Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Where Your Contribution Counts!
    eNewsletter
    Support Us!

Kraft And Cross-Contamination O.0


cavernio

Recommended Posts

cavernio Enthusiast

OK, so I've read A LOT of people tout that Kraft will be gluten-free unless otherwise stated, especially on this website. I have trusted this information, not really questioned it.

I only decided to check this out for myself since I've been buying a lot of kraft sauces that have 'spices' or 'natural flavours' as ingredients, and I thought I should double check just in case. Especially since people who are trying to cook for me keep peppering me with questions with what is safe, and I *wanted* to tell them Kraft is safe, but again, I can't be too cautious, can I? Afterall I'm one of those people whose body doesn't really tell me I've eaten gluten (at least not yet,) so I can't trust it to tell me when I have eaten it.

Firstly, it is very clear to me from their website that all ingredients that have added gluten in them will be listed clearly on the label. That's good. Matches what everyone says.

However, this is a statement from taken directly from their website, the same site that says all their gluten ingredients will be clearly listed, Open Original Shared Link

"A small number of Kraft Foods products are labeled as

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Gemini Experienced
"A small number of Kraft Foods products are labeled as
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Skylark Collaborator

I've got some bad news if that worries you. None of the big companies guarantee gluten-free status or lack of CC unless they have labeled a product gluten-free. Then can't! Even the gluten-free label generally means <20 ppm, not the <10 ppm that GFCO certification requires.

There is a lot of awareness of celaic among big manufacturers. They don't want to make people sick because it's bad for business. FALCPA requires all wheat to be labeled; many big manufacturers go the extra mile and declare barley, oats, and rye. Whether the food is safe or not depends on your personal level of sensitivity. If you don't have symptoms, you need to adopt a lifestyle that works for you and get repeat TTG testing from your doctor. If your TTG stays elevated you know you're not being careful enough with processed foods and other potential sources of CC.

General Mills: "If there are no gluten- containing ingredients listed in the product ingredient label, but the product does not make a gluten free claim, it is because we cannot fully assure that this product is gluten free. While we have not added gluten-containing ingredients, factors such as sourcing, conditions of manufacture, etc. do not allow us to provide the full level of assurance that a gluten free claim requires"

ConAgra: "Please be aware that although ConAgra Foods cannot certify products to be gluten-free, we can assist you by affirming that a product has been formulated without commonly known gluten containing ingredients."

Open Original Shared Link

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cavernio Enthusiast

Or you can take it to mean that Kraft is too damned lazy to keep flour off their assembly lines. As they've already stated, most of their products contain NO gluten, but they can't confine all of those products to the same assembly lines?

Most of us avoid products that say at the bottom 'May contain traces of wheat'. Kraft products never have that on them yet this is exactly what that paragraphs basically says.

And as to testing being expensive to make 50$ loaves of bread...seriously? Do you have any idea how many tests every, single product in existence already goes through? Expiration dates? Ingredient amounts? Heck, every plant in existence tests to see that their food weighs the right amount, 5% lower than what the package says. It's not necessary to test every bag of product to give an assurance of being gluten free; they just need to know where their ingredients come from and then put the wheat free ones on the same line.

Besides which, there OBVIOUSLY existsprocessedgluten free producs that are labelled gluten free and tested gluten free that hardly cost more, and in some cases, the exact same amount. There exists plenty of processed foods I can eat. Kraft products, unless labelled gluten free, unfortunately, are not on that list.

You say it's 'just a legal thing', but you should know as well as I do that cross-contamination is a serious concern for celiacs. Furthemore, they haven't even claimed that they try to avoid cross contamination! If they did they'd say that try to avoid cross-contamination and be proud of it but still not put 'gluten free' on their label for the legal reasons.

I'm upset that people have said they are safe when they clearly are not. But I suppose that's my own fault for not checking it out myself, I know that now. I won't trust any information I don't get directly from a manufacturer from now on.

I have lost 12 years of my life to depression, tiredness, brain fog, now I have nerve damage too. I have no career because of it. We're all lucky because we haven't died from being celiacs. I am not about to maybe eat something that knowingly damages me. I can't really understand how anyone would.

