Celiac Disease Awareness Month 2018

A letter to the community: Thank you for allowing me to do this important work

Tricia Thompson2018-05-31T13:15:11+00:00In honor of Celiac Disease Awareness Month 2018, A series of bites, barks, tail wags, face licks, and pant tugs from Gluten Free Watchdog May 31, 2018 Gluten Free Watchdog Face Lick, Post # 31 Dear Gluten Free Watchdog community, As Celiac Disease Awareness Month comes to a close I would like to thank all of you who make Gluten Free Watchdog possible. Gluten Free Watchdog launched a little over seven years ago. This would not have happened without the support of my husband, Dave. His...

Goodie Girl and Nothin’ But Foods: Product packaging erroneously lists malt extract from barley

Tricia Thompson2018-05-30T17:43:23+00:00In honor of Celiac Disease Awareness Month 2018, A series of bites, barks, tail wags, face licks, and pant tugs from Gluten Free Watchdog May 30, 2018 Gluten Free Watchdog Bite, Post # 30 Goodie Girl and Nothin' But Foods: Product packaging erroneously lists malt extract from barley Reportedly neither cookie actually contains barley malt extract. BUT the decision by manufacturers to leave packages on store shelves with incorrect information in the ingredient list is causing confusion and angst in the celiac disease community.  Goodie Girl...

Brewer’s Yeast and Gluten

Tricia Thompson2018-05-29T17:05:19+00:00In honor of Celiac Disease Awareness Month 2018, A series of bites, barks, tail wags, face licks, and pant tugs from Gluten Free Watchdog May 29, 2018 Gluten Free Watchdog Pant Tug, Post # 29 Brewer's Yeast and Gluten Bottom Line: When used as an ingredient in a food product NOT labeled gluten-free, brewer's yeast may contain gluten from malt and gluten-containing grain. Some information about brewer's yeast (and yes, it is confusing): The term brewer's yeast can refer to both the live yeast used to...

Gluten-Free in Afghanistan: An Army Soldier’s Story

Tricia Thompson2018-05-28T16:52:32+00:00In honor of Celiac Disease Awareness Month 2018, A series of bites, barks, tail wags, face licks, and pant tugs from Gluten Free Watchdog May 28, 2018 Gluten Free Watchdog Tail Wag, Post # 28  This is a repost of a portion of a column I used to write for the Medical Nutrition Practice Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. CPT Andrasik's book was written in 2012. Please keep this in mind when you read his words below. Gluten-Free in Afghanistan by CPT...

Labeling Quiz #3

Tricia Thompson2018-05-27T20:55:02+00:00In honor of Celiac Disease Awareness Month 2018, A series of bites, barks, tail wags, face licks, and pant tugs from Gluten Free Watchdog May 27, 2018 Gluten Free Watchdog Pant Tug, Post # 27 Quiz True or False: A product labeled gluten-free in the U.S. can also include “glucose syrup (wheat)” in the ingredients list. The answer is below the photo. No peaking! Answer: True. Explanation: Glucose syrup (wheat) is considered by the FDA to be an ingredient “processed to remove gluten.” Other such ingredients include wheat...

Labeling Quiz # 2

Tricia Thompson2018-05-26T21:04:04+00:00In honor of Celiac Disease Awareness Month 2018, A series of bites, barks, tail wags, face licks, and pant tugs from Gluten Free Watchdog May 26, 2018 Gluten Free Watchdog Pant Tug, Post # 26 Quiz A can of vegetable soup sold in the U.S. NOT labeled gluten-free includes the word “dextrin” in the ingredients list. The source of dextrin is not named. The label does NOT include a Contains statement. True or False: The dextrin could contain wheat protein. The answer is below the photo. No...

Labeling Quiz #1

Tricia Thompson2018-05-25T13:57:06+00:00In honor of Celiac Disease Awareness Month 2018, A series of bites, barks, tail wags, face licks, and pant tugs from Gluten Free Watchdog May 25, 2018 Gluten Free Watchdog Pant Tug, Post # 25 Quiz A package of hotdogs NOT labeled gluten-free includes the word “starch” in the ingredients list. The source of the starch is not named. The label does not include a Contains statement. Question: What is the source of starch in this product? Wheat Corn Wheat or Corn The answer is below the...

Barley should be added to FALCPA and here’s why

Tricia Thompson2018-05-24T14:00:36+00:00In honor of Celiac Disease Awareness Month 2018, A series of bites, barks, tail wags, face licks, and pant tugs from Gluten Free Watchdog May 24, 2018 Gluten Free Watchdog Bite, Post # 24 This is a modified post from CDAM 2017. The information included in this post is not cause for undue alarm. But there is a reason why Canada and the European Union require sources of gluten, including barley to be declared in the ingredients list. It is high time the US did...

Do you know how to report a misbranded gluten-free product to the USDA?

Tricia Thompson2019-01-30T18:02:08+00:00In honor of Celiac Disease Awareness Month 2018, A series of bites, barks, tail wags, face licks, and pant tugs from Gluten Free Watchdog May 23, 2018 Gluten Free Watchdog Pant Tug, Post # 23 Does USDA have a gluten-free labeling rule? No. However, USDA has stated that if a manufacturer under their jurisdiction wants to include a gluten-free claim on product packaging, the food must be compliant with the FDA rule. What foods does USDA regulate? This can be a bit tricky to figure...

Perseverance is the name of the game when it comes to celiac disease advocacy

Tricia Thompson2018-05-22T18:01:32+00:00In honor of Celiac Disease Awareness Month 2018, A series of bites, barks, tail wags, face licks, and pant tugs from Gluten Free Watchdog May 22, 2018 Gluten Free Watchdog Tail Wag, Post # 22 Advocate It won't be easy to effect change. Your singular voice will not make much of a difference but together, in unison with others, it just might. You will say the same thing again and again and again. You may grow tired but you will not… Give up or ever believe that your efforts are meaningless. You...