Confused About Natural And Artifical Flavors

[loci80015]

Being newly diagnosed with gluten sensitivity, I am learning the ropes of becoming completely gluten free. One thing that strikes me when I read labels is that I was told to stay away from anything that has artificial or natural flavoring in it as it contains gluten. I wanted to check a couple of items that I love, like my pumpkin spiced lattes at Starbucks for example......or the occasional soda. I went on several gluten free websites claiming that these are gluten free. So I am confused.....are these flavorings gluten free or not? Are they dependent on the product?

Thanks!

[psawyer]

There are ingredients that are always gluten-free, for example "corn starch." There are ingredients that always contain gluten, such as "barley malt." And there are many ingredients in which gluten can be hidden. It is possible for gluten to hide in flavoring, but it almost never does.

Shelley Case, RD, in her book Gluten-Free Diet: A Comprehensive Resource Guide says,

It would be rare to find a "natural or artificial flavoring" containing gluten because: (a) hydrolyzed wheat protein cannot be hidden under the term "flavor," and ( barley malt extract or barley malt flavoring is almost always declared as "barley malt extract" or "barley malt flavoring." For this reason, most experts do not restrict natural and artificial flavorinfs in the gluten-free diet.

For other ingredients which may or may not contain gluten, such as "modified food starch" you may need to contact the manufacturer to see if it is a gluten-containing starch (wheat will be labeled, but barley or rye need not be). There is a long list of companies and brands that you don't need to call because their policy is to always explicitly declare gluten sources by naming the grain in the ingredients list. The list includes Kraft, Unilever, General Mills and others. Open Original Shared Link

[lovegrov]

As said, artificial flavor is gluten-free. Natural flavor COULD hide gluten but in reality never or almost never does. Since the U.S. has started requiring that wheat be listed, I don't worry about it.

richard

[Swimmr]

Being newly diagnosed with gluten sensitivity, I am learning the ropes of becoming completely gluten free. One thing that strikes me when I read labels is that I was told to stay away from anything that has artificial or natural flavoring in it as it contains gluten. I wanted to check a couple of items that I love, like my pumpkin spiced lattes at Starbucks for example......or the occasional soda. I went on several gluten free websites claiming that these are gluten free. So I am confused.....are these flavorings gluten free or not? Are they dependent on the product?

Thanks!

I don't think those pumpkin spice latte's are safe...

here's a link to one of the threads here

[Linda C]

There are ingredients that are always gluten-free, for example "corn starch." There are ingredients that always contain gluten, such as "barley malt." And there are many ingredients in which gluten can be hidden. It is possible for gluten to hide in flavoring, but it almost never does.

Shelley Case, RD, in her book Gluten-Free Diet: A Comprehensive Resource Guide says,

For other ingredients which may or may not contain gluten, such as "modified food starch" you may need to contact the manufacturer to see if it is a gluten-containing starch (wheat will be labeled, but barley or rye need not be). There is a long list of companies and brands that you don't need to call because their policy is to always explicitly declare gluten sources by naming the grain in the ingredients list. The list includes Kraft, Unilever, General Mills and others. Open Original Shared Link

[Linda C]

What about vanilla flavoring? It is made with alcohol. Isn't alcohol made from barley? Or am I just confused on this? I just started my gluten-free diet about 3 weeks ago.

[psawyer]

What about vanilla flavoring? It is made with alcohol. Isn't alcohol made from barley? Or am I just confused on this? I just started my gluten-free diet about 3 weeks ago.

Alcohol can be made from just about anything, but the distillation process creates a product that is gluten-free, even if the original grain was a gluten source. So no worries about vanilla.

[jerseyangel]

What about vanilla flavoring? It is made with alcohol. Isn't alcohol made from barley? Or am I just confused on this? I just started my gluten-free diet about 3 weeks ago.

Hi Linda, and welcome.

McCormick's Pure Vanilla Extract is made with synthetically derived alcohol, so no chance of it being from wheat--regardless.