News

24 May 2012

Interim Policy on Gluten Content Statements in the Labeling and Advertising of Wines, Distilled Spirits, and Malt Beverages

On May 24th 2012 the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) released an interim policy on the labeling of alcoholic beverages under its jurisdiction. The TTB regulates almost all alcoholic beverages. Exceptions include beer made without malted barley, wines containing less than 7% alcohol by volume, and hard ciders containing less than 7% alcohol by volume. The aforementioned beverages are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. In the past, the TTB has not allowed gluten-free claims on beverages...
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22 Mar 2012

Quinoa and Possible Barley Contamination

The Chicago Rabbinical Council (CRC) recently posted an alert on their website concerning quinoa and its suitability for Passover http://www.crcweb.org/alerts.php. This alert has implications beyond the Jewish community to include those with celiac disease. I had the pleasure of speaking with a Rabbi from the CRC to confirm this information. For the past several years quinoa in general was considered suitable for Passover*. This is no longer the case. After thoroughly investigating the issue, several concerns have been raised...
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02 Mar 2012

Product Labeled Gluten-Free Contains Barley Malt Extract

Suzanne Simpson, dietitian at the Celiac Center at Columbia University recently alerted me to a product manufactured by The Gracious Gourmet that is labeled gluten-free but contains barley malt extract as an ingredient. This product was NOT tested by Gluten Free Watchdog Balsamic Four Onion Spread http://www.thegraciousgourmet.com/Balsamic-Four-Onion-Spread-v-158.html is labeled and advertised as gluten-free but according to the ingredients list on the product label and published online, it contains barley malt extract. Ingredients onions (yellow onion, leeks, shallots, red onion) sugar, balsamic vinegar,...
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25 Jan 2012

Gluten Peptides in Human Breast Milk: Implications for Cow’s Milk?

Bottom line: A very small number of published studies report finding peptides in exceedingly small amounts (measured in parts per billion) in human breast milk. If dairy cows are fed wheat, barley, and rye grain (not a common occurrence from what I've been told) and if they have the same difficulty digesting (breaking down) gluten protein as humans, it is reasonable to wonder if gluten peptides may be found in cow's milk too. However, based on testing, no significant amounts...
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06 Jan 2012

Health Day Article on Gluten-Free Beer

Over the Holidays you may have come across the Health Day article entitled, “Some Gluten-Free Beers Really Aren't: Study.” This is an unfortunate title that has led to some confusion. The article is available at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_120196.html The study behind the article Colgrave ML, Goswami H, Howitt CA, Tanner GJ. What is in a beer? Proteomic characterization and relative quantification of hordein (gluten) in beer. J Proteome Research. October 2011. The study is available at: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/pr2008434 Study authors tested three types of beer: regular...
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15 Nov 2011

Naturally Gluten-Free Grains and Gluten Contamination

We all know that if we eat oats they should be labeled gluten-free. We know this because it is well established that “regular” commercial oats are very likely contaminated with gluten. If you are interested in testing data it is available here. What is less well established is whether other naturally gluten-free grains NOT labeled gluten-free like millet, sorghum, and buckwheat are likely contaminated too. In 2010, Thomas Grace, Anne Lee and I published the study, “Gluten contamination of...
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