I Think I Just Got Glutened!

[dube]

Okay, I made gluten-free ziti tonight. gluten-free noodles, ragu sauce, ricotta and mozzarella cheese...okay, which one has gluten in it...I dont think I'm ever going to get the hang of it.

[psawyer]

Ragu is a Unilever brand. Any gluten will be clearly disclosed in the ingredients. The cheeses are naturally gluten-free.

[cahill]

Ragu is a Unilever brand. Any gluten will be clearly disclosed in the ingredients. The cheeses are naturally gluten-free.

this is true unless you use the fat free kinds ,,, then you would want to double check the labels.. I have found wheat in some brands of fat free cottage cheese and potato starch in fat free Cheddar and mozzarella

[GlutenFreeManna]

Was the colander/strainer you used to drain the noodles used in the past for gluten pasta? Those are very hard to clean because of all the small holes. You may want to get a new one. Also be wary of anything pourous--wood spoons for example or plastic with scratches or non-stick cookware with scratches.

I hope you feel better soon!

[psawyer]

this is true unless you use the fat free kinds ,,, then you would want to double check the labels.. I have found wheat in some brands of fat free cottage cheese and potato starch in fat free Cheddar and mozzarella

Potato starch is not gluten, although some people do have troubles with nightshades. I don't recall cottage cheese being mentioned--just Ricotta and Mozzarella.

"Fat-free" cheese is not cheese--it is a processed product designed to look and taste like cheese without actually being cheese.

Pure, real cheese is naturally gluten-free, although it is (obviously) dairy.

[T.H.]

Okay, I made gluten-free ziti tonight. gluten-free noodles, ragu sauce, ricotta and mozzarella cheese...okay, which one has gluten in it...

Okay...the collander cc might be a definite issue, or wooden spoons. Seems the most likely

Some other possibilities that it could be:

- ragu sauce. They don't add any gluten on purpose without labeling, no. But that says nothing whatsoever about whether their sauce has been contaminated accidentally. They don't test their products for gluten, last I heard. You could call and see if they have a gluten free line or a gluten free facility. If they don't, there is a small to medium gluten cc risk. It can be fine one time and not okay the next.

- Cheeses - what type of packaging did you get it in? Did you get it sealed up from the original cheese maker, or sliced into blocks at the store and sealed, or sliced at the deli counter? The Deli counter slicer is a definite gluten cc risk - some stores actually say don't buy meats or cheeses sliced at their deli if you are very sensitive (like Kroger, Fry's, Smith's. It's on the Kroger website, a warning on their list of gluten-free items)). If it's sliced into blocks at the grocery store - can still have small cc risk. Cheese packaged from the original packaging company is more likely to be okay, although you might want to check packaging for the 'also produced in a factory that produces wheat' kind of labels.

Also - do you know if you are sensitive to gluten-free oats or not? About 10% of celiacs are. If you are, some gluten-free grain products are less safe for you, because some companies add oats or process oats all around their gluten-free stuff and so it's not safe anymore. If you used Lundberg rice pasta, that company grows oats as their cover crop for their rice. I haven't investigated the others, unfortunately.

[Juliebove]

Another possibility... If your pan is the non-stick kind, it has a scratch and was previously used to cook gluten containing foods.

[WinterSong]

Could you be lactose intolerant? I don't know what your gluten symptoms are, but even aged cheese gives me a horrible stomach ache.

Hope you feel better!

[lovegrov]

Everything you used was gluten-free. Could the Ragu be contaminated? That's possible with ANY processed product, even ones processed on dedicated lines (unless you know that every ingredient was processed on dedicated lines all the way down).

The slicer at many stores is actually pretty safe the days as long as it's just used for deli meats and cheeses. For instance, Kroger doesn't carry anything with gluten in any of its brands of meats and cheeses. Yes, the website says to get there early or have the slicer cleaned, and maybe that's prudent, but these days I can't name a single meat among the major brands I'm aware of that has gluten.

richard

[Menic]

I'd be suspect of the hardware (pots, utensils, strainers). Regular pasta can leave a film behind when boiled that can hide in all sorts of nooks and crannies. I have a couple pots notorious for being hard to clean where the handle is attached to the pot on the inside.

