Can You Trust A Company's Word About Gluten Free On Non-Labeled Products?

[Melissa72]

I'm a newly diagnosed Celiac and still trying to figure this all out. I've read that soy sauce is typically not gluten free. I had a bottle of Kroger brand low-sodium soy sauce and decided to call the manufacturer to see if it was by any chance gluten-free. They told me that it is gluten-free.

It made me wonder - do you trust a company when they say something is gluten free but it's not labeled as such? Do you call a second time to make sure you get the same answer?

And sort of along those lines - if the product is gluten free, why aren't they labeling it gluten-free? Seems like that would help them sell more.

[sa1937]

Welcome to the forum! I use a lot of products that do not specifically say gluten-free on the package. That said, I do read more labels than I even care to think about. I have a bottle of Food Lion soy sauce that does not say gluten-free on it but it does not contain wheat, which has to be declared here in the U.S. So I trust my instinct if I want to use a product or not.

A lot of foods are naturally gluten-free so I doubt companies would go through expensive testing just to slap a gluten-free label on a product. The longer you're at this, the easier it will be. My first grocery shopping trip was a nightmare and took forever.

Kikkoman has recently come out with gluten-free soy sauce but I haven't yet seen it around here (the bottles are specifically marked gluten-free). San-J also has a wheat-free Tamari sauce. Kikkoman used to be my favorite so I'll definitely buy it when I see it.

[lovegrov]

I'm a newly diagnosed Celiac and still trying to figure this all out. I've read that soy sauce is typically not gluten free. I had a bottle of Kroger brand low-sodium soy sauce and decided to call the manufacturer to see if it was by any chance gluten-free. They told me that it is gluten-free.

It made me wonder - do you trust a company when they say something is gluten free but it's not labeled as such? Do you call a second time to make sure you get the same answer?

And sort of along those lines - if the product is gluten free, why aren't they labeling it gluten-free? Seems like that would help them sell more.

I generally trust, expecially since in the U.S. we still have no standard for what constitutes gluten-free, so a lot of companies don't label ANYTHING as gluten-free.

The Kroger soy sauce is indeed gluten-free. It doesn't have wheat.

richard

[psawyer]

And sort of along those lines - if the product is gluten free, why aren't they labeling it gluten-free? Seems like that would help them sell more.

Sadly, there are a number of misinformed people who believe "gluten-free" means "tastes like crud." A gluten-free label may cause these people to not buy a product because it is labeled gluten-free. It's not a guaranteed upside.

[rdunbar]

I don't trust products that claim 'gluten free' to be gluten free, so why would i trust one that doesn't??

i trust sweet potatoes and meat and vegetables (especially with skins) to be gluten free, thats it.

even then i'm not 100% sure. someone could have injected it with a syringe!! (just kidding), but no, i do feel THAT paranoid about gluten the more i realize how pernicious it really is, and the devastating effects its had on my life.

now that i'm getting better, and am excited about the possiblities for myself, i feel willing to do anything to eliminate the risk of gluten exposure .

avoiding a product seems like nothing, really.

[lovegrov]

This is not a criticism of rdunbar, but for newbies, the vast majority of us are not nearly as paranoid about gluten contamination nor do we need to be.

richard