Saturday, August 31, 2013

Vices and Throwing Caution to the Wind

I have a problem. My problem is that I am thoroughly incapable of walking by cotton candy without purchasing it. The good news is that cotton candy is typically gluten-free. I appreciate this. I have no actual basis for this statement except that I've never seen cotton candy that contained gluten, but I'm gonna stick by that statement anyway.

So back to my problem. It's been a problem since I was an adult and could choose to purchase my own cotton candy whenever I damn well pleased. I have no idea if it comes from my parents saying no when I would ask for cotton candy when I was a child because I don't remember asking for it. I have no idea if I asked or if the answer was yes or no when/if I did ask. All I know is when I see cotton candy, I MUST HAVE IT.

I remember looking at the food stand with trepidation the first time I saw one of those glorious pink or blue bags in the window after I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. I thought for sure they somehow threw wheat in there, but I was somewhat hopeful because I had worked at a cotton candy stand when I was in high school, and I was pretty sure it was just sugar and flavoring. I walked up to the window and tried to read the ingredients through the glass.

Success!!! Normally I look in my trusty Grocery Shopping Guide that is ALWAYS in my purse, and then proceed to call the manufacturer if it's one of the few items that is not listed, but I knew it wouldn't be in there because fair food isn't listed. I decided to throw caution to the wind and purchase it without confirming any information.

I of course finished the entire bag by myself within half an hour. Each time since that first, I've always read the ingredients through the window, and then bounced around in line like an excited little kid as I awaited that first bite of sugary goodness. My husband thinks it's hilarious and cute, but he appreciates that I am nice enough to actually share some with him considering I've never shared my precious cotton candy before.

Within the last year, I noticed one of these on the grocery store shelf:

This isn't the exact one, but I was ecstatic! Could I really purchase cotton candy whenever I wanted? That question was answered with a joyous "YES!" while on our honeymoon. That was when I found this on the convenience store shelf at the resort:

Part of me doesn't feel right buying this glorious treat in a package because it should be reserved for special events, but the other part pretty much says, "Who cares??? It's cotton candy!" My only issue with this pre-packaged stuff now is that I'm now seeing the prepackaged stuff at outdoor events rather than seeing the fresh bagged stuff. It's only been once so far, but I fear it will become the norm. The time I saw it pre-packaged was at the fireworks display this last 4th of July. I saw the food stands and told my husband I HAD to go check. Sure enough, they had cotton candy, but it was in a large tub. It made me a little sad that I wasn't getting fresh bagged cotton candy or better yet, cotton candy on a stick, but I was still getting cotton candy so I was ok.

So where does this seemingly meaningless topic come from? Yesterday, I was at Sam's Club getting company supplies when I saw this:

That's right! An 8-pack of cotton candy. (I apologize for the mess in the background, and I apologize for the fact that one tub is missing and another was empty--I gave one to my boss and I ate the other the second I got back to my office.)

I actually thought twice about this purchase because I would have to run two transactions at the register in order to keep business expenses separate from personal expenses, but I didn't care. I HAD TO HAVE IT. However, when I got back to my office, it occurred to me that I had never checked the ingredients. I quickly checked, and I'll even let you see for yourselves:

I would call "sugar, artificial and natural flavors, artificial colors (including FD&C red 40, blue 1)" a success except for those ever frustrating "flavors" which could possibly be derived from gluten.

Once again, I threw caution to the wind and dug in.

When I got home, my husband told me that he has the best wife ever. How many wives come home with an 8 pack of cotton candy? I suppose I am pretty cool.

So, to all my readers out there. Is there any product that causes you to throw caution to the wind? I've heard multiple accounts of people saying they flat out knowingly consume gluten for a lot of things, so is that the case for you, or are you like me and you don't put a certain product through the normal "process" of confirming it is gluten free prior to consuming it? I realize I'm not exactly being a big risk taker with cotton candy, but I find it interesting that there is anything that gets past my normal research process because I am so incredibly careful.

Good Intentions Gone Wrong? Gluten-Removed Beer

A friend of mine shared this blog with me a while back. It's the story of a man who meets someone who is on a gluten-free diet, but has been unable to find a gluten-free beer that they can truly enjoy. He is a home brewer, so he sets out on a quest to make a great tasting gluten-free beer.

