Daiya Cheese Making Anyone Sick?

[salexander421]

I think I'm having a reaction to this. I emailed the company but have not heard back yet. Their label says it's made in a dairy, egg, soy, and nut free facility but does not say anything about gluten in their facilities. Just wondering.

[climbmtwhitney]

Hi.

Their website lists their cheeses as gluten free. My Celiac daughter has eaten the mozzarella with no problem. I noticed that you're newly diagnosed. You may have other food intolerances such as soy (the basis of the Daiya cheese). I, myself, found out that I'm super soy sensitive about a couple of months after going gluten free. Soy, corn, and dairy intolerances often coexist with gluten issues.

Jillian

[tarnalberry]

I just can't eat too much of the stuff. (And now that I got a stomach virus after having made fake mac'n'cheese, I"m not sure I'll eat the stuff agian. )

[Daiya Foods]

Hello,

We haven't received an email from anyone with a complaint of this nature, would you be able to contact us at cr@daiyafoods.com? We also saw this on twitter and have replied to try and speak with you but haven't had a response yet.

Thanks, we look forward to hearing from you.

Shnane Liem

Daiya Foods

[Daiya Foods]

Hi Jillian,

Our products are actually tapioca based, making them soy-free. Daiya is also free of many common allergens including dairy (casein and lactose), gluten, eggs, rice, peanuts and tree nuts (expect coconut oil). We have our own dedicated production facility that is free of all these allergens, eliminating the potential of cross contamination. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us directly cr@daiyafoods.com.

Shnane Liem

Daiya Foods

[iamsarar]

I don't have any problems with it. It is dairy, lactose, casein, soy and gluten free. Taste like american cheese not cheddar, but it better then nothing when you need cheese. Best non-dairy cheese I have found as far as taste and melting.

[salexander421]

Hello,

We haven't received an email from anyone with a complaint of this nature, would you be able to contact us at cr@daiyafoods.com? We also saw this on twitter and have replied to try and speak with you but haven't had a response yet.

Thanks, we look forward to hearing from you.

Shnane Liem

Daiya Foods

I did receive an email back, thanks for your reply! I don't have a twitter account so you must be talking about someone else. I'm not sure what it was but me and my 2 girls had reactions to it. All of the ingredients seem to be things we don't normally have problems with so that's why I sent an email about possible cross contamination. I was also confused because, although the package says gluten free on the front, on the back it just says "Made in a facility free of animal products, milk, egg, soy, peanuts and tree nuts (excluding coconut)"...it doesn't say anything about the facility being free of gluten. I am sad that we can't have this since it is a wonderful replacement for real cheese Maybe we will try it in a few months when we are better healed. Thanks!

[mszaida]

My two daughters and I started on Daiya cheese a month ago. My 3 year old would get the biggest pimple on her nose within twenty minutes of eating the cheese. I had to take the second bag back to whole foods. I don't know what to do because she has an allergy to dairy and this was the only substitute I know of and she is reacting to it. I am not sure what is in the ingredients that is causing it. No other coconut products cause this.

[tarnalberry]

You might look into "raw cheese" recipes. They're generally made from nuts.

[banta]

I am not gluten-free or celiac, but have some lactose intolerance and my daughter has some severe casein allergies. I've tried Daiya a number of times myself, as I enjoy the flavor. I've tried the shreds, the wedges and the Amy's dairy-free mac n cheese with Daiya. Each time I've eaten it, I've become VIOLENTLY ill within a few hours. Like food poisoning-type ill. At first I thought I did have food poisoning, but I only had this reaction after I ate something with Daiya in it.  I am DEFINITELY not giving it to my daughter.

 

I have NEVER reacted to any other non-dairy cheese in this manner, and I've tried quite a few. I contacted Daiya, and they suggested that perhaps it is too rich for me to digest properly? I don't know about that, but I do know that if you're in the market for cheese alternatives, I would suggest Follow Your Heart instead of Daiya, at least for the mozzarella. I enjoy that from time to time with no ill effects.

