Gopicnic Ready To Eat Meals

[Fields]

I have been given Gluten Free GoPicnic ready to eat meals. They claim to b gluten free but also made in a factory with wheat. Does anyone have experience with them?

[kareng]

I eat them when I travel. They are a company that buys pre- packaged items and puts them together as a meal in a box. Which item do you object to? They usually have Crunchmaster crackers which are gluten-free. They come in little packs from Crunchmasters. They do package some non- gluten-free meals, so you need to look on the top left hand corner for the gluten-free designation. Each item is made in its separate facility and packaged. Then Go picnic puts them in a box.

[Juliebove]

My daughter has had them but they just don't work for us because they always seem to have nuts or seeds in there. She has additional food intolerances.

[birdie22]

I have eaten them when traveling and haven't had any issues.

[mboebel]

I've had them and they were just fine. There is a lot of food in there!

[Fields]

I eat them when I travel. They are a company that buys pre- packaged items and puts them together as a meal in a box. Which item do you object to? They usually have Crunchmaster crackers which are gluten-free. They come in little packs from Crunchmasters. They do package some non- gluten-free meals, so you need to look on the top left hand corner for the gluten-free designation. Each item is made in its separate facility and packaged. Then Go picnic puts them in a box.

This is great. Thanks!!!

[Fields]

I've had them and they were just fine. There is a lot of food in there!

Thanks. didn't need a step backward.Of course, none of us do.

[greenbeanie]

I realize this thread is a couple years old, but I'm wondering if anyone has recent experience with this. We've eaten a couple of the gluten-free Go Picnics with no problems - the pepperoni one with Crunchmaster crackers, and the one with a turkey stick. All of the contents of those boxes seem fine.

However, we just opened the Black Bean Dip & Plantain Chips meal. It has a seed packet in clear plastic that has "Made in a facility that also processes peanuts, tree nuts, and wheat" stamped on it. The box indicates that this is a seed mix from Sweet Perry Orchard, although the packet in the box just says "Power Play" and doesn't have the brand name on it. Also, in the same box, there are ZimZam's Orbites dark chocolate and tangerine candies, which have this on the ingredients list: "...(codex-approved gluten-free wheat starch). Contains wheat, soy."

Should I trust the gluten-free label on this particular Go Picnic meal? We tried two other products made in shared facilities previously (other brands), and my daughter had an almost immediate reaction to both of them, and I also had a reaction to the one I ate. So we've stayed far away from things made in shared facilities unless we researched their manufacturing practices first and were confident that it was more of a CYA statement than a likely risk. We did not eat the seed mix or chocolates tonight because the wheat statements scared me off...but maybe codex wheat and the shared facilities are actually safe for these items? Has anyone eaten the Black Bean Dip meal with no problems?

[icelandgirl]

I realize this thread is a couple years old, but I'm wondering if anyone has recent experience with this. We've eaten a couple of the gluten-free Go Picnics with no problems - the pepperoni one with Crunchmaster crackers, and the one with a turkey stick. All of the contents of those boxes seem fine.

However, we just opened the Black Bean Dip & Plantain Chips meal. It has a seed packet in clear plastic that has "Made in a facility that also processes peanuts, tree nuts, and wheat" stamped on it. The box indicates that this is a seed mix from Sweet Perry Orchard, although the packet in the box just says "Power Play" and doesn't have the brand name on it. Also, in the same box, there are ZimZam's Orbites dark chocolate and tangerine candies, which have this on the ingredients list: "...(codex-approved gluten-free wheat starch). Contains wheat, soy."

Should I trust the gluten-free label on this particular Go Picnic meal? We tried two other products made in shared facilities previously (other brands), and my daughter had an almost immediate reaction to both of them, and I also had a reaction to the one I ate. So we've stayed far away from things made in shared facilities unless we researched their manufacturing practices first and were confident that it was more of a CYA statement than a likely risk. We did not eat the seed mix or chocolates tonight because the wheat statements scared me off...but maybe codex wheat and the shared facilities are actually safe for these Items? Has anyone eaten the Black Bean Dip meal with no problems?

Oh my goodness! I was going to post about this today! I ate my first GoPicnic today. As I was shoveling the chocolates in my mouth I saw that they contain wheat with that codex approved thing. I spit out the one in my mouth but I'd already had 4. I'm so scared I'm going to get sick. Any thoughts?

[LauraTX]

I feel like there are plenty of other starches they could have used for the tangerine chocolates, and I purchase something else instead of buying it.