While I appreciate the extensive amount of research he did on how to use substitutions for barley and still create a great tasting product, but he made one VERY large mistake. He used malted oats. I would be perfectly fine with the use of certified gluten-free oats, but he doesn't once mention going to the trouble of finding them. This leads me to believe he incorrectly assumes that wheat, barley, and rye are the only gluten-containing products.

Why do I bring this up? There is currently a lot of controversy regarding various "gluten-removed" beers such as Omission. The largest issue at hand is whether or not they can label this type of beer as "gluten-free." My personal opinion is that I don't understand why they want the gluten-free label. What is wrong with using full disclosure and informing consumers that their product is made with gluten-containing grains and processed to remove the gluten? That is what the Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau (TTB) currently requires. I understand that they will lose some customers who could possibly safely drink their beer, but the alternative is giving consumers the (possibly) false impression that the product is safe when it is not.

If you'd you like to read a thorough (and somewhat long) description about this issue, click here. The link gives a much clearer understanding of what effect the current FDA labeling law has on gluten-removed beers.

The issue at hand is that there is no scientifically proven method of testing a product that has been processed to remove gluten in the manner that gluten-removed beers are. The most common method of testing products for gluten is the ELISA R5 test. Unfortunately, this test is meant to test for the whole protein. The process of removing gluten from beer includes adding an enzyme that breaks the gluten protein down into fragments and these fragments are supposedly removed. The ELISA test is unable to detect gluten fragments that could cause a reaction. The way I see it, there could easily be enough "fragments" that go undetected to cause horrendous reactions for those sensitive to gluten.

I have not been successful in finding the article, but I once read an article describing the testing of multiple regular and gluten-free beers. In this test, a few of the regular beers tested as gluten-free. Why? Because the tests are unreliable when it comes to testing this type of product.

I realize that business owners main purpose is to make money. I would hope that the manufacturers of Omission truly believe this product is safe even if their desire to make more money is clouding their vision. Considering the long term repercussions of consuming gluten when you have Celiac Disease, I hope they will soon discover that they are doing the right thing by not labeling their product as gluten-free until a scientifically proven test proves one way or the other. (I highly doubt their product will test as gluten free considering the number of individuals who have gotten sick consuming their product.)

It seems that just as the home brewer I mentioned originally had good intentions, lack of knowledge and stubbornness can easily cause good intentions to go wrong.

What are your thoughts on gluten-removed beer?

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Product Review: 1-2-3 Gluten Free Multi-Purpose Flour

Yay for my first product review! I have quite a few products waiting in the wings, but I've always wanted the Multi-Purpose Flour from 1-2-3 Gluten Free to be my first because I LOVE it sooooo much.



I actually love all of the products from 1-2-3 Gluten Free, but I chose the Multi-Purpose Flour because of its versatility. It is an honest cup for cup substitute for regular recipes. I also like it because if I want brownies, I don't need a brownie mix, I just need a brownie recipe. If I want a chocolate cake, I don't need a chocolate cake mix, I just need a chocolate cake recipe. If I want biscuits, I don't need a biscuit mix, I just need a biscuit recipe. You get the idea. But...if you're looking for any of those mixes--they make them too, and they're true to their name. The mixes are actually as easy as 1-2-3. I still laugh out loud when I think about the first time I used one of these mixes (it was the Sweet Goodness Pan Bars). I literally said "Wow! That was easy," aloud, and then I proceeded to reread the directions because I couldn't possibly be done already. I was wrong--I was done. (I'm also fairly certain I ate the whole pan in one sitting which is not an easy feat because these mixes make about twice as much as regular gluten-free mixes.)

The best part about this flour is that it is the only fortified gluten-free multi-purpose flour on the market today. You know how everyone is always saying that you should only go on a gluten-free diet if absolutely necessary because you're missing out on all sorts of nutrients that gluten-containing foods naturally have? This helps with that for those of us who chose or require a gluten-free diet.

Just like all of the other products, this flour mix is made in a dedicated gluten-free facility, and it is certified gluten-free through the Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO). It is also free of the top 8 allergens.

I've also had excellent luck using substitutions for dairy & soy while still using regular recipes that weren't originally intended to be gluten-free.

I haven't tried it yet, but the new boxes now say "Recipe for Angel Food Cake on the back!" After seeing this on the website, I noticed that the boxes I have already have the recipe on the back--I've just never noticed. I am and always have been in love with angel food cake. Every year for my birthday, my grandma would make me an angel food cake for my birthday, and then douse it in strawberries. I've only had angel food cake once since being diagnosed, and I actually made it myself (this experience made me that much more grateful for all of the effort my grandma went to in order to make me one each year--if you've made one, you know what I'm talking about--whipping those eggs isn't easy. I didn't have anything more than a hand mixer at the time, and she never had anything more than a hand mixer.)