[nvsmom]

We have used Daiya shredded cheese substitutes for months and never had a problem yet... or at least anything that we have noticed. We'll keep using it.  My son is dairy free (and has a nut allergy) and it's the only way he can have his pizza or mac n cheese now a days.  I like it sprinkled onto an egg bake or in tacos.

[glutenfree96]

Twice I had a slice of Daiya cream cheese cake (on different occasions). Both times it gave me brain fog and made me crash, totally zapped my energy. I also had severe stomach pain, my stomach was in knots.

[Ennis-TX]

8 hours ago, glutenfree96 said:

Twice I had a slice of Daiya cream cheese cake (on different occasions). Both times it gave me brain fog and made me crash, totally zapped my energy. I also had severe stomach pain, my stomach was in knots.

It is highly processed, many celiacs react to xantham gum, it gives me indigestion, and in large amounts vomiting. You could have a corn issue, I have mild reactions with sweating also with daiya I assume is from my corn allergy.
Some daiya products use pea protein, this is a legume and many have gas, bloat, diarrhea, and indigestion from it.
There is also the coconut oil aspect of it, if you have candida, or some strains of gut bacteria (bad sugar eating ones) the oil can kill them off and cause symptoms from the die off that is like food poisoning.

Another thing to look out for I see with these, is the ice on the outside of the boxes, from a food manager we are taught this means the product has been left out of the freezer where condensation formed on the box then refroze. This gives rise to the chances of it spoiling.  I often see the non dairy frozen products given less priority with safety measures at grocery stores so this could have happened.

PS if you need xantham and dairy free less processed cream cheese look at Miyoko Creamery and Leaf Cuisine, they sell from their sites with expensive 2 day air, but if you watch for promotions they sometimes due free shipping. I found a cheap way of making cream cheese flavored things was buying cheese cake or cream cheese icing extract (dairy free) from LorAnn Oils. I can use it with coconut milk and sweeten with what I like for coconut cheese cake ice pops, or use it for a coconut cream pie with the cheese cake flavoring added in to give it that flavor. I also mix the extracts in with almond butters and make a almond butter pecan pie with the cheese cake extract.....god level great.

[Stacytyler]

On 1/26/2013 at 7:46 PM, mszaida said:

My two daughters and I started on Daiya cheese a month ago. My 3 year old would get the biggest pimple on her nose within twenty minutes of eating the cheese. I had to take the second bag back to whole foods. I don't know what to do because she has an allergy to dairy and this was the only substitute I know of and she is reacting to it. I am not sure what is in the ingredients that is causing it. No other coconut products cause this.

Hey I have been allergic to dairy and soy ever since I was born. Just found out about Daiya. There yogurt is actually really good but there cheese are nasty. I ate one slice of pizza and I had such bad heart burn. Some who are allergic to dairy might be able to eat goats or sheep’s milk. I have come to face the fact that this cheese product doesn’t work well with digestion or anything. But for sweet udi’s blueberry muffins are dairy, soy and gluten free. Also Daiya pride themselves on being allergen friendly but there food is actually really unhealthy especially there cheeses. 

[CMP]

I cannot tolerate Daiya products either. Must be something in the formulation that makes me feel awful - bloating, cramping, etc. within an hour or two of consuming any of their products. 

Almost anything that is “formulated” to seem like a naturally occurring food source seems to give me some reaction , whether due to preservatives or soy or whatever frankensteining was done to create those products. 

However, I have not had a problem with another cheese substitute called Chao. Comes in three varieties.  I find it at Whole Foods as well as my local health food store. 

[jlee]

Add me to the list of people with celiac disease who can't eat Daiya products. I got a terrible stomach ache after eating Daiya gluten-free pizza. 

[Risaspeace]

For me it’s the pea protein. Udi’s also started using pea protein in their new bread, so that’s out, too. I did find Violife alternative “cheeses” at Whole Foods and they’re amazing! I’m able to make Mac n cheese now!

