News

Boulder Canyon Chips & FDA Webinar Statement on Use of Malt Extract in Gluten-Free Foods

Boulder Canyon Chips--Again!! It is hard to believe I'm writing about Boulder Canyon chips---Again! BUT Boulder Canyon chips labeled gluten-free yet containing both malt vinegar powder and malt extract continue to be widely available on store shelves. Based on the emails I continue to receive, there seems to be confusion on the part of many regarding the ingredients contained in this product as well as the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) position on malt extract in labeled gluten-free foods. To help clarify, here...

Gluten Free Watchdog Product Alert: Boulder Canyon Malt Vinegar Chips

At least two (maybe three) varieties of Boulder Canyon malt vinegar and sea salt chips are labeled gluten-free and/or erroneously contain the Gluten Free Certification Organization (GFCO) Certified Gluten-Free mark (i.e. they were never certified by GFCO) and include the ingredients malt vinegar and malt extract. To access a pdf of the report click here. Excerpt: Bottom Line: At least two (maybe three) varieties of Boulder Canyon malt vinegar and sea salt chips are labeled gluten-free and/or erroneously contain the Gluten Free Certification Organization...

Restaurants & Gluten-Free Labeling Claims

Rhonda Kane, MS, RD and I received permission from the Food and Drug Administration to post a statement on restaurants and gluten-free labeling claims. The statement was drafted by Rhonda, a former Consumer Safety Officer with the FDA. Current FDA staff reviewed and slightly revised this statement and granted me permission to post the revision at glutenfreedietitian.com. This process started back in September at the International Celiac Disease Symposium where there was a lot of confusion about whether restaurants were covered under the gluten-free labeling rule. At...

Can Individuals with Celiac Disease Drink Barley-Based “Gluten-Removed” Beers such as Omission? A Gluten Free Watchdog Special Report

To write this report on the safety of of barley-based gluten-removed beers, Gluten Free Watchdog consulted with experts in mass spectrometry, ELISA testing, and amino acid sequencing of gluten proteins. We are very grateful that they generously shared their knowledge so that this information could be passed along to you. To access a pdf of the report please click here.

Gluten Free Watchdog Special Report: Gluten Contamination of Spices

Gluten Free Watchdog tested brands of domestically processed spices that appear to be the most widely used by the gluten-free community based on inquiries made to subscribers of Gluten Free Watchdog. Gluten Free Watchdog focused primarily on testing the spices that tested at or above 20 ppm in the Canadian survey. These spices (all ground) are clove, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, mace, sage, thyme, and white pepper. Gluten Free Watchdog also tested leaf basil (dried), garlic powder, curry powder, and Italian seasoning...

Gluten Contamination of Gluten-Free Foods Sold in the US

Thomas Grace and I recently published two years worth of testing data from Gluten Free Watchdog in the journal Practical Gastroenterology. The pdf is available here. Excerpt: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently released the long awaited rule on the labeling of food as gluten-free. Labeled gluten-free food regulated by the FDA and sold in the United States must contain less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten. The objective of this evaluation is to assess the actual gluten content of labeled gluten-free foods...

Do retainers contain gluten?

Do parents of children with celiac disease really have to worry that their children's retainers contain gluten? Amy Jones, MS, RD and Tricia Thompson, MS, RD Many of you may have heard about the article “An Orthodontic Retainer Preventing Remission in Celiac Disease” recently published in the journal Clinical Pediatrics. In short, this is a case presentation of a 9 year old girl diagnosed with celiac disease. IgA tTG at diagnosis was 172 U/mL (normal defined as < 20). The authors state...

Survey on Rice Consumption: Impact on Inorganic Arsenic Intake

Poster Presentation from ICDS: Survey on Rice Consumption among US Adults with Celiac Disease: Impact on Inorganic Arsenic Intake If we missed seeing you at ICDS2013 here is the link to the poster. Brian and I also presented on the issue of arsenic and rice at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Food and Nutrition Conference. Full size poster which looks best on screens and can be printed letter size with "resize to fit." Letter size poster which can be printed as is. Please feel...

Omission Beer: The controversy over gluten-free labeling of malt-based beverages continues

Update July 12, 2013. I don't know about all of you but I am getting a little fatigued from the beer “issue.” BUT … Last evening I was forwarded some documents related to Craft Brew Alliance (Omission). According to the email included with these documents they are not considered confidential and will be in the public domain soon (when they are, I will post the links). When I have more information regarding how the scientific community views the information contained in these...