Contaminated cooking oils

[Jsingh]

I am asking for my six year old. It took us four months to figure out what was going on- a brand of extra virgin olive oil we were using for every meal. We changed the brand she instantly got better- from Gi to nephropathy to joint pain, to tinnitus to dry eyes. You name a symptom and she has it when glutened, so it's difficult to second guess when it's all so obvious.

Anyway, two months later, i bought another bottle of the same brand, and the olive oil was sourced form 5 different countries, as opposed to one. It took exactly a month for her symptom to start all over again. And sure enough it was the oil!

I am sorta getting tired of trying to get these "healthy" oils glutening her. Does anyone have any thought on cooking oils that they think for sure are not contaminated, or any certified glutenfee brands they suggest? I'd appreciate. At this point, I just need any oil that's free of contamination- healthy or otherwise. Healthier is better. But i'll tkae anything.

Thanks

[RMJ]

You can search here for certified gluten free olive oil

GFCO productfinder

[Scott Adams]

Consider California olive oils, as they seem to be very pure, and as @RMJ mentioned, look for certified gluten-free ones.

[nanny marley]

Could you not try to cut oil out and use a alternative method ? Is there really any health benefits for oil ? If it has caused do much did discomfort for your little one I'd be inclined to source a different way my granddaughter has a nut allergy it's been a roller coaster ride but we cut whatever was causing issues out and found a alternative and she's been fine 🤗

[cvernon]

La Tourangelle makes wonderful oils, certified and made in a dedicated gluten free facility.

https://latourangelle.com/pages/frequently-asked-questions

[Jsingh]

  On 12/16/2024 at 10:29 AM, nanny marley said:

Could you not try to cut oil out and use a alternative method ? Is there really any health benefits for oil ? If it has caused do much did discomfort for your little one I'd be inclined to source a different way my granddaughter has a nut allergy it's been a roller coaster ride but we cut whatever was causing issues out and found a alternative and she's been fine 🤗

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Hi,

Yes, I tried to remove all oils and began cooking with Earth Balance' butter which we had already been using as spread. It seems like a hit or miss, for one tub seems to be gluten free and the other not. It's been crazy.

She reacted to Ghee, which could either casein allergy, which she does have, or the ghee itself was glutened. The brand I used is Carrington. My daughter also has nut allergy and so those other oils are out as well, especially coconut.

I found one Bono brand olive oil which is apparently certified gluten-free, but she reacted to that as well. I wrote to the bran asking how is this certification done. They said that they don't actually test their oil before bottling. I wrote to the GFCO and they confirmed. I am having a hard time trusting these certifications. 

[Jsingh]

  On 12/24/2024 at 12:46 AM, cvernon said:

La Tourangelle makes wonderful oils, certified and made in a dedicated gluten free facility.

https://latourangelle.com/pages/frequently-asked-questions

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Hi,

Thanks. I have written to la turangelle to check if GFCO certification means the actual testing of the olive oil before bottling. I've had bad experience with certified gluten-free, and upon contacting the brand I learnt they do not test for gluten, just let GFCO know that their facility is free of gluten hence the certification.

[Jsingh]

  On 12/3/2024 at 6:12 PM, Scott Adams said:

Consider California olive oils, as they seem to be very pure, and as @RMJ mentioned, look for certified gluten-free ones.

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Thanks.

I wonder if there are others who have reacted to GFCO certified oils. My daughter has to BONO brand. These people do not really test the oil before bottling. GFCO simply attests to their declaration of the bottling plant being a gluten free facility. I dunno if their are any oils which are actually tested for gluten contamination.

[RMJ]

The GFCO handbook for the certification process  requires testing, at least at first. After a certain number of gluten free batches they can reduce testing. So something doesn’t make sense here. Maybe oil is difficult to test and they made an exception? If so, they should be clear about that.

Could it be that they test it at some other stage, rather than before bottling? If you wrote to these companies can you post their exact response?

I think someone needs to do an exposé on gluten free certification.  I think for many companies it is just a marketing tool rather than an actual concern about the health of their customers.

[Jsingh]

  On 1/4/2025 at 6:43 PM, RMJ said:

The GFCO handbook for the certification process  requires testing, at least at first. After a certain number of gluten free batches they can reduce testing. So something doesn’t make sense here. Maybe oil is difficult to test and they made an exception? If so, they should be clear about that.

Could it be that they test it at some other stage, rather than before bottling? If you wrote to these companies can you post their exact response?

I think someone needs to do an exposé on gluten free certification.  I think for many companies it is just a marketing tool rather than an actual concern about the health of their customers.

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Maybe I should write to GFCO as well with BONO's response, if what you say is the case. I wonder if GFCO has different requirements for imported products.

Here is the email:

[cvernon]

Jsingh and RMJ, I am having very similar thoughts as yours regarding the safety of the GFCO and other certifications. What I have started to do is contact the companies of those GFCO products that I use and asking if their product is produced on lines that also process gluten containing products. Sadly, many GFCO certified companies ARE using the same lines as gluten containing products. I get a canned response of "we take safety seriously and ensure that all lines are properly cleaned", but as we've seen from the Moms Across America testing, that is not the case. As of right now, I am only using GFCO certified products that are made in dedicated gluten free facilities (which isn't very many). I know we get the response of, it's too expensive to have dedicated lines or facilities, but sadly at this point the certifications mean nothing. Until GFCO stops the marketing ploy money grab and truly makes some testing and auditing changes, I don't trust them one bit. 

[RMJ]

From their email: “rely on analyses that confirm gluten is not detected”

This means that they do testing.

[Jsingh]

  On 1/4/2025 at 7:23 PM, RMJ said:

From their email: “rely on analyses that confirm gluten is not detected”

This means that they do testing.

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Sorry, I should have attached this one. Their email to my follow up.

[Jsingh]

I have written to them about sharing details of the lab that does testing for them. That way I can at least know the contamination threshold the lab tests for. For I had written to GFCO in regards to another brand that GFCO told me they do not have the info on the testing threshold for contamination on individual brands. They let the companies set that for themselves.

Anyway, I am going to try La Tourangelle and see if that works.

[RMJ]

GFCO does not require testing of each lot, so the “periodic laboratory analyses” fits their requirements.

They say testing is done by certified bodies.  I’m not sure what that means for an Italian company.

The GFCO requirement is less than 10 ppm.  Other gluten-free certifying companies may use other limits.