Spicy gluten

I was a bit shocked yesterday to discover that one of the spices I'd been using from time to time contains wheat. I am pretty good at checking labels before purchasing something new and, perhaps because of this, I tend to get complacent with things that are in my cupboard.

I was most surprised to discover that the (Gregg's) curry powder I'd been using from time to time contained wheat!

Like I said, this is a product I'd used and bought before so wouldn't normally look at the label. I was fairly shocked and went through all our spices, only to find that the (Gregg's) mixed spice that I had used in this Christmas cake and these hot cross buns also contains wheat! I doubt there's enough gluten in these products to have caused me any grief (I did have some unexplained reactions around Christmas and easter but think they are more likely due to something else).

While on the topic of Gregg's I also recently noticed rather surprisingly that their jelly mixes contain wheat. On the bright side though, many of their spice mixes such as their excellent garlic and herb salt which used to contain wheat flour have changed to rice flour over the last couple years which is fantastic.

This is just another example of what is becoming a fairly repetitive reminder to myself and others to check labels as products change and can surprise you pleasantly or otherwise!

Posted by Rory on Sep 11th, 2011 under Gluten In Unexpected Places | Permalink | Comments(1) | Tweet | Facebook

Hot Chips

(Updated 28th July 2012)
Just two weeks on from this rather comprehensive article about coeliac disease in the mainstream media, there is yet another article, published today which touched on an interesting topic: hot chips.

The article mentions hot chips as being a "safe option" for coeliacs (being potato). But how safe are they really? As the article points out, the same oil is used to fry crumbed and battered fish, posing a potential cross contamination risk. From what I have read online, gluten is not soluble (won't dissolve) in oil, therefore the reuse of oil is not actually a problem, but pieces of batter or crumb floating around in the oil are going to be major issue for us. The safety of our hot chips will therefore depend a lot on the practices of the establishment.

Personally, I tend to avoid hot chips when there are battered or crumbed items on the menu, but might just be over careful. What do you think? Do you eat hot chips from your local fish & chip shop? Let us know via the contact page or on our Facebook page.

[Update 28th July 2012]
Gluten Free Land member Kezziekat points out that in addition to the more obvious potato wedges, some frozen chips are also coated in flour to make them extra crispy! I've said it many times on this blog, but we really must be careful to check labels and keep rechecking as familiar products can (and certainly do!) change from time to time.

Posted by Rory on May 28th, 2011 under Gluten In Unexpected Places | Permalink | Comments(2) | Tweet | Facebook

Absolutely crackers

Rice crackers are a common food for coeliacs as a gluten free alternative to wheat based crackers, however, I recently discovered that some "rice" crackers contain wheat!!

We were visiting close friends who served cheese and crackers. There were both standard wheat crackers and also two flavors of rice crackers.

After getting home, my mum (who is also a coeliac) was not at all well and we started talking about what might have made her ill yet had only had a slight affect on me. In the end, the only thing we could think of was the rice crackers as I had only eaten on of the sesame ones as I preferred the basil pesto (my usual favourite). Mum on the other hand was particularly enjoying the texture of the sesame rice crackers which was what caused our suspicions to begin with. But they were rice crackers, so how could it have been them? There must have been something else. The friends know about our condition and had specially made sure that they had rice crackers for us. The next day we were in the supermarket and took a close look at the available crackers and to our horror, we found "sesame and wheat" flavored crackers on the same shelf as the usual rice crackers and in the same type of packaging.

It turns out that these are a product created by Fantastic which they call "Rice and Cracked Wheat" crackers as opposed to "Rice Crackers" which are gluten free. You can find a picture of these rice and cracked wheat crackers at the bottom of this webpage. Sadly, they have really similar packaging to several brands of rice crackers and the crackers are the same shape and size too!

The moral of the story is the usual, of always checking the labels. So to reiterate, Fantastic's rice crackers are gluten free, however, a different product produced by them does contain gluten and not only looks very similar, but is also often located on the same supermarket shelf, so pay careful attention!

Posted by Rory on Jan 30th, 2010 under Gluten In Unexpected Places | Permalink | Comments(0) | Tweet | Facebook

Nuts about labels

If you're anything like me, you'll seldom check ingredients of things that you buy on a weekly basis at the supermarket but already know to not contain wheat. Recently however, one of my regular products changed the recipe.

I'm talking about nut bars. Once upon a time, there were two brands of nut bars sold in supermarkets that were marked gluten free, but located amongst the standard nut bars, muesli bars and other such snacks. Earlier this year, both brands changed to "made on a production line that also handles cereals containing gluten" and I accordingly removed the products from Gluten Free Land along with the fantastic reviews that both had received from myself and others because although they are probably safe for most Coeliacs, this website is only for products that are definitely gluten free. However I continued to happily eat these bars without becoming noticeably ill.

Last week, however, somebody pointed out to me that the two boxes of Nice & Natural Nut bars that I had bought (but not yet opened) had a little triangle on the top of the box with the text "New Improved Recipe". It turns out that this new improved recipe contains "the goodness of wheat". This is a real shame as these bars really were delicious, but obviously, I can no longer eat them.

This brings me to my point. How often do you take the time to check the labels on things you buy? This is a clear reminder that products can and do change their gluten status so it pays to be vigilant as it is not always in the helpful direction!

So what do you reckon? Feel free to make a comment below and please vote in the poll on the top right of the Gluten Free Land home page -do you usually check the ingredients every time you buy something or only the first time?

Posted by Rory on Dec 8th, 2009 under Gluten In Unexpected Places | Permalink | Comments(1) | Tweet | Facebook