Sorry Kraft, but you're not getting my money for your maybe CC'd products anymore.

This post was intended to INFORM others who, like me, were under the impression that I didn't have to worry about Kraft products if the label was safe, so that we can individually make our own choices based on factual information. I don't take kindly to the undertone of your response that I'm somehow being unreasonable and that this post is somehow unwarranted.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cavernio Enthusiast

I know that gluten-free is <20ppm.

I also was never under the impression that those other, large brands would be gluten-free without the label as I was with Kraft.

There are countless instances on this site where someone says 'It's Kraft and they're gluten-free if the ingredients don't have gluten'

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Skylark Collaborator

This post was intended to INFORM others who, like me, were under the impression that I didn't have to worry about Kraft products if the label was safe, so that we can individually make our own choices based on factual information. I don't take kindly to the undertone of your response that I'm somehow being unreasonable and that this post is somehow unwarranted.

What's unreasonable is focusing solely on Kraft when what you have written is true for every single major food manufacturer. If you feel that way, you need to avoid ALL processed foods that are not GFCO certified and/or from dedicated facilities. You are freaking out over some CYA legalese. Use your common sense!

We know processed foods are CC. Why do you think most new members get advised to eat whole foods?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cavernio Enthusiast

In my OP you see me say that I'm upset because I lost the only large brand that I thought I could trust, which I trusted because people ON THIS SITE say it's gluten-free while failing to mention the CC possibility. That is why I'm focussing on Kraft. I'm sorry if that's not good enough and I should have checked every other large manufacturer too and made a post about that. I guess my journalism isn't up to par, I didn't realize I had to be all-encompassing.

Next time I make a post about the gluten-free shampoo I use I'd better post ALL the gluten-free shampoos too...

Besides which, from your link actually, Kraft says:

"If a Kraft product contains gluten, a source of gluten will be listed in the ingredient statement, no matter how small the amount."

which is contradictory to the quote I posted from Kraft.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



kareng Grand Master

I think you are interpreting this incorrectly. They don't test for gluten so they won't list them as gluten free. They make many different products, so they wouldn't even be made on the same machines or in the same factories. Cheese wouldn't be made on the same machinery that makes crackers, for example. Wouldn't work.

Like Skylark said, if you feel this way about Kraft, then you must feel the same way about other manufacturers. Sounds like its best if you eat only whole foods and certified gluten-free foods.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cavernio Enthusiast

It was gemini's response I didn't like in the first place, not yours skylark.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cavernio Enthusiast

It's hard to misinterpret the wording 'If a Kraft product contains gluten'.

I doubt I'm the only person on this site who believes what I did. Sorry if I'm 'too dumb' by trusting advice here. I was just trying to clarify something.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jestgar Rising Star

Whoa. This is big news. It's basically a huge, red flag saying 'cross-contamination imminent' for all their products that don't specify gluten-free right on the package.

Actually what it's saying is that, if they haven't tested it, they won't label it. It has nothing to do with CC.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cavernio Enthusiast

"...we are assured there is no unintentional contact with gluten during every step of the agricultural growing, transportation and manufacturing process."

Meaning that those steps ARE NOT in place for their regular foods. It is not just the testing they are missing.

Read between the lines. If they said care was taken to not CC ALL of their foods, again, why don't they say that? Other manufacturers say that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
psawyer Proficient

Besides which, from your link actually, Kraft says:

"If a Kraft product contains gluten, a source of gluten will be listed in the ingredient statement, no matter how small the amount."

which is contradictory to the quote I posted from Kraft.

The two statements are different, and need to be read together to get a full understanding. Kraft, like many others, will always disclose any known gluten content. Like others, they do not test the ingredients that they acquire from their suppliers, so there is a slight risk of the accidental presence of undetected gluten. Like others, they have processes and procedures in place to ensure that ingredients not intended to be in a particular product are not in that product.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cavernio Enthusiast

I understand that Kraft is being crafty

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Darn210 Enthusiast

Most of us avoid products that say at the bottom 'May contain traces of wheat'. Kraft products never have that on them yet this is exactly what that paragraphs basically says.

