Sure Foods Living – gluten-free and allergen-free living

Van’s recently came out with gluten-free pancakes, located in the frozen section. Please check the statement released below if you have purchased this item:

“VAN’S INTERNATIONAL FOODS ISSUES ALLERGY ALERT ON UNDECLARED WHEAT, GLUTEN, MILK AND EGG IN WHEAT FREE HOMESTYLE PANCAKES

(Vernon, CA) Van’s International Foods has issued an allergy alert and is voluntarily recalling the following product: 12.4 ounce package of frozen Van’s Wheat Free Homestyle Pancakes with the lot number listed below because they contain undeclared wheat, gluten, milk and egg in the product.

People who have allergies or sensitivities to wheat, gluten, milk or eggs may run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product.

The 118 cases of recalled Van’s Wheat Free Homestyle Pancakes may have been distributed in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, District of Columbia, New Jersey, New York, California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Washington, Oregon, Texas, Idaho and Hawaii, through retail outlets that include but may not be limited to Whole Foods, Wegmans, Giant Carlisle, Sprouts and Martins. The distributors and the retail customers involved have been notified.

The product comes in a 12.4 ounce package which is beige with an orange stripe on the top and a triangular blue gluten-free call out in the upper right-hand corner with the lot number 200060629B1 located on the side flap of the box. The “Best if used by” date is March 30, 2010 also printed on the same flap.
Package UPC     Description – Retail Label Weight     Lot #     Best if Used By Date
0-89947-60604-9     Van’s All Natural Wheat Free Homestyle Pancakes, 12.4 ounce     200060629B1     March 30, 2010

“Our customers have trusted Van’s with their special dietary needs for more than 20 years, and their health and safety are our first priority,” said CEO of Van’s International Foods, Eric Kufel. “Van’s has immediately implemented advanced quality procedures above and beyond what we already have in place to ensure the continued safety of our products.”

The voluntary recall was initiated immediately after a packaging operator error, limited to one shift, was discovered. The company has immediately reinforced its Quality Assurance and Packaging procedures and believes that the problem was a one-time incident. Consumers who are allergic to or have sensitivity to wheat, gluten, milk or eggs, should not consume this product. Consumers should return the product to the place of purchase for a full refund or send the box top with the printed lot number to the address below to receive five free coupons for any Van’s waffle, pancake, or French toast stick product 12.4 ounce or smaller.
Van’s International Foods, Inc.
Attn: Wheat Free Pancake Product Recall
3285 East Vernon Avenue
Vernon, CA 90058

Consumers with questions may contact the company at (303) 848-6013 or via email at customerservice@vansintl.com . For more information on this recall, please visit www.vansfoods.com for details.

The Food and Drug Administration has been notified of this voluntary recall.”

One of the foods you have to watch out for when on a gluten-free diet is cereal. Most are made of a gluten-containing grain, like wheat, barley, or oats (oats themselves are gluten-free, but the oats used in most cereals are contaminated with wheat). Even if the cereal is made from a gluten-free grain like rice, corn or buckwheat, barley in the form of malt is often added for flavor — this is the case with Rice Krispies, for example.

Not to worry, for Erewhon (pronounced Air-whon) gluten-free cereals are here! Their Gluten-Free Crispy Brown Rice Cereal goes snap, crackle, pop and is perfect for making rice crispy treats. They are a staple cereal in my house, along with a few other Erewhon flavors.

Now they have 2 new flavors of gluten-free cereal to choose from: Cocoa Crispy Brown Rice and Strawberry Crisp. Both are sweet and delicious!! I have been snacking on the Strawberry Crisp for days and my daughters love it. I haven’t let them try the Cocoa Crispy Brown Rice yet because I know that I will never hear the end of their begging for more. I’m saving that one for a special treat… maybe even for chocolate rice crispy treats! Yum!

YOU CAN WIN!

What’s that you say? You would like to try them too? Well, here’s your chance to win, courtesy of Erewhon:

• 3 boxes of gluten-free cereal of your choice:
  - Gluten Free Crispy Brown Rice
  - Crispy Brown Rice with Mixed Berries
  - Cocoa Crispy Brown Rice
  - Rice Twice
  - Strawberry Crisp Flakes
  - Corn Flakes
  - Aztec Crunchy Corn & Amaranth
• a Patagonia T-Shirt (available in Adult L, XL & Kids L)
• an Erewhon Coupon Keeper with coupons for $1 off next purchases

HOW DO YOU WIN?

