Stupid Walmart!

[2Boys4Me]

Ever since that AP article in August about Walmart labelling their Great Value products I've been stopping in, and asking them when I'm going to see the new labels. Of course, none of them have any idea what I'm talking about, so I decided to go to the top.

I spoke with the assistant manager of the closest Walmart and she took my phone number and later that day she called and said that only the United States Walmarts will have the new labelling. Bozos. I suppose the rationale is that it's not a full grocery, just 10 aisles, but still...

[Canadian Karen]

I know, I was hoping it would be Canadian Walmarts also. I wasn't really expecting it to be though. The U.S. labelling laws now have more teeth and therefore easier to enforce, implement, whereas in Canada, we haven't gotten that far yet....... unfortunately........

Karen

[2Boys4Me]

Obviously Walmart couldn't care less about the health issues of their Canadian customers.

Celiac awareness month is October. I have a new members meeting with our association on Saturday. I will encourage them to hassle Walmart.

[MySuicidalTurtle]

I don't know how it is for Wal Mart but for Home Depot I know that they run their Canadian stores very differently than they do their U.S. ones. They can't just start one program and carry it all the way over all their stores and I think Wal Mart may be the same way. There are big differences between our governments and laws and those of Canada.

[bluelotus]

Hi all,

Be careful at Walmart - they put additives (i.e. "natural flavorings") on their steaks. I didn't notice until it was too late and, subsequently, got sick for days. I stopped shopping there out of frustration.

[PicturePerfect]

Hi all,

Be careful at Walmart - they put additives (i.e. "natural flavorings") on their steaks.  I didn't notice until it was too late and, subsequently, got sick for days.  I stopped shopping there out of frustration.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks! I will try to remember that.

Oh and about the Walmart products.. would the companies they buy the products from label ALL of their products? You know, for other stores?

Lisa

[zakismom]

The company I work for leases space in a Walmart- I'm there four - five days a week. I have yet to see any of their products labeled gluten-free.

(I'm in upstate New York)

[PreOptMegs]

Does anyone know for sure that the "natural flavorings" contain gluten?

[PreOptMegs]

This is what I found on the internet.... so I hope it is applicable????

The USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline receives many questions about natural flavorings listed on meat and poultry labels. Below are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions.

What substances or ingredients can be listed as "natural flavor," "flavor," or "flavorings" rather than by a specific common or usual name?

Ingredients such as ginger, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, celery powder, and garlic oil may be listed as one of the three categories mentioned above. They may be designated as "natural flavors" because they are substances used chiefly for flavor. They do not make a nutritional contribution, are not derived from an animal species, and there are no health concerns linked to them.

[bluelotus]

It is interesting that natural flavorings used for meat are different than those defined for other foods (anything plant derived). Regardless, I got sick, though, admittedly, I do have allergies to milk, eggs, and (learned this week) corn. Who knows.... I avoid any food that has unspecified "natural flavorings" "food starch", etc. For these food companies to either not know entirely/not want to be responsible and owe up for what is their foods is rediculous. If they cannot respect my ability to make informed choices, then I won't buy it. Maybe a bit extreme, but too many bad experiences. For example, I once ate Stoneyfield's soy yogurt, only to end up feverish in 15 minutes with stomach pains within two hours. I called them on this and turns out they use grain derived alcohols in their distillation process for "natural flavorings".......I realize that the impacts of grain distillation for celiacs is still debated, but not for me based on my expereinces. That's what all of this comes down to, I guess, is individual experiences with food. Hopefully, we can share what we've learned with each other and possibly make better choices for it. Good luck.

[2Boys4Me]

Our Walmart doesn't sell meat or fresh vegetables/fruit. It's just a few aisles with candy, chips, puddings, cookies, canned fruit and veg, cereals and related items, baking needs, canned tuna, dairy products (including milk, sour cream, ice cream) and frozen goods (including frozen veg, ice cream, popsicles, etc.) It's only about 10 aisles, but I thought it would be handy for cereal, soup, yogurt, ice cream and that type of thing.

It bugs me, because I read it in my local (Canadian) paper. The thing that bugs me about media in Canada (and I can say this because I work for TV news) is that we are ALWAYS reporting some fabulous new health innovation, or invention or whatever and then we tag it by saying, "it's not available in Canada right now, but we'll let you know as soon as it is". No we won't. We'll have forgotten all about it until a viewer calls to ask, and then we'll think the viewer is crazy because we can't find anything like it in our archives.

I wish the papers would do a little checking before printing stuff like that and giving us false hope. My son was only diagnosed 3 weeks ago, so we are still in the label reading stage and figuring out safe/forbidden ingredients, and I was so grateful that I might be able to head up to Walmart and just look for the words "gluten-free".

Oh well.

Linda