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Is There An App Or Website For Checking Ingredients?

SMRI

By SMRI
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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SMRI Collaborator
SMRI
Posted

I'm wondering if there is an app or website to check ingredients to see if they are gluten free?  With so many of the chemical names being unfamiliar and just being new at this, I'm wondering if there is something where I could type in what is on the label and see if it is gluten-free or not.  I just had some cereal and nothing on the label contained gluten, mostly rice or corn products, but it was not labeled gluten-free.  There is always the chance of CC too I guess though.  I've mostly been googling the product name but can I trust that information from someone's blog or whatever.  Yes, I can call, but generally companies aren't open at 6:00 AM :D.

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user001 Contributor
user001
Posted

There is an app i just downloaded for android, probably on apple phones too, "the gluten free scanner" you are supposed to scan a product and it tells you if it contains gluten. I am not sure if it can tell you if there is risk of CC, but I will have to test it out on some items when I go shopping.

user001 Contributor
user001
Posted

I just want to note that I wouldn't rely on this app for choosing foods that may have cross contamination. I suggest investigating by calling or writing if you are unsure about a product.

SMRI Collaborator
SMRI
Posted
  • Author

Let me know if the app works.  I've looked at a few of those and the reviews have not been bad.  One poster on one of the apps even said that she scanned regular bread and it came up as being gluten free :D.  I would like something to say yes, this has gluten, not so much no it does not.

Scott Adams Grand Master
Scott Adams
Posted

https://www.celiac.com/categories/Safe--Gluten-Free--Food--List--_____--Unsafe--Foods--____--Ingredients-c-3383

SMRI Collaborator
SMRI
Posted
  • Author

Thanks.  I did find that list and have it bookmarked, but at the grocery store, it would be handy to have an app on my phone.  Any app developers out there :D

gilligan Enthusiast
gilligan
Posted

I have an app on my phone called Shop Well.  You set up a profile and scan the bar codes.  Very easy to use!  It's only been wrong once that I know of.

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SMRI Collaborator
SMRI
Posted
  • Author

I have an app on my phone called Shop Well.  You set up a profile and scan the bar codes.  Very easy to use!  It's only been wrong once that I know of.

Perfect! Thanks!

tspiggy Apprentice
tspiggy
Posted

Thanks.  I did find that list and have it bookmarked, but at the grocery store, it would be handy to have an app on my phone.  Any app developers out there :D

I saved this list to Evernote on my laptop and can access it from my Evernote app on my phone.  You can also save it to Pocket on your computer and access it from your phone through the Pocket app.  Both Evernote and Pocket are free registrations (there is a paid version of both with more features but you don't really need them), and their corresponding Android/iOS apps are free as well.

psawyer Proficient
psawyer
Posted

Just a comment. Any app that scans the product is not reading the ingredients, just the product code. It is then relying upon a product list somewhere, which, like any list, may not have the same currency date as the product you are holding. The list may be out of date, or the product may have been on the shelf a while, and be older than the list. Now, if you want to look up ingredients (as opposed to products), lists can be quite useful.

SMRI Collaborator
SMRI
Posted
  • Author

I used this app for the first time today and it's sure handy!!  You can customize it to search for things you do not want in your food.  I have mine set for gluten and low calorie.  I'm mostly worried about the chemical named things right now until I get more used to this!!  It pegged items that it should have-meaning they have gluten in them.  It brings up a summary of the product and if it is a match for you or not.  It has a nutrition tab that brings up the food label--which is nice because some of those labels are TINY, and a list of ingredients--It highlights in red the food you do NOT want and if there IS something you want in a food, it would be in green.  I scanned some bread just to see what it would say and it flagged it to avoid and then in the ingredient tab, highlighted flour and wheat.   

LauraTX Rising Star
LauraTX
Posted

I used this app for the first time today and it's sure handy!!  You can customize it to search for things you do not want in your food.  I have mine set for gluten and low calorie.  I'm mostly worried about the chemical named things right now until I get more used to this!!  It pegged items that it should have-meaning they have gluten in them.  It brings up a summary of the product and if it is a match for you or not.  It has a nutrition tab that brings up the food label--which is nice because some of those labels are TINY, and a list of ingredients--It highlights in red the food you do NOT want and if there IS something you want in a food, it would be in green.  I scanned some bread just to see what it would say and it flagged it to avoid and then in the ingredient tab, highlighted flour and wheat.   

Go ahead and once the app says something is safe, pull out your magnifying glass and read it yourself.  Ingredients change (I miss a certain brand of pho noodles that used to be gluten-free-caught me by surprise) and you don't want to accidentally get glutened.  It is nice though that it picks out bad ingredients so you can scan and then chunk it back on the shelf in a few seconds.

GF Lover Rising Star
GF Lover
Posted

I haven't had Pho noodles.   My mom raves about them and is always reminding me they are gluten free (she lives in Hawaii).  Now I can tell her she can stop sending me Pho noodle recipes.... :lol:

 

Thanks for the mention Laura.

 

Colleen

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      how much gluten do I need to eat before blood tests?

      By catnapt · Posted

      after several years of issues with a para-gland issue, my endo has decided it's a good idea for me to be tested for celiac disease. I am 70 yrs old and stunned to learn that you can get celiac this late in life. I have just gradually stopped eating most foods that contain gluten over the past several years- they just make me feel ill- although I attributed it to other things like bread spiking blood sugar- or to the things I ate *with* the bread or crackers etc   I went to a party in Nov and ate a LOT of a vegan roast made with vital wheat gluten- as well as stuffing, rolls and pie crust... and OMG I was so sick! the pain, the bloating, the gas, the nausea... I didn't think it would ever end (but it did) and I was ready to go the ER but it finally subsided.   I mentioned this to my endo and now she wants me to be tested for celiac after 2 weeks of being on gluten foods. She has kind of flip flopped on how much gluten I should eat, telling me that if the symptoms are severe I can stop. I am eating 2-3 thin slices of bread per day (or english muffins) and wow- it does make me feel awful. But not as bad as when I ate that massive amnt of vital wheat gluten. so I will continue on if I have to... but what bothers me is - if it IS celiac, it seems stupid for lack of a better word, to intentionally cause more damage to my body... but I am also worried, on the other hand, that this is not a long enough challenge to make the blood work results valid.   can you give me any insight into this please?   thank you
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