Product alert for Simply Nature Organic Green Lentils distributed by Aldi and labeled “Naturally Gluten Free Food”

Product alert for Simply Nature Organic Green Lentils distributed by Aldi and labeled “Naturally Gluten Free Food”

Bottom Line: A consumer contacted Gluten Free Watchdog about foreign grain found in a bag of lentils. The consumer sent both the foreign grain and empty bag to Gluten Free Watchdog and we in turn sent the grain to the lab to be tested for identification purposes. The lab was able to test three extractions. The results are 78 ppm, > 84 ppm, > 84 ppm gluten indicating that at least some of the grain is wheat and/or barley.

Background Information: A consumer contacted Aldi and Gluten Free Watchdog providing photos of the foreign grain found in a bag of lentils. Aldi’s supplier responded that the grains in the photos were wild oats. Gluten Free Watchdog sent the photos to four farmers very familiar with grain from oats, wheat, barley, and rye. Their opinion was that the grains in the photos included wheat, barley, oat, and wild oat. Because of the discrepancy between the supplier’s opinion and the farmer’s opinion of the grain in the photos, Gluten Free Watchdog requested that the consumer send us the foreign grain so that we could have the lab test it. Based on the test results the foreign grain includes gluten-containing grain. If the sample contained only uncontaminated oats the test results would have been < 5 ppm of gluten.

Both Aldi and the supplier have been provided with test results.

Recommendations:

  1. Purchase lentil-based products labeled gluten-free. Lentils are allowed by law to contain a certain percentage of foreign grain, including wheat, barley, and/or rye. That said, if lentils are labeled gluten-free they should contain less than 20 ppm of gluten.
  1. Regardless of whether the lentils you buy are labeled gluten-free please do the following:
    1. If canned: rinse thoroughly under running water.
    2. If dry: pour onto a cookie sheet and pick through them. Rinse thoroughly under running water.

We will be stepping up our efforts to test lentils and products containing lentils. We will focus on lentil-based products and canned lentils. When it comes to dry lentils it is probably more useful to “test” them via sorting to see if they contain foreign grain.

I encourage all of you with access to historical data on GFWD to look at the test results for the following products:

https://www.glutenfreewatchdog.org/search?q=lentil

Share this post

Comments (13)

  • Deb Reply

    Thank you for what you do. Trying to be 100% gluten free is about next to impossible. The United States Congress/Senate needs to be made aware of these kinds of issues we face in our journey to try and be well.

    October 27, 2016 at 6:05 pm
    • Tricia Thompson Reply

      My pleasure, Deb. We must keep shining a spotlight on these issues and hold manufacturers accountable.

      October 27, 2016 at 6:10 pm
  • Chris Reply

    Thank you for keeping the Celiac community safe!
    I only purchase dried legumes, beans, lentils from Edison Grainery. They have an independent testing facility, and post results of testing indicating their products test <5ppm. http://edisongrainery.com/store/6-gluten-free-beans
    While their products are much more expensive than other brands, you can find them at Thrive Market for a small discount.

    October 27, 2016 at 6:32 pm
    • Bonnie Reply

      Chris, thank you for the information on Edison Grainery. We pay more for GF food, but, fortunately, we pay nothing in prescription medicines. However, we can petition our respective government leaders to support a form of tax relief for the more expensive food we are required to purchase.

      October 28, 2016 at 7:13 pm
    • Tricia Thompson Reply

      Chris, Please also be careful with this brand (and all brands) making sure to pick through all dry legumes and rinse thoroughly. We have been sent photos of foreign grain in Edison Grainery lentils as well.

      October 29, 2016 at 1:31 pm
  • Ellen Herrington Reply

    Thank you Tricia. This carelessness would leave me sick for days and I would be wondering what I ate.

    October 28, 2016 at 2:34 am
    • Tricia Thompson Reply

      You are most welcome, Ellen. A huge thank you to the consumer who took the time to contact me about this particular product.

      October 29, 2016 at 1:25 pm
  • Bonnie Reply

    Thanks to the “consumer” for being so vigilant in detecting (and questioning) these foreign grains. Thank you GFWD for ALL of the follow-up (with consumer, farmers, supplier), and testing. It is this work that is key to the GF Community holding manufacturers accountable, which, in turn, is key to our better health!

    October 28, 2016 at 7:04 pm
    • Tricia Thompson Reply

      As I wrote on Facebook, it takes a Gluten Free Watchdog village to do this work and keep manufacturers accountable. Thanks to everyone who continues to contact me when something does not seem quite right about a particular product. Wish I could hug each and everyone of you!

      October 29, 2016 at 1:23 pm
  • Christina Reply

    Thanks for what you do. I made special trips to purchase these from Aldi. I will be feeding mine to the chickens now.

    October 30, 2016 at 2:26 pm
  • Lmurray Reply

    20 ppm or under still damages a celiacs intestine.

    November 28, 2016 at 1:58 am
  • Sara Reply

    Why is the protein content of these lentils so much higher than other brands lentils(3x)?

    December 7, 2018 at 2:30 pm

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *