Jump to content
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):
  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Gluten Free Labeling - Does It Influence You?


EmiPark210

Recommended Posts

EmiPark210 Contributor

This past weekend at the grocery store I realized my brand selection depended a lot on if something was listed specifically as gluten free versus another product that had the same/similar ingredients list that was also gluten free based on that. Even in things that should be inherently gluten free such as plain yogurt or deli ham. 

So my question is how much do y'all find your purchases influenced by something stating that a product is gluten free? Those products are sometimes a bit more expensive than others but it just feels like a security blanket almost. 


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Adalaide Mentor

When it comes to "safe" companies I know what to look for and there is almost never a gluten free label. I tend to stick to these companies frequently. When shopping for things outside those companies products, the labeling still doesn't influence my buying habits because there is no legal definition of gluten free in the US or a legal standard for when they can slap that label on. The exception to this is if I find a new product and I notice it is certified by one of the organizations that does that, it eases my mind and saves me a phone call where I would otherwise be calling the company before purchasing.

shadowicewolf Proficient

When it comes to "safe" companies I know what to look for and there is almost never a gluten free label. I tend to stick to these companies frequently. When shopping for things outside those companies products, the labeling still doesn't influence my buying habits because there is no legal definition of gluten free in the US or a legal standard for when they can slap that label on. The exception to this is if I find a new product and I notice it is certified by one of the organizations that does that, it eases my mind and saves me a phone call where I would otherwise be calling the company before purchasing.

Same here.

bartfull Rising Star

Yeah, unless it is CERTIFIED gluten-free, I tend to DIStrust it. There are a lot of companies trying to jump on the gluten-free bandwagon and labelling things gluten-free even when they are most likely cross-contaminated. (Think Domino's Pizza.) So I read the ingredients on every package, every time. I know that I can trust certain brands (like Kraft) to always tell us the truth. I know Udi's and Pamela's are safe because they don't process any gluten foods at all.

 

But mostly I just eat whole foods - meat, veggies, and an occasional piece of fruit.

cahill Collaborator

Nope.

 

As bartfull said, I eat mostly whole foods. If I can not look at it and tell you it is or  exactly what is in it , I do not eat it.  There are exceptions to that ( of course ) canned tuna, mustard, tea bags ,ground coffee ,but   I do not eat pre made breads , pasta ect..

pianoland Rookie

It definitely influences me. I always check the ingredient list before making the final decision. But I mostly eat whole foods because it's cheaper and most of the processed treats/bread/pasta I get are certified gluten-free.

Psyche Newbie

No. I lean towards eating organic and non-GMO as much as possible and prefer to buy straight from the farmer or pick it from my garden. I do appreciate that there are processed options out there but I am a fairly distrusting.


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



cavernio Enthusiast

Yes it does. I don't find many things labelled gluten free without some sort of accreditation to them. Only thing I can think of that comes to mind are chips. I will contact companies regarding products I want to use if they don't label it gluten free. I avoid brands that make everything, like no name or compliments. If a product doesn't sit right with me despite the label, I'll just stop buying it.

Auntie-Manda Apprentice

Yes. I do a lot of product research, and only buy what I know is safe. So if I haven't looked it up, and it says gluten free on the package, it's possible I'll buy it. Otherwise, without looking it up & not knowing for sure, I'm not going to get it.

 

If there are 2 similar products, and one is labeled gluten-free, I'll most likely get the one labeled gluten-free. But I'm pretty new at this. Hopefully as I learn more, I will know what to trust & what is probably better left on the store shelf.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - knitty kitty replied to Known1's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      1

      Reverse Osmosis (RO) Water

    2. - Yaya replied to Yaya's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      2

      Great Value Veggies cannot be trusted.

    3. - Known1 posted a topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      1

      Reverse Osmosis (RO) Water

    4. - Known1 posted a topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      0

      What would you do - neighbor brought gluten-free pizza from Papa Murphy's

    5. - Scott Adams replied to Yaya's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      2

      Great Value Veggies cannot be trusted.

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,442
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Peggy Vorell
    Newest Member
    Peggy Vorell
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):
  • Who's Online (See full list)