I just want to mention that the "May contain traces . . . " or "Manufactured in a facility that also produces . . . " is a totally voluntary statement made by the manufacturer and is not required by law. If you want to know if a facility is a dedicated gluten free facility, you'll have to call the manufacturer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
bartfull Rising Star

So, one way to look at this would be to poll the members here. Has anyone without OTHER intolerances ever been sickened by any Kraft, Con-Agra, or General Mills product that lists no gluten ingredients, but does not bear the gluten-free label?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Darn210 Enthusiast

Add Unilever to that list.

All good here with those companies.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jestgar Rising Star

I understand that Kraft is being crafty

You have the option not to buy their products if you are unhappy with their practices.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Skylark Collaborator

It was gemini's response I didn't like in the first place, not yours skylark.

Thanks, but Gemini and I were basically saying the same thing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Gemini Experienced

It was gemini's response I didn't like in the first place, not yours skylark.

Oh...this begs a response......sorry if you don't like common sense and reality, cavernio, but guess what? The food world does not revolve around you.

To even imply that most of the people on this forum aren't careful enough with their diets is an ignorant thing to whine about. Just because someone eats a Kraft product does not mean they are taking undue chances with their gluten-free diet so you should not make such loose comments. You need to learn about this diet and how to read a label. Take advice from others in the know without getting snippy about it and either learn what we are talking about OR eat only whole foods and certified gluten free. Your experience with Celiac is not any different than mine or many others. We all got extremely ill, some nearly died, but we all are recovering well or recovered and many eat Kraft products and lived to tell about it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Salax Contributor

I think another way to look at this too is that Kraft and all others are businesses. Even though they are nice enough to be as honest and up front as they can be to the folks of the gluten free community....they still run a business and they still have to cover their butts legally from any folks that might want to sue them.

I think it's hard to look at things like this without some sort of emotional view because lets face it we have all been extremely ill and don't want to go back to being like that, so the though that our food isn't safe is kinda of overwhelming. But looking at this logically without bring in that fear of the emotional "omg I might get sick" aspect we can see that they are doing their best, they have been honest and they have to protect themselves legally. They are not out to hurt us or don't care about us per say, but at the same time the consumer has the power to either make or break them, so I think the gluten free consumers have backed them because of positive experience. I mean look at what we did to Domino's. :)

Take what you will from that but I think common sense and bit of logic when reading labels and making decisions might be the best practice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cavernio Enthusiast

I'm upset because there's there is misinformation being posted to this board about Kraft products.

This has nothing to do with reading a label and everything to do with people asking 'Is blank Kraft product gluten-free?' and people replying 'yes, it is gluten-free'.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Lisa Mentor

I'm upset because there's there is misinformation being posted to this board about Kraft products.

This has nothing to do with reading a label and everything to do with people asking 'Is blank Kraft product gluten-free?' and people replying 'yes, it is gluten-free'

Could you be more specific about the misinformation?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
bartfull Rising Star

The only information I have seen posted when someone has a question about Kraft products is what has already been posted in this thread - that Kraft will list in parentheses, if an igredient is from a gluten source. I have also seen the CYA statement made. Neither of these is misinformation.

This site has more and better information about celiac than any other site I have seen on the web. When someone like Skylark who is a scientist, posts something, you can take it to the bank. There are many many others whose word I will trust over any doctor out there.

And not only that, but I trust Kraft, whose products I eat every day with no reaction whatsoever.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cavernio Enthusiast

