Food Product Mfg.

[Mitzi]

I've called a few different companies to verify if their product is gluten free. I get the feeling that they just say yes without knowing where gluten can hide. For instance, I called the number on the Wishbone salad dressing as it contains carmel color. As I understand it the carmel color can be a hit or miss with the gluten factor. The woman I spoke with seemed nice enough but didn't sound familiar with my question. She did tell me that all their products are gluten free. Is there any guarantee that these people are providing accurate information?

[psawyer]

When you call a company, you are speaking with a customer service representative, not a dietitian. In most cases, all they can do is read you the information that they have been given. They may not fully understand the answer that they are reading, but that doesn't mean that the answer is not correct.

Caramel color is one of those celiac urban myths that just won't go away.

Here is Shelley Case's take on it, from Gluten-Free Diet A Comprehensive Resource Guide:

  Quote

Although gluten-containing ingredients (barley malt syrup and starch hydrolysates) can be used in the production of caramel color, North American companies use corn as it has a longer shelf life and makes a superior product. European companies use glucose derived from wheat starch, however caramel color is highly processed and contains no gluten.

[Emphasis in original]

[Lisa]

ditto what Peter posted on caramel color.

Sometimes, your information is just as good as your customer service rep. That is why, it would be a good to get other confirmation to insure your safety. And use your intuition . It has always served me well.

[Mitzi]

Thanks a bunch for the quick reply. Nice to know carmel color is on the "safe" list.

[VioletBlue]

I don't believe Wishbone Italian salad dressing is gluten free if that was a question. My stomach says it's not and I believe other people here have had issues with Wishbone in general. Good Seasons Italian on the other hand is gluten-free.

These days I tend to do a search here first to see if there is any info on a product I'm considering trying. Most national brands show up here sooner or later, though the info posted here is not always conclusive. Also it's good to know that some companies are more conscientious and up front in their labeling process than others. Kraft, which makes Good Season, is one of those who consistently labels gluten in it's products and can generally be trusted.

[Mitzi]

Okay, now I'm seconding guessing a lot. I took the word of the Wishbone customer service person who said all their dressing is gluten free. I made my daughter (who is the new celiac) a salad for school lunch today. It contained grilled chicken (made here gluten free) romain lettuce, cucumber, bell pepper and wishbone ranch dressing. She said she had a very bad stomach ache today. I'm not sure if it's something I fed her or if it's still too early (one month into our diagnosis) to know. Shall I expect this a lot??

[Ahorsesoul]

Here's somthing on Wishbone Ranch Dressing dated July 2009:

www.ourturn.com/FoodList/fd/FD-celiac disease-saladdress.htm

Remember with gluten free there is no 'all' or 'everything'. Check those labels, what's gluten free today may not be tomorrow. You sound like you've done really well because you are listening to what your child reports.

[larry mac]

Hi Mitzi,

Welcome to the Celiac Disease & Gluten-Free Forum. My kids are grown, and I didn't contract Celiac Disease until my old age (55). But I can't help wondering how difficult it would be to deal with Celiac children. I know how hard it is to cope with the disease when you yourself have it, it's very hard. But I also know how much I hurt when my kids hurt. My heart goes out to you. Thank God your child has a caring parent.

best regards, lm

[Mitzi]

  Ahorsesoul said:

Here's somthing on Wishbone Ranch Dressing dated July 2009:

<a href="Open Original Shared Link disease-saladdress.htm" target="external ugc nofollow">Open Original Shared Link disease-saladdress.htm</a>

Remember with gluten free there is no 'all' or 'everything'. Check those labels, what's gluten free today may not be tomorrow. You sound like you've done really well because you are listening to what your child reports.

Is there another way to see the information you sent the link to? I can't open it -- I'm getting "page not found" Requested URL not on this server.

[Ahorsesoul]

I played with the link a few times. Sometimes I'd get page not found or the page showed up. So I'll just copy the info here:

"Salad Dressing

Newman's Own

Gluten-free list from the

[Mitzi]

OMG! I have glutened my daughter by taking the word of the customer service person. I feel just aweful and wrote an e-mail letting wishbone know their customer service people need some serious training. After all I can't know what's in "natural flavors" just to mention one -- that is why I called and asked! SOOO frustrating.

[Ahorsesoul]

Glad you wrote to them. Don't beat yourself up over the glutenizing issue. We all do it. It's how we learn the best. You are doing great.

[Mitzi]

  Ahorsesoul said:

Glad you wrote to them. Don't beat yourself up over the glutenizing issue. We all do it. It's how we learn the best. You are doing great.

Guess what -- Wishbone just called me. The woman that got my e-mail said that yes indeed all their dressings are gluten free. This is very confusing. Where did you find the information you sent yesterday? Since you've been doing this a while who do you believe?

[Lisa]

Open Original Shared Link

Do you have a list of dressings which are Gluten free?

Ingredients that may contain gluten are always listed on the label. Since product formulations change from time to time, we do not have a printed list of products that identifies those products that contain specific allergens or gluten. The best advice we can give you is to check the ingredient list on the label. If you cannot determine whether the product contains the ingredient in question, we suggest you do not use it.