In  the comments section of this post, let me know the 3 flavors of gluten-free cereal you would like to win and your favorite way to eat cereal or use cereal (maybe it’s just in a bowl with milk, but I know some of you will share some creative ideas!)

Make a comment by this Thursday, June 4 at noon PST, and I will randomly pick a winner (please only comment once!) I will announce the winner on Friday.

More about Erewhon:

Erewhon cereals are available wherever natural foods are sold including the natural food section of many supermarkets, and on Amazon!  For more information visit www.ErewhonGlutenFree.com.

It has finally happened! After people (like me!) voiced their opinions one year ago about the need for gluten-free offerings at Starbucks, a gluten-free cake is coming! It is also dairy and soy-free, but for those of you also allergic to nuts, watch out: it is made with almonds.

An announcement was made on the My Starbucks Idea blog 2 days ago. It said:

“Hi, it’s Erin on the Food team.  I am so excited today to share an update on our blog about Gluten-free offerings.  Starting May 5 we will be launching the Gluten-free Orange Valencia Cake with Almonds.  And even better you are among the first to know!  Who better to get the first scoop than you who helped make it happen?  This product was inspired by the passionate responses we heard from you on My Starbucks Idea.

The Orange Valencia Cake is a delicious moist citrus cake bursting with Valencia oranges and topped with crunchy almonds.  Not only is it gluten-free, it is also prepared with 7 simple ingredients: Whole Eggs, Valencia Orange Pulp, Almonds, Sugar, Orange Peel, Gluten Free Baking Powder, and Orange Oil.  Plus it delivers 30% of your daily value of vitamin C.”

Interesting ingredients… definitely not what I expected. I can’t wait to taste it. I assume that if they are offering one cake and one cake only, they have made sure it is really good. Don’t you think? I’ll try to sink my teeth in it on May 5 and find out! To read more about the gluten-free cake, go to the My Starbucks Idea blog.

I am 1 person in 100 that made it into the Box. The Celiac Box, that is. I have Celiac Disease. That gives me credibility. That makes my being on a gluten-free diet valid. The 99 of you who didn’t qualify to be in the Celiac Box? Your stories about feeling better on a gluten-free diet are questionable, doubtful even. If you’re not in the Celiac Box, you don’t need to be on a gluten-free diet — and why would you deprive yourself? You probably just have Irritable Bowel Syndrome or a parasite or something. You are not in the Celiac Box — now go eat a piece of pizza, take a purple pill, and quit complaining!

Celiac Disease affects approximately 1% of the population. There are genetic markers that can tell if someone is predisposed to developing it. There are studies that link celiac disease to many other health problems, such as osteoporosis, anemia, even neurological diseases such as schizophrenia. There are tests for celiac disease and if you test positive, then you’ve got a disease and the gluten-free diet isn’t just something you’re trying on a whim — you have been diagnosed and a gluten-free diet is your medically prescribed treatment.

And if you test negative for celiac disease? Well, then, you don’t have it. You become part of the 99% of people who don’t have it. You feel better on a gluten-free diet, you say? Go ahead, be on a gluten-free diet, but it’s not necessary, because you don’t have celiac disease. Unfortunately, these are often the last words that a patient hears from his doctor after testing negative for celiac disease.

Listen up, people: It is time to THINK OUTSIDE THE CELIAC BOX!

To be diagnosed with celiac disease, you must meet strict testing criteria which includes visible damage to the intestine (from samples taken during biopsy). If it’s not visible, or if the person checking simply misses it, there is no diagnosis. NO DIAGNOSIS. Because doctors don’t have a way to confirm that gluten is harming someone without visible damage to the intestines. The person doesn’t fit into the Box.

So if it’s not celiac disease, what is it? Here are some reasons a person could test negative for celiac disease, but still could benefit from a gluten-free diet:

• Blood tests can be falsely negative.
  There are people who test negative but actually have the disease. This could be due to the fact that the person is not eating much gluten already because he knows that it makes him feel bad. Not eating enough gluten can produce a false negative on the blood test. If the person had been eating a lot of gluten, the test result may have been positive.
• A person could be “pre-celiac” or have “latent celiac disease.”
  There are some people who test negative on a blood test now, but positive later after more damage is done. According to Dr. Peter Green in his book Celiac Disease, A Hidden Epidemic, this situation may be seen in younger children and young adults who have negative blood tests but develop celiac disease later in life.
• A person could have “non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS)”, “non-celiac gluten intolerance”, “gluten sensitivity”, or “gluten intolerance.”
  These terms all refer to the same idea, that a person could be reacting to gluten without having the specific type of damage attributed to celiac disease. The reactions could be the same and as strong as those seen in people with celiac disease, however. This is an area that currently is not in the mainstream medical thought. This is outside the Celiac Box.

