Red Rock Deli Potato Chips Possible Gluten Contamination?

[gf-soph]

Hi all

Heads up - I'm pretty sure that the potato chips in question are an Aussie brand only.

I've been eating the plain chips as the ingredients are safe for gluten and my elimination diet and there's no 'may contain traces' warning on the pack.

However, a couple of times in the last few months I have noticed a slight aftertaste on them which I think is traces of the flavouring of the other types of chips, some of which contain gluten. At the time I thought I might be oversensitive to tastes as I am on a very bland elimination diet, but unfortunately my antigliadin levels have gone up a bit, so I'm reevaluating my previous assumptions!

I'm going through and rechecking all other possible contamination sources, but the chips are my only real likely dietary source, as the other couple of processed foods I eat are tested as gluten free at 5ppm.

I'm going to call their info line on Monday, but I was wondering if anyone had had adverse reactions to them, or had noticed differences in taste like I have?

Thanks

Sophie

[11475]

Hi all

Heads up - I'm pretty sure that the potato chips in question are an Aussie brand only.

I've been eating the plain chips as the ingredients are safe for gluten and my elimination diet and there's no 'may contain traces' warning on the pack.

However, a couple of times in the last few months I have noticed a slight aftertaste on them which I think is traces of the flavouring of the other types of chips, some of which contain gluten. At the time I thought I might be oversensitive to tastes as I am on a very bland elimination diet, but unfortunately my antigliadin levels have gone up a bit, so I'm reevaluating my previous assumptions!

I'm going through and rechecking all other possible contamination sources, but the chips are my only real likely dietary source, as the other couple of processed foods I eat are tested as gluten free at 5ppm.

I'm going to call their info line on Monday, but I was wondering if anyone had had adverse reactions to them, or had noticed differences in taste like I have?

Thanks

Sophie

This will be a bit rambling - sorry - tired.

I have problems with potatoes, but am also on very few foods, and this is the one processed food I, unfortunately, still 'cheat' with when I am too tired to cook. So - I'm probably not much help, because these cause problems for me anyway. I wasn't sure if it was just the potato problem, or if maybe the salt (which only says 'salt', not 'sea salt' on the ingredient list) was 'laced' with corn (I haven't looked into it further than trying to find info on the website...not helpful). For me, sometimes the symptoms are worse than other times, but I honestly can't say that I've noticed a connection between feeling worse and having a slightly 'off' tasting bag.

Either way - I have definitely noticed that at times, they taste a little different. (I'm assuming you're talking about the plain, 'Sea Salt' chips - that's the only flavour I've eaten and I haven't checked the other flavours.) I'd love to hear what you find out. It could be shared machinery? Not sure.

Sorry I can't be on any help, but I do know what you're talking about with regards to the flavour. Please let us know what they say.

[gf-soph]

Yep, just the sea salt ones. I'll ask about corn in the salt if you like, why not kill two birds with one stone. I eat potatoes regularly and I'm sure I don't have a problem with them, so it's really only a possible contamination issue I'm considering here. I also suspect shared machinery, I'll see if they'll give me that much info.

I do also eat piranha brand plain potato grills which are labelled gluten free and I haven't noticed any taste difference, but they aren't stocked as widely as red rock.

I will definitely post an update on the chips.

[11475]

Yep, just the sea salt ones. I'll ask about corn in the salt if you like, why not kill two birds with one stone. I eat potatoes regularly and I'm sure I don't have a problem with them, so it's really only a possible contamination issue I'm considering here. I also suspect shared machinery, I'll see if they'll give me that much info.

I do also eat piranha brand plain potato grills which are labelled gluten free and I haven't noticed any taste difference, but they aren't stocked as widely as red rock.

I will definitely post an update on the chips.

Thanks, I'd appreciate that! Hope you get some answers and that it's not a cc issue. Although, for the sake of you finding out the problem, I suppose it would be good to know you could pin it on these and move forward with your health. (Also - I re-read and you did say the plain ones - sorry about my silly brain skipping over that!)

I've tried the plain potato grills once. I wasn't too keen on them myself, but maybe they'll be a good alternative for you if the RR Deli chips do turn out to be unsafe. I've found them stocked mainly in IGA supermarkets, as opposed to the two major supermarkets if that helps.

Good luck with the call!

[gf-soph]

I spoke to someone at red rock today, and I was pretty impressed. She was aware of celiac and gluten issues, and was happy to give me a lot of detail about their processes. She said that they fry the chips, then add the salt and add a very fine spray of palm oil to help it stick. They don't have any corn or other additives in their salt, which is a bonus!

She was very clear that they only make one flavour at a time, and they run a wet wash of the lines between each flavour. They also test the lines for gluten before making the plain chips, and they are bagged away before any other flavours are made. She said that the only thing that could account for flavour differences was changes in potato varieties.

I was really impressed that they not only wash the lines, but test for gluten every time. I suggested to them that they make that information available on their website, as it's great to know that they are so thorough.

I think I have pinned down my cc to my morning coffee, so sadly that is now gone. Good to know I have red rock as my emergency backup when out and about!

[11475]

I'm glad it was a positive phone call! Good to know they test for gluten, and I agree - they should make that information available on their website! I hadn't considered different varieties of potato being the cause of flavour changes, but I suppose, 'why not'. (It's easier to believe this since you said they seemed to be knowledgeable about gluten and cc.) Thanks for sharing the outcome.

Thanks for asking about corn too .

I'm glad you can still rely on these, and also that you've worked out where the cc was coming from.

[Jason 2540]

Well I spoke with red rock today about there honey soy chips and there is no gluton in this product but she also said that there is a possibility of cross contamination but the problem with this is it’s not stated on packet so that’s no help 

[TJBURNS]

On ‎8‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 1:39 PM, Jason 2540 said:

Well I spoke with red rock today about there honey soy chips and there is no gluton in this product but she also said that there is a possibility of cross contamination but the problem with this is it’s not stated on packet so that’s no help 

I'm in Australia, & I spoke to them today about honey soy chicken chips. There is no direct ingredient in them containing gluten, however the packaging now bears "contains gluten" tag because the factory is not declared gluten free.