[icelandgirl]

I feel like there are plenty of other starches they could have used for the tangerine chocolates, and I purchase something else instead of buying it.

I really wish I had read the entire label...I wouldn't have bought it. I saw gluten free. Have to remember every label every time.

[greenbeanie]

The box I have does not say that the seed mix was processed in a shared facility with wheat - the allergen statement on the box only says it was processed with soy. The wheat statement was stamped onto the plastic seed pouch itself, inside the Go Picnic box. So it would be impossible to tell without buying it first and opening the box up.

The chocolates do have the codex wheat statement on the outer box, so I should have caught that before buying it. Those are certified by the GFCO, though, so I just saw the certification symbol and missed the "contains wheat" part. Maybe this means the chocolates really are fine? I don't feel comfortable knowingly feeding any wheat-derived food to my daughter, even if it's been highly processed, but I am curious about others' experiences with codex wheat (though I would never intentionally buy it).

[icelandgirl]

The box I have does not say that the seed mix was processed in a shared facility with wheat - the allergen statement on the box only says it was processed with soy. The wheat statement was stamped onto the plastic seed pouch itself, inside the Go Picnic box. So it would be impossible to tell without buying it first and opening the box up.

The chocolates do have the codex wheat statement on the outer box, so I should have caught that before buying it. Those are certified by the GFCO, though, so I just saw the certification symbol and missed the "contains wheat" part. Maybe this means the chocolates really are fine? I don't feel comfortable knowingly feeding any wheat-derived food to my daughter, even if it's been highly processed, but I am curious about others' experiences with codex wheat (though I would never intentionally buy it).

I'm really sad that I ate it.  I wouldn't intentionally eat anything with gluten.  Having some GI issues this morning...was it the candy or something else?  I don't know.

[gilligan]

The meal with the tangerine candy is my favorite one.  I've eaten many of them without a problem.  Hmm....I never thought to read the small package label....

[LauraTX]

The meal with the tangerine candy is my favorite one.  I've eaten many of them without a problem.  Hmm....I never thought to read the small package label....

Obviously the GFCO (circle with gluten-free on it) certification means it is below 10 PPM and only allows things like the codex wheat starch that are processed and shown to have no gluten in them (Open Original Shared Link) So.. they are probably like the McDonalds fries.  Technically gluten free and okay for most of us gluten-free'ers, but on a technicality.  I think the first time I bought a gopicnic with the tangerine things in it, I ate one, and then out of boredom I had been reading the ingredients and saw the codex wheat starch.  It just annoys me that there are tons of other starches available yet they choose to put that into their product.  Technically, it is gluten free to average standards, and technically someone who is super sensitive enough should already know what the standards are of the GFCO and whether or not they react to those levels.  So, it is my opinion the product is safe to eat for the general celiac. However, I do think it is a tad crappy to do that when you make and market the product as gluten free.

 

Lately, I have found the gopicnic meals to be kind of limiting so I make my own little snack packs for when I have to sit for hours at medical treatments and trips.  I do still buy them, and always keep a couple in the pantry in case something happens where I will be in a place with unknown food sources, I can throw them in the car and go.  I like the turkey stick one the best, and also the pepperoni one.  I think the black bean dip tastes terrible, so lucky for me I am not missing anything not buying that.  I hate tuna so I don't buy that one, and will only buy the hummus one (with the subpar tasting shelf stable hummus) if I am on a trip or something and will need variety.

[Serielda]

Like most have said tab over about this being an old thread, still itt got me to make a few mins to check out their products. I was very happy to see they carried items that was both gluten-free and Vegan. So tea making a purchase once they get stuff back in, their site had a lot of sold out labeling earlier sat.

Serielda

[Nikki2777]

What is the "codex" wheat thing everyone is talking about?  Is that the little circle with the wheat stalk and gluten-free in it?

[kareng]

Like most have said tab over about this being an old thread, still itt got me to make a few mins to check out their products. I was very happy to see they carried items that was both gluten-free and Vegan. So tea making a purchase once they get stuff back in, their site had a lot of sold out labeling earlier sat.

Serielda

You can get them at lots of stores - even target and Walmart

What is the "codex" wheat thing everyone is talking about? Is that the little circle with the wheat stalk and gluten-free in it?

It is made from wheat but highly processed and tests below at least 20 ppm. I might worry about eating a large quantity of of it, but I wouldn't worry about a tiny dab in a couple of bites of candy. They use it a lot in gluten-free baked goods in Europe. Because it's made from wheat, in the US , a product has to say to mention wheat in some way on the package. It can be gluten-free and contain the Codex.