I believe strongly that we need to start looking at gluten sensitivity as a spectrum, with celiac disease at the extreme. I realize the difficulty that doctors face when there are no reliable, accepted, mainstream tests for gluten sensitivity (yet), but it should also be recognized that the celiac tests are not reliable for those that don’t fit into the Celiac Box.

It should be acknowledged that non-celiac gluten sensitivity exists and that it has the same treatment as celiac disease: a 100% gluten-free diet. By not being informed of the existence of gluten sensitivity, people are being denied a treatment that works and are becoming dependent on drugs to mask their symptoms rather than treat the cause of their ill health.

In my family, I am the only one who was diagnosed with celiac disease, yet besides me, there are 8 people who are on a gluten-free diet. None were advised by their regular doctors to do the diet. 6 of them tested negative on the traditional celiac blood tests. Of those 6, 2 had a biopsy anyway and still tested negative for celiac. 2 people never took any celiac blood tests at all. ALL of them feel dramatically better on a gluten-free diet. ALL of them have had their health problems — gastrointestinal, neurological and behavioral — reversed on a gluten-free diet. NONE of them want to ever eat gluten again. Now, I ask you, where are my family members in the celiac statistics?

There are several doctors out there who are working to make it known that gluten is a bigger problem than anyone realizes, and that perhaps as much as 10-40% of the population is actually gluten sensitive. I hope that their research and messages will soon be widely recognized so that people can stop being sick. I highly recommend reading their books and websites:

• Dr. Kenneth Fine is a gastroenterologist board certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology. He runs Enterolab (www.enterolab.com) that tests for gluten sensitivity. The website also has a lot of great information on gluten sensitivity.
• Dr. Stephen Wangen is a state licensed and board certified physician specializing in digestive disorders and food allergies. He is the author of the book Healthier Without Wheat, A New Understanding of Wheat Allergies, Celiac Disease, and Non-Celiac Gluten Intolerance. He also has a blog, The Gluten Free Doctor.
• Dr. Rodney Ford is a Specialist Pediatrician, Gastroenterologist, Allergist and Nutrition Consultant in New Zealand. His website is www.drgluten.com. He has also written several books, one that I have read called “Full Of It! – the shocking truth about gluten”, and has articles on Celiac.com.
• Dr. Scot Lewey is a gastroenterology physician (specialist in digestive diseases) who is an expert in food related and leaky gut disorders including Celiac, colitis, Crohn’s disease, IBS, mastocytic enterocolitis and eosinophilic or allergic problems. He has written numerous articles about these topics which can be found on Scot Lewey’s Ezine Articles and Scot Lewey’s Celiac.com Articles. He also has his own site, www.thefooddoc.com.

Related reading:
Is the gluten-free diet torture?
Progress in treatment and screening for celiac disease
Blood tests are not the final say
Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity

Looking for a lunch meat you can eat? Here is a list of lunch meats by brand and their gluten-free and dairy-free (casein-free) information. Info about other processed meats — hot dogs, sausages, etc. — is coming in another post.

Note: This post was written on 4/7/09. Ingredients can change, so always read the label.

Applegate Farms

All Applegate Farms cold cuts and deli counter bulk meats are gluten-free and dairy-free. The lactic acid starter culture is not derived from dairy sources and is therefore safe for people with milk allergies. (confirmed via website)

Boar’s Head

Boar’s Head is saying loud and clear that all their meats are gluten-free (click to see!) All of their meats are also dairy-free EXCEPT these 4: Mortadella Bologna, Chorizo Sausage, Pesto Parmesan Ham and Italian Style Seasoned Roast Beef. (confirmed via phone)

Columbus

All Columbus salame and deli meats are gluten-free. All deli meats are dairy-free, but there are some salame items that contain dairy. (confirmed via email)

Diestel

Diestel deli meats are gluten-free and dairy-free and contain no artificial ingredients, no phosphates, no nitrites, no MSG. (confirmed via website and phone)

Dietz and Watson

Nearly all Dietz & Watson Meats are gluten free EXCEPT: Rotisserie Style Chicken, Scrapple, Bockwurst, Fat Free Beef Franks, Gourmet Lite Franks, Gourmet Lite Beef Franks, Chicken Cordon Bleu, Chicken Florentine and Chicken Portabella. Many of the lunch meats contain nonfat dry milk. (confirmed via website)

Hormel Natural Choice

I was pleased to find in my research that Hormel is now making a line called Natural Choice products that have no nitrites or nitrates added, and no artificial colors or flavors. Hormel Natural Choice Pre-sliced deli sandwich meats and Deli meats are gluten-free and dairy-free. (confirmed via website and phone)

Hormel also provides a list of gluten-free products on their website.

