Safeway O Organics Pasta Sauce gluten-free?

[basilicious]

I'm finally in the process of purging my cabinets of all gluten, and I noticed that Safeway's O Organics pasta sauce contains "organic spices". I can't find specific information on Safeway's site, but online comments point to Safeway's canned beans, veggies and sauces being safe. I plan to contact their customer service line tomorrow, but does anyone have any experience with this sauce? The devil is in the details when dealing with "natural favors" and "spices"...

Thanks!

[tom]

I've had them & been fine, tho I don't think I'm a super-sensitive.

[Skylark]

I would eat that spaghetti sauce and not worry at all. I eat Safeway brand foods all the time with no issues.

It is illegal to hide wheat in "natural flavors" or "spices". The ingredient of concern in "natural flavors" is barley malt, but malt is very expensive and is usually listed separately on the label because it's a luxury ingredient. Malt would be a bizarre thing to put in spaghetti sauce anyway; it is usually used in cereals and desserts. More often than not, in a savory food like spaghetti sauce the "natural flavors" are some form of MSG.

A lot of major food manufacturers like General Mills and ConAgra have agreed to always declare barley, wheat, or rye but I don't know specifically about Safeway.

[psawyer]

The devil is in the details when dealing with "natural favors" and "spices"...

Are you confusing seasonings with spices? There are a large number of things that are permitted in "spices," but none of them are grains. "Seasonings," on the other hand, can conceal barley (but as Skylark noted, rarely if ever does). If it includes wheat, the word "wheat" will appear on the label.

[basilicious]

Thanks so much for your comments. I was confused because, as I've read through how to de-gluten your kitchen, I've seen that spices can contain gluten...so I was concerned that spices used in commercially-produced food could also have it in there. Glad to know that there are regulations about this!!

[Skylark]

The warning about spices is because a lot of spice, herb, or seasoning mixes sold for meats have flour in them to help the meat brown or keep seasonings from clumping. The flour will be clearly declared on the label.