You answered her, telling her it was gluten-free, when Kraft themselves told her it might contain gluten.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      120,501
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    fine one
    Newest Member
    fine one
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      120.2k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • powerofpositivethinking
      I haven't been on this forum for a long time, but it was absolutely wonderful during the diagnostic process!  My path for celiac disease diagnosis was the following: -Had normal IgA level, and my only serology positive test was the DGP IgG -Deficiencies in both Vitamins D and K that did not increase at first despite massive supplementation -Diagnosis of fat malabsorption both total and neutral -Diagnosis of severe exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) -Testing was completed to rule out causes of EPI, and the only one not ruled out was celiac. -Both traditional endoscopy and pill capsule endoscopy yielded negative results for biopsy confirmation, but my GI doctor said that both procedures simply could have missed the damaged spots. -EPI and fat malabsorption resolved after taking Creon for 6 months since my EPI was caused by celiac -23 and Me said I don't have either of the two prominent genes for celiac disease   Remember that you might not have 'textbook' symptoms, but you still may have celiac disease.   Also, I am SO incredibly grateful for this site for all the learning it has allowed me to do. I have a senior dog, and these last few weeks with her were very scary! After two hospital stays, she finally received an IBD diagnosis after having gastroenteritis and pancreatitis. I know that celiac disease is not IBD, however, through reading this site, I learned more about it. I was relieved when I found out she had IBD and not cancer this past Wednesday. I know IBD can be managed thanks to what I've learned here!  So celiac.com, not only did you help me, but you helped my pup too! Thank you ❤️  
    • SuzanneL
      It was tTG IGG that was flagged high. I'm not sure about the other stuff. I'm still eating my normal stuff. 
    • cristiana
      Thank you for your post, @Nedast, and welcome to the forum. It is interesting to read of your experiences. Although I've not had TMJ, from time to time I have had a bit of mild pain in my jaw, sharp stabbing pains and tingling in my face which appears to have been caused by issues with my trigeminal nerve.  I read that sometimes a damaged trigeminal nerve in coeliacs can heal after adopting a gluten free diet.  I try to keep out of cold winds or wear a scarf over my face when it is cold and windy, those conditions tend to be my 'trigger' but I do think that staying clear of gluten has helped.  Also, sleeping with a rolled up towel under my neck is a tip I picked up online, again, that seems to bring benefits. Thank you again for your input - living with this sort of pain can be very hard, so it is good to be able to share advice.
    • Julie Riordan
      I am going to France in two weeks and then to Portugal in May   Thanks for your reply 
    • Nedast
      I made an account just to reply to this topic. My story resembles yours in so many ways that it is truly amazing. I also suddenly became lactose intolerant, went a little under 10 years attributing all my symtoms to different body parts, never thinking it was something systemic until much later. I had the same mental problems - anxiety, depression, fatigue, etc. In fact, the only real difference in our story is that I was never formally diagnosed. When I discovered that my myriad symtoms, that had been continuous and worsening for years, all rapidly subsided upon cessation of consuming gluten, I immediately took it upon myself to cut gluten out of my diet completely. I live in America, and had lost my health insurance within the year prior to my discovery, so I could not get tested, and I will never willingly or knowingly consume gluten again, which I would have to do in order to get tested now that I have insurance again. But that is not the point of this reply. I also had extreme TMJ pain that began within months of getting my wisdom teeth out at - you guessed it - 17 years old. I was in and out of doctors for my various symptoms for about 5 years before I gave up, but during that time I had also kept getting reffered to different kinds of doctors that had their own, different solutions to my TMJ issue, an issue which I only recently discovered was related to my other symptoms. I began with physical therapy, and the physical therapist eventually broke down at me after many months, raising her voice at me and saying that there was nothing she could do for me. After that saga, I saw a plastic surgeon at the request of my GP, who he knew personally. This palstic surgeon began using botox injections to stop my spasming jaw muscles, and he managed to get it covered by my insurace in 2011, which was harder to do back then. This helped the pain tremendously, but did not solve the underlying problem, and I had to get repeat injections every three months. After a couple of years, this began to lose effectiveness, and I needed treatments more often than my insurance would cover. The surgeon did a scan on the joint and saw slight damage to the tissues. He then got approved by insurance to do a small surgery on the massseter (jaw) muscle - making an incision, and then splicing tissue into the muscle to stop the spasming. It worked amazingly, but about three months later it had stopped working. I was on the verge of seeing the top oral surgeon in our city, but instead of operating on me, he referred me to a unique group of dentists who focus on the TMJ and its biomechanical relationship to teeth occlusion (i.e. how the teeth fit together). This is what your dentist did, and what he did to you was boderline if not outright malpractice. There is a dental field