Jennie-O

They do not mask any gluten ingredients under “flavoring.” Check labels for dairy. Not all are dairy-free and no list was provided on the website.
Jennie-O Turkey Store Deli items that are gluten-free (via website) are:

• Deli chicken breast: buffalo style, oven roasted, mesquite smoked
• Smoked turkey breast: mesquite, hickory, honey cured
• Oven roasted turkey breast
• Hickory smoked turkey breast: cracked pepper, sun dried tomato, garlic pesto, honey cured
• NATURAL CHOICE® turkey breast: oven roasted, peppered, tender browned, applewood smoked, honey roasted
• GRAND CHAMPION® turkey breast: oven roasted, tender browned, mesquite smoked, home style pan roasted, hickory smoked, honey cured, Cajun style fried
• Turkey breast: oven roasted, peppered, smoked, tender browned, Italian style, honey mesquite, sun dried tomato, mesquite smoked, garlic peppered, hot red peppered, smoked peppered
• Turkey pastrami
• Turkey ham

Jones Dairy Farm

The people at Jones Dairy Farm have made a great effort to let everyone know that all of their products are gluten-free EXCEPT for Scrapple, and have even become a sponsor of the Celiac Disease Foundation. They were also kind enough to send me their products to taste! Everything I tasted — the Canadian Bacon, the Ham Slices, the Ham Steak — were delicious. I couldn’t bring myself to try the Braunschweiger (Liverwurst), but my 96 year old grandmother and my husband’s 93 year old grandfather loved it! And even though there is “Dairy” in the company’s name, their lunch meat does not contain dairy! More information: Jones Dairy Farms list of gluten-free products

Niman Ranch

All Niman Ranch meats are gluten-free. (confirmed via phone) Meats are dairy-free except for hot dogs (more specifics on hot dogs in future article).

Wellshire Farms

Wellshire Farms products display a Smart Chart so you can easily see if it is gluten-free and dairy free. Also, you can do a search for products by allergy, including gluten, casein/dairy, lactose, nuts, corn, soy, pepper, garlic, and mustard.

Related articles:
6 gluten-free lunch ideas for work
4 more gluten-free lunch ideas
Eating gluten-free, allergen-free at fast food chains

Many people believe that if you can’t eat wheat, then it is okay to eat spelt. It is said that spelt is easier on the digestive system than wheat and so it has been called a “wheat alternative.” Spelt products, including bread, were even labeled as “wheat-free” prior to 2006. What happened in 2006? That’s when the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) took effect and food manufacturers were required to list the top 8 allergens on their labels. As a result, products using spelt and kamut had to put “wheat” on the label. Why? Because they are wheat!

Spelt is an ancient grain that is a sub-species of wheat. People who are allergic to wheat probably cannot tolerate spelt and should avoid it, although some wheat-intolerant people say that they are able to tolerate spelt.

People with celiac disease or gluten intolerance should NOT eat spelt (also known as “farro” or “dinkel”) because it contains GLUTEN. Same goes for Kamut, triticale, emmer and einkorn — all of these are cereal grains that have been marketed as “wheat alternatives.” All are in the wheat genus, however, and have biological names starting with “triticum,” the Latin word for wheat.

So, bottom line, if wheat is off-limits for you, then it’s best to stay away from spelt!

Read more about the gluten-free diet.

When I think of the holidays, I think of See’s Candies. Every year at our big family gathering, we open the boxes of assorted chocolates and pass them around during the gift-opening frenzy. When I was little I was guilty of taking a bite of one, and if I didn’t like it, putting it back in the box — but everyone has done this, right?

When I started to be gluten-free I was wary of eating any of the candies, but now there is good news from See’s for people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance! On 12/20/08, I received the following information via email regarding gluten and the top 8 allergens:

CONTINUE READING »

“Look at the underlying causes!” says a reader named Annie who is sharing her story of years of symptoms and finally a diagnosis that has changed her life. (If you would like to submit a story to Your Stories please email me.)

