Children's Sudafed Liguid

[CeliacMom2008]

Dr. prescribed plain Sudafed for kiddo's post nasal drip. I called Johnson & Johnson and talked to a very nice customer care rep, but I'm still not sure on giving it to him. She said "there's no quantifiable amount of gluten in the product." When I asked if that means there could be a very small amount she said she had been trying to figure that out. She said under shellfish, peanuts and soy it said definitively that these products were not in the Sudafed, but she said under gluten it said the "no quantifiable amount" thing.

Anyone have a pseudoephedrine product they use for thier kiddos?

[kareng]

I use the adult Sudafed brand because they said it was gluten-free. The Walmart brand said they weren't. Sounds like a legal CYA statement.

[CeliacMom2008]

Yeah, I thought it sounded CYA. I was just really thrown off by the declaration that it was absolutely peanut, soy and shellfish free, but only "no quantifiable amount of gluten." Don't people understand when you have a sick kid the last thing you want to do is make them sicker!!!

[psawyer]

Yeah, I thought it sounded CYA. I was just really thrown off by the declaration that it was absolutely peanut, soy and shellfish free, but only "no quantifiable amount of gluten." Don't people understand when you have a sick kid the last thing you want to do is make them sicker!!!

Yes, they understand. But the best available test can only detect 5 parts per million, and it is expensive. Levels of gluten below 5 ppm can not be detected. Gluten is ubiquitous in North American society. It is everywhere, so there is always a risk of contamination. People eat bread for lunch and then go back to work. The company is just being honest when they say they can't guarantee zero gluten. Nobody can honestly make that claim.

To repeat, the best assurance you can ever get is less than 5 ppm. The test is expensive, and is included in the price of the product.

[CeliacMom2008]

So do you think there is a way to test for peanuts, shellfish and soy to make the claim a product doesn't contain them? I'm just curious...

[psawyer]

I don't know for sure. I would expect that testing for anything is possible, but in any case, the test will have a minimum sensitivity level which will not be zero.

Gluten peanuts and shellfish are not nearly as common as bread and cookies are. Soy is more common, but as a minor ingredient, as opposed to wheat--the principal ingredient in most baked goods.