Alpro Desserts/ Vanillin

[jaywalker]

I just got glutened by Alpro Chocolate Flavour Soya Dessert. I should have known better. It happenened to several times over a year or two back , and i wrote to Alpro asking if a batch might have got contaminated? They wrote back denying that was possible and pointing out that their products met the current standards of less than blah-blah parts per wotsit. and it wasn't their fault if i was sensitive to even lower concentrations than that.

I really didn't like their tone. Nor that they didn't even try answer my question as to what might be the reason why i reacted to the chocoate dessert but not vanilla, It was totally about denying responsibilty, no useful info at all.

Anyway, that was a long time ago, and now I've a problem with vegetable oil, and had to cut even more things out of my diet, and I'm scratching around for things i can eat, i started wondering if i might have made some kind of mistake, way back then, peered at the gluten free label, and decided to give it another chance. first boc, fine,. 2nd box, glutenened again. and like an idiot I've now consumed the who;le box over the space of 5 hours (5-6 hours is how it takes before i get a reaction, every time)so i'm gonna get more reactions now

Anyway, i just looked at the ingredients, and , aside from cocoa, these are the only things that are in the choocolate flavour and not vanilla flavour are: natural flavour, vanillin.

I see there's been some debate on this forum as to whether vanillin is safe or not, and conflicting reports elsewhere on the web. Does any body know where to find a really authoritative statement about it?

Does anybody else have this problem?

And apart from never eating the damned stuff again, what can I/should i do?

Try to get some more with the same batch number and send it away to get it analysed? (where? and how much would it cost? and did i mention i'm on the breadline and living hand to mouth? so it better not cost too much. and I'm in the UK, btw)

I'm really pissed off with Alpro, by now. If i can get them in trouble, i bloody well will

[txplowgirl]

I've never seen that but I'm here in the US, it might be here but i've never seen it. I was wondering. Does it have soy in it? I'm assuming that's the Soya in the label. Soy can make you feel like you've been glutened. Just saying. I hope you get to feeling better.

[jaywalker]

I've never seen that but I'm here in the US, it might be here but i've never seen it. I was wondering. Does it have soy in it? I'm assuming that's the Soya in the label. Soy can make you feel like you've been glutened. Just saying. I hope you get to feeling better.

Thanks. Yes, it does, and I know, but i consume other soy products every day, without ill effect...includung their Vanuilla desser

[ravenwoodglass]

I am not familiar with the product but I would wonder about the natural flavors. With chocolate there may be malt in the flavoring and that would not need to be declared and may be in a small enough amount to still test below the allowed ppm level. Unfortunately that allowed level may still be too much gluten for some of us. At least you know not to ever touch the stuff again as for whatever reason your body doesn't like it.

[ecf]

Jaywalker, sorry to hear you've had trouble with the chocolate dessert. I have not had any of Alpro's soya desserts (do not tolerate tapioca well) but do eat their soya yogurt. Haven't had a problem with it, and am curious to know if you do alright with it as well.

And an aside for the others: as far as I know Alpro is only in Europe.

[jimjoot]

Hey Jaywalker, I'm really sorry to hear about your glutening- I sympathise, having done basically the same thing with Alpro Soya today.

I also know what a pain it can be to have to cook/eat on a shoe string, I hope things have picked up since 2011. I don't know if this is any good to you but, if vegetable oil is playing your stomach up, have you tried either:

1) Pure Sunflower spread? (Melt it like butter onto frying pan/whatever instead of oil), or

2) Alfa One Rice Bran Oil?

They're both quite tasty- in fact, a non-coeliac friend told me that he recently started using the Rice Bran Oil instead of Olive Oil.

Hope your situation picks up soon mate.

[jaywalker]

hi, i  feel kinda bad for not getting back to you guys

 

since posting the above , i've developed so many food intolerences, i can't be absolutely sure that gluten was responsible. but then, on the other hand gluten always gives me a pain in my lower back, whereas other food always  give me me a pain at the front (don't ask me why that difference !  no idea) and it looks like i'd developed enough intolerences to have spotted the difference by then

 

but i really am a hopeless case! can barely eat anything bar fruit and leafy/root vegetsables now