Packaging That Does Not Say Gluten Free Still Can Be Right?

[ChickenLady]

Hi all I am new to this gluten free way of life. My son has been having bouts of extreme uncontrollable itching. Doctors can not figure what is wrong with him. I have done my own research and think he has a wheat/gluten allergy. He does not suffer from the intestinal distress thankfully.

In my search for food and ingredients for him I am looking in both specialty isles and also regular isles at the store. We bought some cornflake crumbs in the regular isle and I did not identify anything that would be gluten related in it. We then ventured over to the special gluten free isle and found some gluten free corn flake crumbs there but they were less than have the volume for over double the price. Barring the risk of some manufacturing cross contamination, can regular foods be safe and gluten free even without the box stating specifically gluten free?

[psawyer]

Yes, they can.

But I would not expect cornflakes, or cornflake crumbs to be gluten-free. Mainstream products of that sort will almost always contain gluten in the form of barley malt. Look for the word "malt."

(Don't be confused about words that start with the letters m-a-l-t. Only the exact word "malt" is a concern.)

[krystynycole]

Peter you read my mind! I was thinking the same thing while reading the post. I have never seen gluten free cornflakes or crumbs that was not made specially for gluten free. Gluten has many, may hidden names because of all the derivatives/forms it can take on.

[mushroom]

But back to the original question. Just because a product is in the regular aisle and does not make any gluten free claims, does not mean that the product does in fact contain gluten. I buy quite a few products from the regular shelves that I have come to know and trust, and often you will see a product in two places - on both the regular and the gluten free shelf. Many companies don't want to get into the gluten free marketing/testing business, but neverthless make a product that does not contain gluten.

[love2travel]

But back to the original question. Just because a product is in the regular aisle and does not make any gluten free claims, does not mean that the product does in fact contain gluten. I buy quite a few products from the regular shelves that I have come to know and trust, and often you will see a product in two places - on both the regular and the gluten free shelf. Many companies don't want to get into the gluten free marketing/testing business, but neverthless make a product that does not contain gluten.

Exactly. So many products are naturally gluten free anyway. In fact, I buy far more products that are not labeled as those that are. I try to stay away from processed junk.

[ChickenLady]

Thanks all. I just checked the label of the crumbs. The only Malt is Malt Flavoring. Off to do more research.

[psawyer]

"Malt flavoring" is malt, which is barley, which is gluten. "Malt extract" is also malt.

[kareng]

Malt is malt. No need to research. Maybe you can return it? Give it to the food pantry?

Some people report good results crushing up Corn Chex instead of the more expensive gluten-free cornflakes.