[T.H.]

The slicer at many stores is actually pretty safe the days as long as it's just used for deli meats and cheeses. For instance, Kroger doesn't carry anything with gluten in any of its brands of meats and cheeses.

Actually, I get the impression that it's not the slicer that's the biggest concern but rather that the slicer is in an area that is a bad cc risk. All the food is being prepared in the same area, the sandwiches, pasta salads, etc... Their official warning at the moment is:

"We recommend that individuals attempting to eliminate gluten from their diets not consume any items made in the store bakery or the deli due to the likelihood of cross contamination. This includes meat sliced in the deli."

I find it interesting though that this warning is on the list of their gluten free products, while they suggest coming in early in the morning in another area of the site. I figure it's the same kind of risk anyone would have preparing food in a shared kitchen where no effort made to avoid cross-contamination.

shauna

[kaitlyn77]

I actually had the same problem this week! Gluten free pasta with Ragu. I did not use a colander and the pot does not usually cause issues. I am wondering if the Ragu was cross-contaminated.

[ecf]

Since OP did not capitalize ragu: was it Ragu brand sauce or actually a homemade "ragu" style sauce? If homemade and containing meat, pre-packaged ground meat can have seasonings that you might want to check for gluten.

[psawyer]

Since OP did not capitalize ragu: was it Ragu brand sauce or actually a homemade "ragu" style sauce? If homemade and containing meat, pre-packaged ground meat can have seasonings that you might want to check for gluten.

The OP is in the USA, where Ragu is a registered trademark, so I would expect that they are referring to the Ragu sauce made by Unilever. Unilever will clearly disclose any gluten source in the ingredient list on their products.

[GlutenFreeManna]

Since OP did not capitalize ragu: was it Ragu brand sauce or actually a homemade "ragu" style sauce? If homemade and containing meat, pre-packaged ground meat can have seasonings that you might want to check for gluten.

I have never seen gluten in ground meat...If it were a "meatloaf" mix or something like that it would be disclosed on the package and in the ingredients.

[ecf]

I have never seen gluten in ground meat...If it were a "meatloaf" mix or something like that it would be disclosed on the package and in the ingredients.

I'm not saying most ground meat isn't perfectly safe, just that I have occasionally seen pre-seasoned ground meat with 'natural flavoring' listed, which could be from wheat - and not every meat company discloses the source. Usually in these cases the flavoring seems to be herb-based, like rosemary oil, but it's still good to check with the company.

[psawyer]

In the United States, if any grain product is added to meat it must be disclosed per USDA rules. If the meat is contained in a processed food product, then FALCPA rules apply, and wheat must be clearly disclosed.

[ecf]

In the United States, if any grain product is added to meat it must be disclosed per USDA rules. If the meat is contained in a processed food product, then FALCPA rules apply, and wheat must be clearly disclosed.

Ah, was not aware of this. Thanks for clearing up my misinformation.

[cait]

If it was pre-shredded cheese, there's usually stuff added to keep it from getting clumpy. Depending on what it is, that's a potential source, right? I'm new to this, but I know that's something we need to watch when cooking for our friend with a corn allergy.

[GlutenFreeManna]

If it was pre-shredded cheese, there's usually stuff added to keep it from getting clumpy. Depending on what it is, that's a potential source, right? I'm new to this, but I know that's something we need to watch when cooking for our friend with a corn allergy.

I have never seen any brand of shredded cheese that contains gluten. It may have corn starch, but never seen wheat, barely rye or oats. Corn is not something celiacs have to avoid-- unless they have an additional allergy/intolerance to it.

[kareng]

If it was pre-shredded cheese, there's usually stuff added to keep it from getting clumpy. Depending on what it is, that's a potential source, right? I'm new to this, but I know that's something we need to watch when cooking for our friend with a corn allergy.

That anti clumping stuff is often corn based. NOt a problem for most Celiacs but a problem for your corn allergy person. I prefer shredding the cheese my self then putting it in a baggie to use for a few days.

[psawyer]

I use Kraft shredded cheeses. There is nothing in them except cheese.

[cait]

Ah. I was looking at a list that incorrectly listed cellulose as questionable. Yay. Glad I don't have to worry about that.