20
Oct
2025
16
Oct
2025
Heartfelt Thanks and Gluten-Free Tidbits from FNCE
The honor of a lifetime: The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Food and Nutrition Conference 2025 recently wrapped. As some of you know, my main reason for attending the conference this year was to accept an excellence in practice award from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics for entrepreneurship (i.e., the work we do through Gluten Free Watchdog). It is thanks to all of you that this work gets done. As I said pretty much verbatim at the ceremony, receiving this...
06
Oct
2025
Kirkland Signature Roasted Turkey Breast and Yeast Extract
Product warning for Kirkland Signature Roasted Turkey Breast. This product is labeled gluten-free and it contains yeast extract. Based on email correspondence with Costco, the yeast extract in this product may be brewer’s yeast sourced from the beer brewing process. (Brewer’s yeast from the beer brewing process is known as spent brewer’s yeast-- what’s left of yeast once it has been used to make beer. Consequently, spent brewer’s yeast may include gluten from malt and grain.) Correspondence from Costco: “Our supplier uses PHR-YL...
22
Aug
2025
Yeast Extract: Can it be “hidden” under natural flavor?
Short answer: Based on the response Gluten Free Watchdog received from the Food and Drug Administration, yeast extract can't be hidden under natural flavor--yeast extract must be declared. More details: Gluten Free Watchdog reached out to the FDA to ask if the ingredient “yeast extract” has to be declared in the ingredients list as “yeast extract” or if it can be listed as “natural flavor.” The FDA responded by citing two CFRs: Under the FDA’s Code of Federal Regulations, “The...
20
Aug
2025
Manufacturers of Labeled Gluten-Free Food, Please Read
Dear manufacturers of packaged gluten-free foods… Ingredients the FDA designates as processed to remove gluten, such as wheat starch and glucose syrup (wheat), may be used in foods labeled gluten-free. BUT if wheat is declared in the ingredients list or a separate Contains statement as required under the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act... The word “wheat” must be “followed immediately by an asterisk (or other symbol) that refers to another asterisk (or other symbol) in close proximity to the ingredient statement...
31
Jul
2025
Cheerios testing protocol for gluten
Cheerios testing protocol for gluten: There are discussions on social media about the protocol followed by General Mills when testing Cheerios for gluten. Unfortunately, our contact at General Mills is no longer with the company. While we had our disagreements, he was always exceedingly forthcoming. It is not often that this level of detail is provided by a manufacturer. Below is the last confirmed testing protocol provided to Gluten Free Watchdog in 2021. We’ve reached out to corporate. If/when we hear...
31
Jul
2025
Facts to keep in mind about FDA labeling
Facts to keep in mind about FDA labeling: Just a bit of a refresher. Not all of the labeling nuances are included, so if you have any questions, please ask. Screenshot
26
Jun
2025
Eating gluten-free during a road trip in mainland Greece
We recently returned from a wonderful family vacation in mainland Greece. Because we were road tripping and traveling to remote areas well outside of Athens, I translated into Greek my dietary needs and provided this translation to restaurant staff when necessary. This was very helpful as I sometimes found that even in restaurants that advertised gluten-free options online, the waitstaff didn’t always know what I meant by “gluten”. What I ate: Stuffed Grape Leaves The dolmas (grape leaves stuffed with rice, meat,...
23
Jun
2025
Exciting News: The ADINA Act (H.R. 3821) has been reintroduced!
The ADINA Act (H.R. 3821) was reintroduced into the 19th Congress on Friday, June 6, 2025 by U.S. Representative Kelly Morrison (MN-03). The ADINA Act is co-led by Representatives Mike Lawler (NY-17), Doris Matsui (CA-07), and Ben Cline (VA-06). This bill would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require the label of a drug intended for human use to identify each ingredient in such drug that is, or is derived directly or indirectly from, a major food...
12
May
2025