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • knitty kitty
      I've heard RO water is bad, too.   Distilled water has all the minerals distilled out of it, so it will pull minerals out of your bones, too.  I only use distilled water to fill up my clothes iron so it won't get mineral deposits inside and quit working. I drink mineral or spring water.  
    • Yaya
      Scott.  Thank you for your reply. I'm still having symptoms, but significantly better.  I will go back to batch cooking and freezing vegetables.  I have had success with Pict Sweet frozen, single item (not mixed) vegetables.  My Kroger carries very little Pict Sweet variety. Regards, Yaya
    • Known1
      I am hesitant to post this as I have seen many people here recommending RO water.  With that said, I want to share my experience and how RO water now impacts me.  Three or four years ago a local store installed a RO water refill station.  I had been buying gallons of distilled and spring water prior to that.  I switched over to using the RO water refill station saving money by brining in my own clean empty gallon jugs.  Every 6-months I would replace the jugs by buying new gallons of distilled water.  This RO water is the only water I would drink while at home.  Two huge glasses every morning before work and two more after work.  I would also use the RO water to make coffee and hot coco. This past December, prior to my celiac diagnosis, my gut was making more noise than anything I had ever experienced.  Seriously, it was crazy, almost like fire works going off in my stomach.  I happened to pick up some distilled water for my 6-month jug rotation.  Literally, as soon as I started drinking the distilled water my stomach settled a great deal.  I could honestly feel the difference after the first glass of water.  I thought that maybe the RO water from the store's refill station was contaminated with some sort of cleaning agent.  I swore to myself I would never drink from that RO refill station again.  Instead I went back to buying distilled along with gallon jugs of spring water.  No issues with either of those as far as an upset stomach is concerned.  Cost, well that's a different story all together. After being diagnosed marsh 3c, I went shopping at Aldi's for the first time in my life.  I noticed they also sell water by the gallon.  Over the course of the last few weeks, I have purchased a total of 6-gallons of their water.  (Thankfully they were out on two of my visits.)  After having my stomach starting to make noises similar to mid-December again, it dawned on me, maybe its the Aldi water?  Initially I had contributed my bubble gut to some sort of gluten exposure or cross contamination.  Even though everything I have put into my stomach is naturally gluten-free or has been labeled gluten-free / certified gluten-free.  I had assumed that the Aldi water was spring water.  Come to find out, that was a bad assumption.  Looking close at the label it says purified by RO or distillation (or something like that). Again, I switched to different water.  Just like last December, the non-RO water instantly calmed my stomach and even felt better going down the hatch.  This was earlier today by the way.  Prior to creating this post, I did a few searches via Uncle Google.  I bumped into a thread on Reddit (where I am not a member) that has multiple people complaining of GI issues related to RO water.  So my initial thoughts on a cleaning agent in the refill station RO water were likely not correct.  Unfortunately, it seems the RO water itself causing me problems.  I am not sure if we are allowed to post links to other sites and hopefully I will not get into trouble for doing so.  I did try printing the Reddit thread to a PDF file.  Unfortunately, the file is 2MB in size, which is well over the 500KB file attachment limit here on this amazing forum.  Again, hopefully this is ok.  🤞  Here is the Reddit thread. This may not be a popular opinion here, but personally, I will not willingly drink another glass of RO water for the remainder of my life.  Who knows, maybe drinking RO water for the past several years is part of what activated my celiac?  No proof, but just a thought.  Come to find out RO water is well known to leech minerals from your body.  With people like us often lacking minerals to begin with, RO water does not seem like a wise choice.  As the Reddit thread mentions, there are RO water filtration systems that will inject minerals back into the water.  However, those systems are likely not being used at the grocery store refill stations nor by the bottling companies producing RO water for sale at your local store. Please do not shoot the messenger as I am just sharing my personal experience and letting others know that most RO water will leech minerals from your body. God bless and stay well, Known1
    • Known1
      My neighbor's mom was diagnosed with celiac disease 16 years ago.  She is a very kind person and has shared some info about local grocery stores and daily (soon to expire) meat deals.  This evening she brought over 2 slices of Papa Murphy's gluten-free pizza.  It looks to be topped with chicken and spinach.  I asked, "aren't you concerned with cross contamination"?  She said no and apparently eats it on a somewhat regular basis. I found an old article here along with another thread pertaining to Papa Murphy's gluten-free pizza.  The article is quite old, so I do not think it holds much weight nowadays.  The thread I found was also a bit dated, but certainly more recent and relevant.  The information in the thread I found was a bit inconclusive.  Some said they trust Papa Murphy's gluten-free pizza and others were a big no way.  One person even took time to train their local franchise on how to ensure the pizza remains gluten-free without cross contamination. Anyway, being recently diagnosed as marsh 3c, I am currently working on week 3 or 4 in my new gluten-free journey.  I do not want to be rude and toss the pizza out, but I also do not want to have a reaction.  Since she has celiac and obviously ate much or at least some of the pizza, I am leaning towards eating the two slices for lunch tomorrow.  As this thread's title states, what would you do?  Would you eat it or toss it out?  I suppose I could also just give it back to my neighbor to polish off. I look forward to reading your thoughts. Thanks, Known1
    • Scott Adams
      That must have been really upsetting to discover, especially after relying on a product you believed was safe. Labeling can change at any time due to supplier shifts or shared equipment, so it’s always important to double-check packaging—even on products we’ve trusted for years. A “may contain wheat” statement usually indicates potential cross-contact risk rather than an added ingredient, but for people with celiac disease that risk can still be significant. If you’ve been having symptoms, it may take days to weeks to fully settle, depending on the level and duration of exposure. In the meantime, switching to fresh produce or brands that clearly state gluten-free status is a reasonable step. It may also help to contact the manufacturer directly to ask when the labeling changed and what their current cross-contact controls are.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.