten free I have noticed a change with companys and I think as time goes by that things will get better with gluten being a bigger thing with the companies and them realizing that gluten free people are a larger group then they thought and they will make changes etc....

Good luck with your grocery shopping and ....

"Breath In......... Breath Out"

[Gemini]

This is nuts- Whole Foods is the ONLY reason I haven't completely lost my mind. Its my only salvation when I travel..and now they're saying this -- maybe this is why my gluten antibodies are still high. Im gonna put a gun in my mouth i swear!!

Thank you for contacting Whole Foods Market with your concerns.

Whole Foods Market tries to help our shoppers with food allergies by voluntarily listing all major allergens contained in the prepared food we sell in various departments of our stores. However, in the case of our foods prepared on site, we can never make a 100 percent guarantee that those products have not come in contact with allergens in our kitchens because they were not prepared in a dedicated allergen free facility and there is always a potential for cross contamination. Therefore, we are unable to make any claims that an item prepared on site is "gluten free."

We encourage our shoppers with food allergies to read labels carefully and consider the severity of their own allergy when considering whether or not to purchase a prepared foods product. If you ever have any questions, our knowledgeable team is always there to help.

We hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions please use our on-line response form.

Best regards,

Jason...this is the typical response you would get from any reputable company who are protecting themselves from lawsuits. It does not mean their food is NOT gluten-free. They do not have a dedicated facility for their prepped on site foods so they have to say this. I'll tell you my experience......I eat their prepped foods every week and have never had a problem.....ever. I was as bad a case of Celiac as you can get at time of diagnosis and was down to 97 pounds so any gluten I ingest will be felt and have varying degree's of negative impact. I know if I ingest a grain of gluten so you can trust that I am not lying to you.

I always read all the ingredients posted for their prepared foods and only buy the foods that are gluten-free and are not located near to any gluten containing foods. My WF near to me will also list wheat as an ingredient even if there is no wheat in the product BUT was prepared in the kitchen with a lot of wheaty things that particular day. That blew me away but you cannot guarantee that they all do this. I live in a VERY progressive state for celiac disease and the WF people are great here so I have learned to trust them.

There will be no company out there who will say their product is 100% gluten-free unless it is a completely dedicated facility. You can choose to not eat anything but food made in a 100% facility but good luck with that. You won't have a life. I have learned over 4 years that many folks sweat this issue way too much. I have been very successful with the diet but must admit I eat very little carbs or take undue risks. My diet is mainly fruits, veggies, meat, chicken and fish and the usual safe carbs like rice and potatoes. I do not cheat knowingly yet my blood work is great so I know I am not screwing up on a regular basis. WF is one of the few places I trust to get it right but it could be where I live....not all are going to be this good. The people I know who have the most problems are those with multiple food allergies/intolerances and that is VERY difficult to get around. Plain, old gluten isn't.

I would take a deep breath and talk to the people who prep the food at the store you are going into. Ask what their practices are and I can guarantee that within a few minutes you'll be able to tell if they can be trusted to get it right. I wouldn't trust any other food store but WF but that has been my experience. Remember, that statement is issued from a lawyer's point of view and is meant to absolve them of responsibility if you do get sick. Doesn't mean you will!

BTW, which antibody test is still high? If it is your tTg, that may not be from gluten ingestion.

[jasonD2]

u dont understand...I rely on this place to survive! when i travel for work i dont have time to buy food there and prepare it myself and for 2 years ive been eating the food at the hot bar thinking that it was fine. im honestly at the point where i just dont give a s hit..i cant restrict myself so much that I have no life. this is becoming absurd? i know a girl who has celiac and asks men if they have any wheat containing ski, hair products before she kisses them...explains why she has no dating life. this is no way to live im sorry

[jasonD2]

To gemini-

my fecal anti gliadin (sIgA) antibody is high - and i agree with everything you said

[larry mac]

Was there a particular item that was labeled gluten-free before, and now isn't? I wasn't aware they had ever declared the "take home" food dishes were gluten-free.

I mainly prefer Central Market over Whole Foods. But they are basically the same thing, only much larger. I've found many prepared foods to contain "protein (soy, corn, wheat)" in the ingredients. Things such as soups, corn tamales, that otherwise would be considered safe.

It always goes back to the basics. Must read all ingredient labels.

best regards, lm

[nasalady]

u dont understand...I rely on this place to survive! when i travel for work i dont have time to buy food there and prepare it myself and for 2 years ive been eating the food at the hot bar thinking that it was fine. im honestly at the point where i just dont give a s hit..i cant restrict myself so much that I have no life. this is becoming absurd? i know a girl who has celiac and asks men if they have any wheat containing ski, hair products before she kisses them...explains why she has no dating life. this is no way to live im sorry

Jason,

The sky is not falling.

