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  • Scott Adams
    Scott Adams

    Is Natural Flavoring Gluten-Free and Safe for People with Celiac Disease?

    Reviewed and edited by a celiac disease expert.

    Natural flavors are gluten-free, but they may contain MSG. Here are some other names for natural flavoring.

    Is Natural Flavoring Gluten-Free and Safe for People with Celiac Disease? - It's best to get your smoked flavor the old fashioned way. Image: CC BY 2.0--Southern Foodways Alliance
    Caption: It's best to get your smoked flavor the old fashioned way. Image: CC BY 2.0--Southern Foodways Alliance

    Celiac.com 08/29/2020 (Updated on 09/09/2020) - According to the FDA the term "Natural Flavoring" defines a broad group of things that can be used in foods to give them more flavor:

    • "(3) The term natural flavor or natural flavoring means the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional. Natural flavors, include the natural essence or extractives obtained from plants listed in subpart A of part 582 of this chapter, and the substances listed in 172.510 of this chapter."

    For those with celiac disease, natural flavoring is considered to be gluten-free, and if wheat, rye or barley were used to make the natural flavoring it would need to be disclosed on the ingredient label in foods that are labelled "gluten-free." If wheat were used to make natural flavoring it would always need to be disclosed, even on products not labelled gluten-free. For those with serious allergies there are additional concerns about the many ingredients that can be used to make natural flavoring, and because many other foods can be used in combination with these ingredients to make them: "...they consist of one or more of the following, used alone or in combination with flavoring substances and adjuvants generally recognized as safe in food, previously sanctioned for such use, or regulated in any section of this part."

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A12):
    "Natural flavors" are a common name for Monosodium glutamate (MSG), which is itself a trade name for sodium hydrogen glutamate. MSG is gluten-free and safe for people with celiac disease. MSG appears on Celiac.com's list of Safe Gluten-Free Ingredients, and plenty of people have no problems when eating MSG.

    MSG Can Cause Reactions in Some People

    In some people, MSG can cause adverse reactions, with symptoms including, facial numbness or pressure, heart racing, chest pain, nausea, vomiting, headache, sweating, wheezing or burning sensations. For this reason, many people, both with and without celiac disease, prefer to avoid MSG. 

    Other names for Natural Flavorings include:

    • Artificial Flavoring
    • Artificial Flavors
    • Flavoring
    • Natural Flavoring
    • Natural Flavors
    • Natural Smoke Flavor

    In addition to "natural flavors," other names for MSG include:

    • Flavoring
    • Natural Flavor
    • Natural Flavorings
    • Natural Beef Flavor
    • Natural Chicken Flavor
    • Natural Beef Flavor
    • Chicken Flavoring
    • Seasoning
    • Spices
    • Enzymes 

    Source:

    Edited by Scott Adams


    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments



    trents

    "It’s safe to eat, but it can cause permanent damage to the bronchioles—the narrowest parts of the branching airways in the lungs—if you inhale it. Like if, say, you’re a microwave-popcorn-factory employee working over the giant tank of flavorings.

    Dozens of popcorn factory employees (and even one consumer—a Colorado man who ate two bags of popcorn every day for 10 years . . ."

    I note that the article also says this is a natural chemical compound found in many fermented dairy products. Many, many chemical compounds we eat, inhale or come in contact with frequently are only harmful in exaggerated amounts and may even be helpful to our health in limited quantities. A prime example is fluoride.

    I only get the "light" microwaveable popcorn products and I love them.

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    Mary Bogel
    On 9/10/2020 at 9:46 AM, Guest Addams K said:

    I am confused about: "For those with celiac disease, natural flavoring is considered to be gluten-free, and if wheat, rye or barley were used to make the natural flavoring it would need to be disclosed on the ingredient label in foods that are labelled "gluten-free." If wheat were used to make natural flavoring it would always need to be disclosed, even on products not labelled gluten-free."  The first part of the first sentence says natural flavoring is gluten-free. Then the second half implies that it is possible that rye or barley could be used to make the natural flavoring and therefore would not need to be disclosed on a typical food label that is not making any special claims. Both of those cannot be true. 

    I'm so confused on whether it's gluten free and safe for my celiac belly. 

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    Wheatwacked

    If you eat it and doesn't cause you distress, probably OK. It it causes you distress, avoid.

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    sc'Que?
    6 hours ago, Wheatwacked said:

    If you eat it and doesn't cause you distress, probably OK. It it causes you distress, avoid.

    If you eat it and it causes you distress, then it's already too late @Wheatwacked.  The whole point of food labeling is that you should not need to get sick to find out that something is detrimental to your health.  

    I cannot even fathom that you posted this comment. 

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    Wheatwacked

    Glutamate: The Master Neurotransmitter and Its Implications in Chronic Stress and Mood Disorders

    Consumed in controlled quantities, free glutamate (as distinct from glutamate contained in protein) functions as a neurotransmitter and building block of protein. 

    Does “glutamate” in a product mean it contains gluten? No—glutamate or glutamic acid have nothing to do with gluten.

    Consider the quantity in foods is a tiny amount compared to the dosages they gave those poor rats.

     infant laboratory animals given large amounts of free glutamic acid suffered brain damage immediately

    0.35 mg/g dose equals 24.5 grams in a 70 kg human.

    "Glutamate, at a dose of 0.35 mg/g, produced neuronal necrosis of a very limited nature in only 60% of the animals and was defined as the minimal effective neurotoxic dose in the 4-day-old mouse. Neuronal loss was not detected in any animals treated with less than 0.35% mg/g of the amino acid whereas lesions became more extensive as the dose was increased to 0.5 mg/g."    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/420883/

     

    Edited by Wheatwacked
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    sc'Que?
    On 11/8/2023 at 8:59 PM, Wheatwacked said:

    Glutamate: The Master Neurotransmitter and Its Implications in Chronic Stress and Mood Disorders

    Consumed in controlled quantities, free glutamate (as distinct from glutamate contained in protein) functions as a neurotransmitter and building block of protein. 

    Does “glutamate” in a product mean it contains gluten? No—glutamate or glutamic acid have nothing to do with gluten.

    Consider the quantity in foods is a tiny amount compared to the dosages they gave those poor rats.

     infant laboratory animals given large amounts of free glutamic acid suffered brain damage immediately

    0.35 mg/g dose equals 24.5 grams in a 70 kg human.

    "Glutamate, at a dose of 0.35 mg/g, produced neuronal necrosis of a very limited nature in only 60% of the animals and was defined as the minimal effective neurotoxic dose in the 4-day-old mouse. Neuronal loss was not detected in any animals treated with less than 0.35% mg/g of the amino acid whereas lesions became more extensive as the dose was increased to 0.5 mg/g."    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/420883/

     

    Gluten and Glutamate are completely different "animals".  Glutamate does not (necessarily) contain gluten.  What's your point here? 

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    Scott Adams

    Scott Adams was diagnosed with celiac disease in 1994, and, due to the nearly total lack of information available at that time, was forced to become an expert on the disease in order to recover. In 1995 he launched the site that later became Celiac.com to help as many people as possible with celiac disease get diagnosed so they can begin to live happy, healthy gluten-free lives.  He is co-author of the book Cereal Killers, and founder and publisher of the (formerly paper) newsletter Journal of Gluten Sensitivity. In 1998 he founded The Gluten-Free Mall which he sold in 2014. Celiac.com does not sell any products, and is 100% advertiser supported.


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