Worried Mom having an emotional night

[Robbie0166 0]

My son asked me to find out if TruMoo chocolate milk was gluten free, as it has been added to their cafeteria. I emailed the company and got the response below. I believe it is the worst response I have ever received from a company about the gluten status of its products. They didn't tell me anything except that gluten was not one of the Big 8. I didn't ask for a list of gluten free products, only if this one product was gluten free. Since the product is at school, I have not seen the ingredient list.

Thank you for your recent e-mail to TruMoo. We appreciate your interest in our products.

Currently, gluten is not considered one of the Big 8 allergenic foods (milk, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, eggs, fish, shellfish, and soy) and the Food & Drug Administration does not provide gluten-free labeling guidelines.

Because we produce a wide variety of products under Dean Foods and other regional private labels, it is very difficult to list every gluten-free product we manufacture.

As with any food product, the best source for nutrient and ingredient information is the package's Nutrition Facts label. In addition, the Food Allergen Network, www.foodallergy.org, is an excellent resource for information related to this topic.

If you have any other questions or concerns, remember that we are just a phone call or an e-mail away.

Sincerely,

Linda Martinez

Consumer Response Representative

Ref: Y1488743

[kareng 2,144]

That's a CYA for a large A.

I think it's just chocolate milk, it's probbly fine. could you go up to school before lunch & read the ingredients?

That being said....I think I know someone who works for this company. I'll check and let you know if that's the case.

[Lisa 462]

Actually , that response is pretty typical. Few company's will insure a gluten free status unless they test and frequently. What they are saying is that they will comply with the law and list wheat if an ingredient. Wheat would not be a player here, but barley malt may in the chocolate milk.

Search the internet, get some other sources and then make an informed choice. Here is a listing of gluten free items from Wendy's, which I believe includes the milk in questions as listed as gluten free. Wendy's is one of the good guys : (scroll down)

http://www.wendys.com/food/pdf/us/gluten_free_list.pdf