I think you're just over-reacting to a typical CYA statement from a corporation. You can still eat at Whole Foods....nothing has changed!! They still sell gluten free food that is safe for you to eat.

The corporate attorneys are the ones who write these statements....it's all just lawyer BS.

If you're still hyper-ventilating breathe into a paper bag for a while.

You really need to calm down. Every one who has responded has told you the same thing. This is NO BIG DEAL. Many companies will give you the exact same statement unless they make their products in a dedicated gluten-free facility. It does NOT mean that their foods are necessarily unsafe!

Seriously though, I wish you would speak to a professional counselor about the "Im gonna put a gun in my mouth i swear!!" stuff. If you really do feel this way you need to talk to someone who can help you through this.

Please be calm and think this through....we do care about you or we wouldn't respond. You have friends here.

Take care,

JoAnn

P.S. It is true that if you kiss someone who has eaten gluten and not brushed their teeth, you can be glutened. Do you think that's why your antibodies are still high?

[jasonD2]

I know, I know...im a bit high strung and always overreact. Only kidding about the gun comment, but sometimes i just feel like im at my wits end.

i have been dating someone but i dont think i ever kissed her immediately after she ate wheat, so i dont think its that ;-)

[modiddly16]

i think we all understand and rely on the products that we use to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Celiac Disease is as easy or difficult as you choose to allow it to be. Is it challenging? Absolutely. Is it the end of the world? No chance. You still have many many options at Whole Foods. Their hot bar lists the items and ingredients, you can read whether it is safe or not, right on the glass...if you have questions about it, you could even ask a chef there. Granted, that doesn't mean it was prepared on a gluten free dedicated line, but it still gives you options. You don't need to live your life any differently than the next person, you just have to live it smarter!

[Gemini]

u dont understand...I rely on this place to survive! when i travel for work i dont have time to buy food there and prepare it myself and for 2 years ive been eating the food at the hot bar thinking that it was fine. im honestly at the point where i just dont give a s hit..i cant restrict myself so much that I have no life. this is becoming absurd? i know a girl who has celiac and asks men if they have any wheat containing ski, hair products before she kisses them...explains why she has no dating life. this is no way to live im sorry

I completely understand, Jason, because I rely on WF to survive also. I work long hours and rely on some already prepped foods from their stores for meals on some nights when there is no time to cook. I will say I tend to stay away from the hot bar foods because it's a free for all and anyone can double dip using the tongs there. I make the employee's use clean tongs to pick up my food and they are generally really good about it. I also have found there is little gluten-free stuff at the hot bar, at least where I live. It may be different where you are.

OK....so you did stool testing and I admit I am inexperienced with this type of testing. I believe it's a good tool for some people but I don't know if antibodies will come down in this test on a strict gluten-free diet. I would think so. I am very lucky in that I am serio-positive for the blood work, in a big way, so it's much easier for me to tell if I have been getting gluten in my diet on a regular basis. I can understand your frustration.

I think it may be a good idea to see a counselor.

I have found counselor's extremely helpful in the past. It does a person a world of good to unload their anger and resentment on a trained professional, who is not emotionally tied to you. If you have multiple food issues, then it will be a more difficult road for you than others. It does not mean you cannot overcome your feelings of helplessness and go on to lead a happy life. You know the one and only time I am pissed about being a Celiac? Honestly, the one and only and I get as angry as you....when the Greek festival goes into full swing and I can no longer go there and chow down on delicious Greek food that the Greek ladies make! I can make some of it at home but there is nothing like good Greek food made by an 80 year old Greek lady! I live right down the street from the Greek church and can smell it cooking.......

[tarnalberry]

I'll jump on the "you're overreacting when you don't need to" boat. If it was stool testing that showed your antibodies to be high... meh, ignore it for now. It takes (so Enterolab claims) a year for many people's stool antibody levels to go down on a gluten free diet. So if you're comparing a blood test result to a stool test result - well, that is a completely INVALID thing to do.

EVERYTHING in life is a controlled risk. Always has been, so that answer they sent you changes absolutely nothing. If you *DECIDE* that you do not feel comfortable eating the gluten-free options from their hot bar (or the cold bar) - fine! It's a choice to make one way or the other. If you *DECIDE* that you do not feel comfortable eating things produced in shared facilities - fine! It's a choice to make one way or the other. (And none of these choices are fixed - they're as fluid as each individual instance you get to make that decision.) But YOU CHOOSE what restrictions you will take, and what risks you will take. You have to find the balance that lets you live, and live healthfully.