Gluten Contamination of Food

Trader Joe’s responds to Gluten Free Watchdog’s meeting request about gluten-free rolled oats

Bottom Line: Gluten Free Watchdog reached out to Trader Joe’s asking for a conference to discuss how to make gluten-free claims on Trader Joe’s gluten-free rolled oats reliable. Trader Joe’s response was basically, no thank you. Trader Joe’s believes their oats are in compliance with the gluten-free labeling rule. They are calling the results of testing commissioned by Gluten Free Watchdog false positives. They write in their response letter, “Certain gluten tests interact with some other non-gluten ingredients, resulting in false positives,...

Recall notices for undeclared wheat: Why is celiac disease not mentioned in company announcements?

Celiac disease is serious. It would be helpful if manufacturers and the FDA acknowledged this in recall notices for undeclared wheat. This is particularly important when a product is labeled gluten-free or makes a “made with no gluten-containing ingredients”* claim on product packaging. Two recent recalls for undeclared wheat state in the company announcement that, “People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to wheat run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product.” BUT...

Recall Update: New information on the recall of Cargill soy flour due to gluten cross contact

Gluten Free Watchdog has been in contact with Cargill about the recall of millions of pounds of Cargill soy flour. In brief, Cargill provided the following information: Out of an abundance of caution, Cargill issued a voluntary recall for Prolia® soy flour and Prosante® textured soy flour products manufactured between October 5, 2022, and March 29, 2023, after receiving limited test results with gluten above 20 ppm.  The gluten found in the testing was between 20 ppm and 50 ppm. Information available to...

Product Recall: Millions of pounds of Cargill soy flour have been recalled because of gluten

5/9/23 This post has been updated to include a statement from FDA Millions of pounds of Cargill soy flour have been recalled because “products with a gluten free claim may contain gluten levels above 20 ppm.” Recalled products include Prosante® Textured Soy Flour & Prolia® Soy Flour. These ingredients were distributed in the United States, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, and United Kingdom. According to the manufacturer's website, "Cargill is a soy flour supplier to the food industry."  This recall was...

Gluten Free Watchdog no longer recommends GF Harvest as a source of purity protocol oats

Update January, 4, 2023: Gluten Free Watchdog does not recommend GF Harvest as a source of gluten-free oats. Four bags of oat flour (Best by date 06/23, Lot # 0452.001.9.007) tested between 6 and 32 parts per million of gluten. Unfortunately, the manufacturer never responded to an email from Gluten Free Watchdog alerting them to the results. Until further notice, Gluten Free Watchdog does not recommend GF Harvest as a source of purity protocol oats. Gluten Free Watchdog recently analyzed five...

Lentils and Gluten Cross Contact

The article Lentils and Gluten Cross Contact by Tricia Thompson, Trisha Lyons, and Amy Keller was published on April 29, 2022 in Frontiers in Nutrition. There is some good news in this brief research report. If you are interested in watching a brief overview of our findings, please see our short powerpoint video with audio. https://youtu.be/gPOxQWXE3Mc If you would prefer to read a summary of the findings, the abstract is pasted below. Abstract Lentils are naturally gluten-free and are recommended for people...

Oat Beverages & Celiac Disease: Why We Are a Bit Concerned

Bottom line: If you drink oat-based beverages, please choose products you trust made using gluten-free oats. Gluten in liquids adds up very quickly. Background: The part per million level of a product is obviously important BUT it doesn’t tell the whole story. The amount of gluten ingested depends on BOTH the ppm level AND the weight amount of product eaten. Each 1.0 ounce/28.35 gram amount of product ingested at the 20-ppm level provides about 0.57 milligrams of gluten. What does this mean...

Folks with gluten-related disorders: Please don’t eat products from Deland Bakery if they are not labeled gluten-free

Deland Bakery (along with Sami’s Bakery) has used some “creative” labeling over the years. If you are new to a gluten-free diet, please know that folks with a gluten-related disorder should not eat products from either of these bakeries that are NOT labeled gluten-free. Background information: A couple weeks ago, Gluten Free Watchdog contacted Deland Bakery and asked them to please explain why the Contains statement on products in their natural line includes the verbiage "Wheat, Gluten or Yeast"? This statement...

Grading the Canyon Bakehouse Recall

UPDATE: The recall has been amended to include expanded distribution for the Canyon Bakehouse Everything Bagels and now includes Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island. See: https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/amended-flowers-foods-issues-voluntary-recall-two-canyon-bakehouse-products-due-possible-presence Bottom line: Canyon Bakehouse handled this recall very well. What happened should serve as a lesson for all manufacturers of gluten-free foods. Testing at risk raw ingredients for gluten before they enter the facility should be de rigueur. A dedicated gluten-free facility doesn’t matter if “dirty” ingredients are allowed inside. My biggest concern at this point is with...