that specializes in doing this kind of dental work, and it takes many years of extra schooling (and a lot of money invested into education) to be able to modify teeth occusion in this manner. Just based on the way you describe your dentist doing this, I can tell he was not qualified to do this to you. Dentists who are qualified and engage in this practice take many measurments of your head, mouth, teeth, etc., they take laboratory molds of your teeth, and they then make a complete, life-size model of your skull and teeth to help them guide their work on you. They then have a lab construct, and give you what is called a "bite splint." It looks and feels like a retainer, but its function is entirely different. This is essentially a literal splint for the TMJ that situates on the teeth. The splint is progressively modified once or twice per week, over several months, in order to slowly move the joint to its correct position. The muscles spasm less, stress is taken off the joint, as the joint slowly moves back into its proper position. The pain reduces each month, each week, sometimes even each day you go in for a visit. The joint has to be moved in this manner with the splint BEFORE the modification to the teeth begins. They then add to your tooth structure with small bits of composite, to keep the joint in its proper place after it has been sucessfully repositioned. Subtracting from your teeth, by grinding down bits of your natural tooth structure, is done very conservatively, if they have to do it at all. This process worked for me - after six months, my face, jaw, neck all felt normal, and I had no more pain - a feeling I had not had in a long time. It also made my face look better. I had not realized the true extent that the spasming muscles and the joint derangement had effected the shape of my face. The pain began to return after a few months, but nowhere near where it had been before. This immense reduction in pain lasted for a little over two years. The treatment still ultimately failed, but it is not their fault, and it is still the treatment that has given me the most relief to this day. Later on, I even went about three years with very, very good pain reduction, before the joint severely destabilized again. This field of dentistry is the last line treatment for TMJ issues before oral surgery on the TMJ. There aren't as many denists around who practice this anymore, and the practice is currently shrinking due to dentists opting for less espensive, additional educations in things like professional whitening, which have a broader marketability. Getting this treatment is also very expensive if not covered by insurance (in America at least). My first time was covered by insurance, second time was not, though the dentist took pity on me due to the nature of my case and charged like a quarter of usual pricing. Most cases seen by these dentists are complete successes, and the patient never has to come back again. But occasionally they get a case that is not a success, and I was one of those cases. A little over a year ago, I began seeing the second dentist who keeps my TMJ stable in this manner. The first dentist retired, and then died sadly. A shame too, because he was a truly amazing, knowledgable guy who really wanted to help people. The new dentist began to get suspicious when my joint failed to stay stable after I was finished with the bite splint and his modifications, so he did another scan on me. This is ten years after the first scan (remember, I said the surgeon saw "slight" damage to the tissue on the first scan). This new scan revealed that I now no longer have cartilage in the joint, on both sides - complete degeneration of the soft tissues and some damage to the bone. The dentist sat me down and had a talk with me after these results came in, and said that when he sees damage like this in cases like mine, that the damage to the joint is most likely autoimmune, and that, in his experinece, it is usually autoimmune. He has sent patients with cases like mine to Mayo Clinic. He said he will continue to see me as long as the treatment continues to offer me relief, but also said that I will probably have to see a dentist for this type of treatment for the rest of my life. He is not currently recommending surgery due to my young age and the fact that the treatment he provides manages my symptoms pretty well. I still see this dentist today, and probably will see this kind of dental specialist for the rest of my life, since they have helped with this issue the most. I did not inform him that I am 100% sure that I have celiac disease (due to my complete symptom remission upon gluten cessation). I didn't inform him because I thought it would be inappropriate due to not having a formal diagnosis. I was disappointed, because I had believed I had caught it BEFORE it had done permanent damage to my body. I had never suspected that my TMJ issues may be related to my other symptoms, and that the damage would end up complete and permanent. Luckily, I caught it about 6 months after my other joints started hurting, and they stopped hurting right after I went gluten free, and haven't hurt since. I of course did the necessary research after the results of the second scan, and found out that the TMJ is the most commonly involved joint in autoimmune disease of the intestines, and if mutliple joints are effected, it is usually the first one effected. This makes complete sense, since the TMJ is the most closely related joint to the intestines, and literally controls the opening that allows food passage into your intestines. I am here to tell you, that if anyone says there is no potential relationship between TMJ issues and celiac disease, they are absolutely wrong. Just google TMJ and Celiac disease, and read the scientific articles you find. Research on issues regarding the TMJ is relatively sparse, but you will find the association you're looking for validated.
×
×
  • Create New...