I'm not sure I could possibly name all of the recipes I've done using this flour mix, but I've tried multiple brownie and cake/cupcake recipes, and they've all turned out great. I've actually been on a quest to find a recipe that didn't work well, but I haven't succeeded. There was one brownie recipe that was just kind of "eh," but I guess the gluten-containing counterpart is just kind of "eh" also.

I could go on and on gushing about how great this company and this product is, but I'll just say one more thing: this is the flour mix I planned on using for cupcakes for my wedding until I finally found a bakery to make me an actual wedding cake. I wouldn't have even considered making my own cupcakes if this wasn't available because while I like other mixes, I know this one is ALWAYS reliable. While I didn't use it for the cupcakes, I did use it for the brownies at our rehearsal dinner, and my favorite question was asked multiple times: "These are gluten-free???"

If you'd like to head on over to their website, click here.
If you'd like to read more about the fortified gluten-free flour mix, click here.

If you've tried 1-2-3 Gluten-Free products or this mix, I'd love to hear about it in the comments.

Friday, August 2, 2013

FDA Gluten-Free Labeling Has Passed!

It seems crazy that just the other day, I was talking about the proposed FDA ruling for defining "gluten-free" for food labeling. I say that because the FDA finally ruled.... today.

You can read the FDA article here. In short, they are requiring that the product be free of wheat, barley, and rye (but not oats), and be able to test under 20ppm gluten. (ppm stands for parts per million and seems to be the most common standard worldwide)

I knew what they were planning, but I am still a little bit disappointed. Not for the same reason as it seems everyone else is upset though (I'll talk about that later). I would really prefer that manufacturers be required to disclose all forms of gluten on ingredient labels the same way they're required to disclose wheat and the other top 8 allergens. Why you ask? Because if that way all gluten-free products would be easy to find.

This new labeling law only pertains to those companies that want to state "gluten-free" on their products. According to the FDA, companies have until August 5, 2014 to ensure no products are mislabeled according to the guidelines. My fear is that many companies will worry that they aren't following the guidelines correctly, and they will remove "gluten-free" from their labels. When that happens, there will be no way to tell if the product is gluten-free besides calling the manufacturer to see if they will clearly label all forms of gluten or find another product.

The most common complaint I'm hearing is that others feel the 20ppm guideline is far too high. I see the point in that, but it seems there is a misconception that a 20ppm limit magically causes all products that state gluten-free on the label to have that amount of gluten in them. 20ppm is the limit people. It's kind of like a speed limit. If the speed limit is 55mph, that doesn't mean everyone is going to travel that speed. It doesn't force you to travel that speed. Some people will travel 45mph, and others will travel 65mph. For the purposes of my example, those traveling 65mph will receive a ticket. Those traveling 45mph will be ignored. Translate that to this gluten-free guideline, and any product containing 20ppm gluten and UNDER can be labeled gluten-free.  Any product containing over 20ppm is in violation with the FDA and subject to regulatory action if they state gluten-free on the label.

Hopefully I'm not completely wrong, but my assumption is that the majority of products bearing the gluten-free claim actually contain 0ppm gluten. If the product is carefully grown away from gluten, and then manufactured in a dedicated gluten-free facility, it is highly unlikely that a new FDA standard will magically cause that product to now contain ANY gluten.

If I play devil's advocate, I will admit that I completely understand the worry that 20ppm is too high for some people. For all I know, it is too high for me, but if I switch from devil's advocate back to reality (I hope this is the reality anyway), most companies are not going to clean their equipment and manufacture their product in hopes that they can make it just under the 20ppm threshold--they are going to manufacture with the intent of the product containing 0ppm gluten.

I'm incredibly careful about what I consume, and I always worry that something could be cross contaminated. I completely understand the worry about this threshold being too high, but I guess I'm just over all the complaining that makes the assumption that this new ruling will CAUSE products to contain gluten that they did not previously contain.

Someone please raise a debate with me if you disagree about how this whole thing will play out because I yearn to understand why people suddenly seem so... well, I'll let you insert your own adjective there. ;)  If you really want to raise a stink about the amount of gluten, why don't you go google the FDA standard for the threshold for rat feces in our food. Totally not the same thing, but ya know, I had to go there.