Wishbone ranch ingredients:

Water, Soybean Oil, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Whey (Milk), Egg Yolks, Salt, Cultured Nonfat Buttermilk, Phosphoric Acid, Modified Corn Starch, Monosodium Glutamate, Distilled Vinegar, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Xanthan Gum, Spices, (Sorbic Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Calcium Disodium EDTA) Used to Protect Quality, Propylene Glycol Alginate, Polysorbate 60, Disodium Guanylate, Disodium Inosinate, Natural Flavors

Where is the gluten?

[Mitzi]

  Momma Goose said:

Open Original Shared Link

Do you have a list of dressings which are Gluten free?

Ingredients that may contain gluten are always listed on the label. Since product formulations change from time to time, we do not have a printed list of products that identifies those products that contain specific allergens or gluten. The best advice we can give you is to check the ingredient list on the label. If you cannot determine whether the product contains the ingredient in question, we suggest you do not use it.

Wishbone ranch ingredients:

Water, Soybean Oil, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Whey (Milk), Egg Yolks, Salt, Cultured Nonfat Buttermilk, Phosphoric Acid, Modified Corn Starch, Monosodium Glutamate, Distilled Vinegar, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Xanthan Gum, Spices, (Sorbic Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Calcium Disodium EDTA) Used to Protect Quality, Propylene Glycol Alginate, Polysorbate 60, Disodium Guanylate, Disodium Inosinate, Natural Flavors

Where is the gluten?

Hi, Momma Goose:

Love the name! I don't know if there is any gluten. If there is I can only guess it is in the natural flavors. My daughter asked for the same lunch today and the only difference was the dressing I used and no stomach/dia issues. So, either there is something else in wishbone that doesn't agree with her or it is hiding somewhere. I found where Ahorsesoul got the information shared yesterday. It came from glutenfreeinfo.com. That is where they said they called wishbone in July 2009 and a customer service person told them their Ranch dressing was NOT gluten free which contradicts what I was told by the same group just a week or so ago. I don't think they've changed the recipe since then so why the two different answers?

[Lisa]

  Momma Goose said:

Do you have a list of dressings which are Gluten free?

Ingredients that may contain gluten are always listed on the label. Since product formulations change from time to time, we do not have a printed list of products that identifies those products that contain specific allergens or gluten. The best advice we can give you is to check the ingredient list on the label. If you cannot determine whether the product contains the ingredient in question, we suggest you do not use it.

It is Wish-Bone's policy to list all forms of gluten on their lables. So, if you don't see wheat, rye, barley or malt, it's not in there. It won't be hidden in "natural flavor".

Reactions to food can be a constant mystery. It's impossible to pinpoint everything and why.

[psawyer]

Wish-Bone is a Unilever brand. They, like Kraft and many other companies, will clearly disclose any gluten source by naming the grain in question. If there is gluten in a Unilever product, one or more of the words wheat, rye, barley or oats will appear on the label. If those words do not appear, then ingredients such as flavors, modified food starch, seasoning, etc. can be taken as gluten-free. No gluten grain is disclosed in that ingredient list. That Unilever product is gluten-free.

Open Original Shared Link

What the caller may have been told is something like, "We cannot guarantee that our products are gluten-free." That does not mean that there is gluten present, only that they do not test each and every batch of each and every product for the possible presence of gluten contamination, and therefore will not accept legal liability in case of a contaminated ingredient.

Edited: Momma Goose and I were both typing at the same time.

[Mitzi]

  psawyer said:

Wish-Bone is a Unilever brand. They, like Kraft and many other companies, will clearly disclose any gluten source by naming the grain in question. If there is gluten in a Unilever product, one or more of the words wheat, rye, barley or oats will appear on the label. If those words do not appear, then ingredients such as flavors, modified food starch, seasoning, etc. can be taken as gluten-free. No gluten grain is disclosed in that ingredient list. That Unilever product is gluten-free.

Open Original Shared Link

What the caller may have been told is something like, "We cannot guarantee that our products are gluten-free." That does not mean that there is gluten present, only that they do not test each and every batch of each and every product for the possible presence of gluten contamination, and therefore will not accept legal liability in case of a contaminated ingredient.

Edited: Momma Goose and I were both typing at the same time.

Thanks to you both. That helps clear things up. I suppose it was a bit of an over reaction on my part but this is still pretty new for me and being a typical mother -- i will do anything for my children and thinking I made her sick was tough to take. We'll stay away from the Wishbone for a while and maybe try again in 6 months or so.

[halfrunner]

I saw monosodium glutamate on the list of ingredients...that is a gluten. It was on a list of no-no's from one of my gluten free books. That's probably where the problem is.

[Lisa]

  halfrunner said:

I saw monosodium glutamate on the list of ingredients...that is a gluten. It was on a list of no-no's from one of my gluten free books. That's probably where the problem is.

MSG is not gluten related. I'm afraid your book in inaccurate.

[Penny-M]

I have to chime in here and say that even though it's gluten free doesn't mean your daughter will be able to tolerate it. She may have sensitivities to even gluten-free foods due to other ingredients that you may not realize she could be sensitive to. I would keep a food diary and see what bothers her and what doesn't. Keep in mind that certain combination foods might bother her because of how the body digest food. It's going to be a hit and miss game for a while, but it will be worth notating and try the food that bothers her again in a month or so, because she may not be able to eat it now but can later on. Not only that but you may need to ask how she was feeling when she ate the meal, stress and anxiety can play a major role in how she will be able to handle her mea, we all know school can cause stress on kids.

Good luck to you.