Annie, 28 years old, writes:
Since I was six years old, I have had debilitating, chronic migraine headaches, pain that would, and could occur every day, depending on what I ate, although I didn’t know it at the time. Through the years, I also have developed severe IBS-like symptoms, chronic sinusitis, recurring bronchitis, tingling in my fingers and feet, extreme fatigue, rashes, difficulty breathing, and major depression. In the past few months, I lost a significant amount of weight, and have been hospitalized on several occasions for dehydration, believing that I was suffering from severe migraines, when, in fact, I really had a severe wheat allergy. I have recently been diagnosed with non-Celiac gluten intolerance with a wheat allergy.

Since I stopped eating wheat, gluten and even dairy, I have seen a 180-degree turn-around in my health. I consider it to be a miracle. I have spent my life being very ill, believing that I would be in pain forever. I haven’t had a single migraine and I have had a huge increase in energy. I now see every day as a blessing and feel that I can enjoy my life, all because of an avoidance of certain foods. With my doctor’s guidance, I am now decreasing my doses of migraine medication and anti-depressants.

I would urge anyone who has debilitating migraine headaches to check out the DVD: Allergies: A Natural Approach produced by Wellspring Media, and delve deeper to discover the root cause of the problem rather than simply taking medication.

Take care and best wishes to all of you,
Annie

Thanks, Annie, for your story!
Related articles:
Gluten and headaches
Could you have celiac disease?

I’ve got another candy company to add to your safe list!

Gimbal’s Fine Candies, located in San Francisco, produces candies that are free of the top 8 allergens and gluten. In fact, they are made in a facility that is free of peanuts, nuts, dairy, eggs, gluten and soy.

They make jelly beans in 41 flavors, none of them peanut butter (unlike Jelly Belly that told me peanut-allergic people should avoid all of their products because they produce one peanut butter flavored bean.)

Gimbal’s also makes Licorice Scottie Dogs, free of the wheat that is found in almost all licorice. Scottie Dogs come in Black or Red. There are other specialty candies too.

Gimbal’s jelly beans can be found in all Walmarts across the nation, in Sam’s Clubs (under their own Members Mark brand), in KMart and Shop Rite. Scottie Dogs can be found in Trader Joe’s. Or, you can order all Gimbal’s candies online at CandyDirect.com.

Related articles:
Halloween candy for kids with food allergies
Gluten-Free and Allergen-Free Candy Quick List

***Please see the updated Gluten-Free Allergen-Free Candy Quick List for 2009!

This is a quick list of Halloween candy (October 2008) that is gluten-free and free of the top 8 allergens. Please read the candy companies’ allergen statements and double check ingredients before consuming any of the following products. For more candies and their allergens, see the bigger Halloween Candy List.

WONKA

• Bottlecaps
• Everlasting Gobstopper
• Chewy Gobstopper
• Runts (not Chewy)
• Fun Dip and Fun Dip Sour
• Pixy Stix
• Sweetarts (regular)
• Tart N Tinys
• Nerds

CE DE CANDY

• Smarties, Smarties Lollies

TOOTSIE

• Dots

MARS

• Starburst
• Skittles and Skittle Sour

SPANGLER CANDY

• Dum Dum Pops (regular)

HERSHEY

• Jolly Rancher Hard Candy and Hard Candy Sticks

WRIGLEY

• Lifesavers Gummies

FARLEY’s AND SATHER’S

• Super Bubble and Super Bubble Blast
• Rain-Blo pops
• Atomic Fireball
• Jawbreakers
• Gummi Bears
• Sour Brite Crawlers
• Smarties
• Sweetarts
• Jujufruits
• Brach’s Candy Corn (not caramel) and Gummi Candy Corn (“packaged on equipment that also packages products containing milk, egg, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts and/or soy protein.”)
• Brach’s Mellowcreme Pumpkins (“Made in a facility that processes peanuts, tree nuts, sunflower seeds, milk, soy, eggs and wheat”)

JUST BORN

• Mike & Ike
• Hot Tamales
• Peeps Pumpkins and Ghosts

FERRARA PAN
(“this product was manufactured in a facility where peanuts, almonds, milk, soy and egg are used in the production of other products.”)

• Chewy Atomic Fireballs
• Lemonhead
• Red Hots
• Chewy Lemonhead and Friends
• Applehead
• Grapehead
• Cherryhead
• Jawbreakers

ENJOY LIFE (www.enjoylifefoods.com)

• Boom CHOCO Boom Dark Chocolate Bar, Crispy Rice Bar, Milk Bar

YUMMY EARTH (www.yummyearth.com)

• Lollipops and Candy Drops