[Laurynlouwho]

On 5/5/2013 at 4:02 PM, banta said:

I am not gluten-free or celiac, but have some lactose intolerance and my daughter has some severe casein allergies. I've tried Daiya a number of times myself, as I enjoy the flavor. I've tried the shreds, the wedges and the Amy's dairy-free mac n cheese with Daiya. Each time I've eaten it, I've become VIOLENTLY ill within a few hours. Like food poisoning-type ill. At first I thought I did have food poisoning, but I only had this reaction after I ate something with Daiya in it.  I am DEFINITELY not giving it to my daughter.

 

I have NEVER reacted to any other non-dairy cheese in this manner, and I've tried quite a few. I contacted Daiya, and they suggested that perhaps it is too rich for me to digest properly? I don't know about that, but I do know that if you're in the market for cheese alternatives, I would suggest Follow Your Heart instead of Daiya, at least for the mozzarella. I enjoy that from time to time with no ill effects.

I too am having the same issues. Severe stomach pain and bloating as well as vomiting. It doesn't look like my body digests the cheese and it's just a rock at the bottom of my gut.

[Carol59]

Yes, I am inflamed. I am sore all over. Started one hour after eating a restaurant pizza with daiya. It is day 3 now and I am a little better. No more chills. Something in daiya cheese is, at least for me, really not food.

[kareng]

33 minutes ago, Carol59 said:

Yes, I am inflamed. I am sore all over. Started one hour after eating a restaurant pizza with daiya. It is day 3 now and I am a little better. No more chills. Something in daiya cheese is, at least for me, really not food.

Maybe it’s not the “cheese” but cc from eating in a restaurant.  

[davemill]

On 4/19/2011 at 10:30 AM, salexander421 said:

I think I'm having a reaction to this. I emailed the company but have not heard back yet. Their label says it's made in a dairy, egg, soy, and nut free facility but does not say anything about gluten in their facilities. Just wondering.

Our daughter has severe celiac symptoms, so she knows when she's been glutened. Daiya products have been a staple of her diet as long as they've been available (remember the stretchy ones? Miss those.) They are dependably Gluten-free Casein-free safe.

[Adam600z]

On 6/24/2019 at 8:49 PM, jlee said:

 

Yes, I got the Daiya pizza and felt a bad churning in my stomach afterwards.   I wasn't sure it Daiya was the cause so I ate it again and had the same reaction.  No more Daiya for me!

[cyclinglady]

1 hour ago, Adam600z said:

Yes, I got the Daiya pizza and felt a bad churning in my stomach afterwards.   I wasn't sure it Daiya was the cause so I ate it again and had the same reaction.  No more Daiya for me!

I am sorry that you got sick.  People who have celiac disease often have additional food allergies or intolerances.  Luckily, those do not trigger the autoimmune reaction that causes the body to attack the small intestine.  Only wheat, barley and rye can do that.  
 

Daiya pizza (certified gluten free) is very highly processed.  Geez, there are almost 50 ingredients.  You could have reacted to any of those.  Me?  I can not tolerate garlic or onions, but I can consume all dairy.  Go figure!  So, no pizza for me — ever!   
 

 

[Edmonton]

Replying to this thread that started in 2011 in 2020. I’ve been vegan for a few months and I’m lactose intolerant. I haven’t had my usual lactose intolerant stomach issues since going vegan, but I had Daiya shredded cheese today and all day I’ve been farting like I just ate an entire dairy cheese cake. Will not be buying from this brand again. The best vegan cheeses I’ve had have limited ingredients. These cheese shreds also have a plasticy like smell to me and were barely edible to begin with. Munch better vegan cheeses out there than this one. 

[Augustus]

I have been trying to figure out why I’ve been feeling terribly sick after eating this cheesecake. I have such a bad headache and stomach ache right now. I’ve eaten this multiple times and I’ve felt sick for a few days after every time. And I’m just now residing it’s the cake...  which sucks because it’s so good.