What If The Package Says "Manufactured In A Facility That Processes Wheat"?

[Sarah B]

I was looking for protien bars that I could eat and read in another part of this form that Zone Perfect Bars are good and there are about 5 that are gluten free. So I went to the store and found them and picked up a box to buy. But when I looked at the ingredients, it was true, there is no gluten in the actual ingredients BUT they are made in a facility that processes wheat.

Also I bought some Amy's produsts like pizza, enchladas because they say on the box in great big letters "Gluten free." Or contain no gluten ingredents. But once again as I look at the back, It says that it was mde in a factory that process wheat.

Are these safe to eat?

[psawyer]

It means that somewhere in the building, wheat is present. Many celiacs eat products made in such facilities without any problems.

Do you have any wheat products in your home? If so, then your home is "a facility that processes wheat."

[RachelisFacebook]

  On 10/31/2010 at 5:25 PM, psawyer said:

It means that somewhere in the building, wheat is present. Many celiacs eat products made in such facilities without any problems.

Do you have any wheat products in your home? If so, then your home is "a facility that processes wheat."

That is probably the best explanation of that I have heard! I never thought about it that way...

[kareng]

I usually only worry about the ones that say " may contain wheat". I figure they know something about how it was processed that I don't. Makes me think they don't clean well.

[rosetapper23]

From what I remember from a study that was done several years ago, the results were as follows:

If a product has been produced on equipment that also processes wheat products, there is a 70% chance of contamination.

If a product has been produced in a plant that also processes wheat products, there is a 30% chance of contamination.

The article stated that if you are highly sensitive to gluten, no such products should be consumed. I personally throw caution to the wind when it comes to something I really want to eat and the product was merely manufactured in a plant that also processes wheat even though I'm highly sensitive. That's a choice we all have to make.

[Jestgar]

Rose, quoting statistics without providing the source isn't really credible. As far as we can tell, if you don't cite your source, these may be numbers you made up in your head. Please post where you found this information.

[Kay DH]

It is a bit of a gamble. How well did they clean the equipment of wheat before they processed the gluten-free grains? The first run after processing wheat probably has more contamination than later runs. I have gotten sick from labeled gluten-free hummus and other grains that were "processed in a plant that...". If you are very sensitive to cc, then you might want to avoid these products.

[DougE]

  On 10/31/2010 at 5:25 PM, psawyer said:

It means that somewhere in the building, wheat is present. Many celiacs eat products made in such facilities without any problems.

Do you have any wheat products in your home? If so, then your home is "a facility that processes wheat."

My concern with a facility that processes wheat is that they are likely using wheat flour in some way. Yes, my home contains wheat products but they are already baked. I do not keep wheat flour in my home because once it gets in the air it can stay suspended there for some time. Sorry, I can't quote sources, but I am willing to bet that the time flour can remain in the air is closer to hours than minutes. Maybe someone else reading this can quote some numbers.

[psawyer]

A plant that uses wheat flour would, of course, fall under this umbrella.

But so would a factory making packaged foods that include pasta, say as noodles in canned soup. If the noodles are made on site, the machine making them is likely to be in a different room, with only the finished noodles getting anywhere near the cannery.

The degree of risk has a lot to do with the types of foods and manufacturing methods. It is difficult to generalize.

[lovegrov]

I want to agree with Peter here. There's absolutely no way to put a percentage chance of contamination on all products in one lump. There are certain things that are simply inherently more likely to be contaminated.

richard

[laurelfla]

Dear Sarah,

As you can tell, we all have different opinions on the matter, and it is one of those things where you have to decide your own level of comfort. I personally only eat products with a processing warning now and then. In other words, there is nothing that I eat on a daily basis that has a cross-contamination warning. You are right, though -- the labeling is frustrating and there's no way to truly know what the risks are, since some companies will tell you exactly what you need to know, and others will simply issue a CYA statement.

  On 10/31/2010 at 4:33 PM, Sarah B said:

I was looking for protien bars that I could eat and read in another part of this form that Zone Perfect Bars are good and there are about 5 that are gluten free. So I went to the store and found them and picked up a box to buy. But when I looked at the ingredients, it was true, there is no gluten in the actual ingredients BUT they are made in a facility that processes wheat.

Also I bought some Amy's produsts like pizza, enchladas because they say on the box in great big letters "Gluten free." Or contain no gluten ingredents. But once again as I look at the back, It says that it was mde in a factory that process wheat.

Are these safe to eat?

[ravenwoodglass]

  On 11/1/2010 at 3:19 AM, laurelfla said:

Dear Sarah,

As you can tell, we all have different opinions on the matter, and it is one of those things where you have to decide your own level of comfort. I personally only eat products with a processing warning now and then. In other words, there is nothing that I eat on a daily basis that has a cross-contamination warning. You are right, though -- the labeling is frustrating and there's no way to truly know what the risks are, since some companies will tell you exactly what you need to know, and others will simply issue a CYA statement.

And some products will give no warning at all about CC in any form just a list of ingredients in the product. Hence the advice given to folks that are just beginning to go with as much unprocessed foods as possible. CC warnings are voluntary and some companies are good about putting them on the label and some don't bother.

[Rowena]

My personal philosophy is that I use as much unprocessed foods as possible, and if I do use processed foods, I usually stay away from the ones that mention wheat. (Unless of course it says, good manufacturing practises are used to maintain the purity of the product, or whatever it says. But even then I am wary) But then again, I also am new to this diet and I am still testing out for myself what's safe and what isn't