Amy's Products? Trader Joe's Products?

[PunkyBean]

Does anyone eat Amy's frozen meals? I noticed that even though they specifically say "gluten free" they also make note on the back that they're "processed in a facility with wheat products."

Also, I noticed that Trader Joe's products don't say "gluten free," but "no gluten ingredients." So I'm not sure if that stuff is ok...

Please share your thoughts on one of the brands or both!

I've had a lot of problems in the last month and am trying to find their origination.

Thank you!

[tarnalberry]

I have not had a problem with stuff from Trader Joe's (don't eat much Amy's), but I'm not super sensitive. If I thought I was getting glutened somewhere, and I couldn't identify anything in my kitchen (if you have a shared kitchen, that's the first place I'd look), I'd eliminate anything packaged on shared lines first.

[Bella001]

Does anyone eat Amy's frozen meals? I noticed that even though they specifically say "gluten free" they also make note on the back that they're "processed in a facility with wheat products."

Also, I noticed that Trader Joe's products don't say "gluten free," but "no gluten ingredients." So I'm not sure if that stuff is ok...

Please share your thoughts on one of the brands or both!

I've had a lot of problems in the last month and am trying to find their origination.

Thank you!

I was eating Amy's frozen meals and soups a lot. Although I didn't notice a bad gluten reaction, I started to go down in weight again. I stopped eating that stuff and stuck to fresh fruit, veggies, and protein...weight came back on. I've read somewhere that even "gluten free" foods are allowed to contain a certain tracable amount of gluten. I'm not sure if that's true or not. Also, most of her stuff is full of corn. I've also read that corn can cause issues with people like us. I've cut down on my corn eating as well.

Hope that helps!

[GlutenGladi8or]

I have had no problems with Amy's or Trader Joe's gluten free products and I am fairly sensitive to gluten (too many stories to tell in terms of how little I need to set me off).

Having worked for one of Amy's main competitors, I know that responsible manufacturers actually use dedicated lines and rooms for gluten free items. We were doing it years ago when gluten-free was very unknown. And even though we had a SEALED second room/production line/packing room, our lawyers required us to say "Made in a facility that also processes wheat". Why? Because we were all under the same roof even though they were separate rooms.

Again, I'm not defending Amy's and Trader Joe's. I'm just telling you how it was at our manufacturing facility.

Regardless, read those labels and make your own decisions.

[splash]

I'm highly sensitive and have not had any trouble with Amy's products - they are some of my staple items.

On the OTHER hand, Trader Joe's "Gluten Free" stocks and soups have made me very sick on many occasions. It has been a major problem because I'm often invited to dinner with family and friends that make a commendable effort to buy special ingredients for me but unfortunately have gotten me quite sick. I'm fairly certain that TJ's is to blame for the fact that my Thanksgiving this past year was spent in the bathroom. Some hostesses, for better or worse, insist on feeding me and also will not allow me in their kitchen to see what they've used. It's like being spoonfed impending torture. The problem is that Trader Joe's can label its soups "Gluten Free" when in fact they mean "no gluten ingredients used." I give them credit that they do disclose in the ingredients section that products are manufactured on the same equipment with wheat, but this is fine print that my family does not read once they see "Gluten Free" on the front cover. And because the term Gluten Free is not regulated (and - worse - those who want to regulate it want it to mean that a certain minimum level of gluten is okay), Trader Joe's doesn't know they are doing anything wrong. I adore TJ's for many things, but this problem is literally a major pain in the arse. My absolute least favorite thing to do is to launch a 10-minute conversation at the dinner table about why shared equipment is bad, which inevitably leads the entire table to talk about allergies and symptoms for an entire meal because it fascinates them. I really wish TJ's would save me from this ongoing agony and just take that stupid 2-word phrase off their soup.

[psawyer]

In the US at present, there is no regulated defintion of "gluten-free."

There is a proposed rule under consideration by the FDA that would a require that the product test below 20 ppm. Everybody gets concerned about that, but a truly gluten-free product is, of course, below 20 ppm. The problem is that there is no test that can prove 0 ppm. There is an expensive test that can detect 5 ppm.

[splash]

I agree that 20 ppm is infinitessimal, but for now I'd be more comfortable eating a product that declares that the equipment used is gluten free than eating a product that is 20ppm gluten free but whose manufacturer is not willing to make the same declaration about its equipment. But I do thank you for clarifying the state of things! And to bring it full circle, to TJ's credit they are following existing regulations AND they make a concerted effort to declare their manufacturing practices - and the latter is something many companies could emulate.