Unpetroleum Jelly

[plumbago]

Hello all,

I just bought some Alba un-petroleum multipurpose jelly at Whole Foods. I talked to someone yesterday (not celiac) who gave me horror stories about Vaseline so I decided to try something else.

The ingredients seem ok, but I can't verify for sure w/ Alba's web site (they chicken out).

Has anyone been using this who knows if it's gluten-free or not?

Thanks.

Plumbago

[maximoo]

can you tell us about the horror stories please?

[plumbago]

can you tell us about the horror stories please?

Very good question, now that you mention it!

Well just that he said it's PETROLEUM, you know, and that it's better to eat it (he said) even, than to put it on your skin. I said I put it on my nails every night! He just said there are tons of toxins in there that can get into your blood stream. It's not anything particular with Celiac disease. Petroleum is a chemical.

He didn't go into much detail beyond that. And if you are asking because you have a small child in mind, I would recommend NOT listening to me on this! And doing your own research. All of which is to say, I think I might have let him scare me a bit too much. Nevertheless, I have the product, and I'd still like to know if anyone knows if Alba unpretroleum jelly is gluten-free?

Thanks.

Plumbago

[sa1937]

If it's Un-petroleum, how could it have petroleum in it?

Ingredients: Ricinus communis (castor) seed oil, cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, beeswax, hydrogenated castor oil, tocopheryl acetate and tocopherol (Vitamin E).

Open Original Shared Link

Are your products gluten-free?

Our vegetable-based formulations come from a variety of sources and combinations of derivatives. Therefore, we cannot specifically guarantee that any of our products are gluten-free.

If you are sensitive to a particular ingredient, please look up the product of concern to see what ingredients we use. If you find that our quality-based formulations do not meet your specific personal needs, may your continued product search provide you with what you're looking for.

[plumbago]

Hi Sylvia,

Yes, I looked that up on the web site too, and that is what I read too. My question is not if unpretroleum jelly has petroleum in it, but if it has gluten in it. If I had to guess which would be the culprit, I might say the hydrogenated castor oil, or the topopheryl acetate. But I really have no idea.

Plumbago

[ravenwoodglass]

Hi Sylvia,

Yes, I looked that up on the web site too, and that is what I read too. My question is not if unpretroleum jelly has petroleum in it, but if it has gluten in it. If I had to guess which would be the culprit, I might say the hydrogenated castor oil, or the topopheryl acetate. But I really have no idea.

Plumbago

Castor oil would be gluten safe as that is derived from the castor bean. The tocopheryl acetate and tocopherol (Vitamin E)would be the risk as they can be derived from wheat, soy or other oils. I would ask what those were derived from. That said some will be able to tolerate them because they are highly processed but I do have to avoid those ingredients myself if derived from soy or wheat.

[plumbago]

Thanks Ravenwood. Very helpful. I've sent them an email. I'll let you know what they say.

UPDATE: I went back to their Web site (Open Original Shared Link). If you scroll over the good news propaganda ( ) about vitamin E, it says: derived from wheat germ and/or vegetable oils. So if it is wheat germ, then presumably not gluten free. ?

Man.

[plumbago]

Castor oil would be gluten safe as that is derived from the castor bean. The tocopheryl acetate and tocopherol (Vitamin E)would be the risk as they can be derived from wheat, soy or other oils. I would ask what those were derived from. That said some will be able to tolerate them because they are highly processed but I do have to avoid those ingredients myself if derived from soy or wheat.

Called today.

Very disappointing.

They told me: too many multi chemical interferences to know for sure.

We're not comfortable saying an item is gluten free.

We don't test personal care products.

The test for gluten in food does not work for personal care products.

Into the giveaway bin.

[plumbago]

A response received from Hain Celestial:

Thank you for taking the time to contact us regarding our Multi-Purpose Jelly. We apologize for the delay in our reply and appreciate your patience. We strive to maintain the highest quality products and we appreciate your patronage.

The Tocopheryl acetate and tocopherol (Vitamin E) are derived from wheat germ and/or vegetable oils. We are not able to get any more specific than that as the source may change from time to time depending on availability at the time of manufacture.

Thank you for your continued support. If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us at 1-800-434-4246, Monday through Friday from 7AM - 5PM Mountain Time.

Sincerely,

Pamela

Consumer Relations Representative