Spot The Gluten

[Marz]

I'm mystified as to what I'm reacting to in this gluten-free biscuit recipe I'm making. All utensils are gluten-free, never seen wheat before, and all ingredients *should* also be gluten free. However every time I eat one I get a sore stomach and feel a bit glutened, and I want to get to the root cause. I don't want to never be able to eat gluten-free biscuits again

Here's the ingredients:

Salt, Butter, Sugar, Vanilla essence

- Fairly safe I'm sure

Gluten-free "egg replacement"

- This contains Potato starch, Tapioca flour, Vegetable gum, Methylcellulose, calcium carbonate, citric acid

- I've had this in my buckwheat pancakes and didn't notice a reaction, so I think this is safe.

Gluten-free flour mix made by "Nature's Choice" (A South African health food company that makes a large range of gluten-free food).

- This contains Rice flour, Tapioca Starch, Corn Starch, Potato Starch, Nature's choice Healthy Baking Powder, Xanthan Gum.

- I've had this in my nice rice biscuits and in corn bread, and both times have reacted to the item

I am sensitive to nightshades, but the symptoms for that is usually nausea and Potatoes are usually fine. So I don't think it's the Potato starch.

Is it possible the "quality guaranteed" Nature's Choice rice flour is not gluten free?

Am I reacting to Xanthan Gum?

Am I reacting to Tapioca starch?

I've also made a super plain "rice cracker" recipe that contains plain rice flour (not the mix above), butter, salt and some herbs and that was 100% perfect.

I've bought "gluten-free" biscuits from a home bakery type place before, and also reacted strongly to it.

It looks like it's either xanthan gum or the flour is gluten contaminated...

Thoughts/comments?

[Marz]

Open Original Shared Link

"Specifically, an allergic response may be triggered in people sensitive to the growth medium, usually corn, soy, or wheat. For example, residual wheat gluten has been detected on xanthan gum made using wheat"

Makes me feel like we are never safe... Is it too much to hope that for the above gluten-free flour mix product, the company would source xanthan gum grown on corn?

[ravenwoodglass]

  On 8/21/2010 at 8:40 PM, Marz said:

I'm mystified as to what I'm reacting to in this gluten-free biscuit recipe I'm making. All utensils are gluten-free, never seen wheat before, and all ingredients *should* also be gluten free. However every time I eat one I get a sore stomach and feel a bit glutened, and I want to get to the root cause. I don't want to never be able to eat gluten-free biscuits again

Gluten-free flour mix made by "Nature's Choice" (A South African health food company that makes a large range of gluten-free food).

- This contains Rice flour, Tapioca Starch, Corn Starch, Potato Starch, Nature's choice Healthy Baking Powder, Xanthan Gum.

- I've had this in my nice rice biscuits and in corn bread, and both times have reacted to the item

Thoughts/comments?

Since you have reacted to other items that you have made with this flour mix I would find a different mix.

[cassP]

ive reacted to potato starch before... and corn products... not always- but sometimes- just too hard to digest.

i got gluten free Pei Wei takeout before- and had the bloating and spastic intestines- and found out that they coat the chicken or shrimp in this gelatinous potato starch before stirfrying - so for sure- either the potato starch OR the HFCS in the rice vinegar or sauce messed me up.

[T.H.]

Short answer? Pretty much every ingredient on your list might be an issue for gluten.

If the food is processed in any factory that processes gluten at all, there's a chance for gluten contamination. If it's processed from a gluten ingredient (like, possibly, the alcohol used in vanilla essence), there's an even greater chance for contamination some time before it is bottled up.

Have you called any of the companies of these foods up to see what their policies are to avoid cross contamination? That might help narrow it down. If there is no gluten in the factory, that makes contamination less likely. Not impossible, though, because sometimes the shipping of the raw ingredients can be an issue for contamination, especially with other grains.

Another thing might be that you could be very sensitive to gluten, so your gluten free products are below the legal limit of gluten, but not below your own personal reaction threshold, as it were. Or, another possibility might be that you are reacting to something else now, as well.

From your description, and the fact that some of these ingredients have been okay in other recipes, and that the flour has been in other recipes that you reacted to, my first guess would be the gluten-free flour mixture, honestly. Whether contaminated or simply not gluten free ENOUGH, that'd do it. There are these home gluten tests now that you can order off the web (you can google them pretty quick) and you can test the flour mixture to see if it has gluten or not. Might be of use! :-)

[Marz]

Haha, success! I changed to a different (imported) mix - one of the Australian Orgran brands - and no reaction to the same biscuit recipe.

Of course I still have a slightly sore stomach, but that's from eating too many tonight

Yay for Australian excellence

[Marz]

My rejoicing was short lived. I am still reacting to the new flour mix - sore stomach etc. I'm starting to wonder if it's the butter in the biscuits... Sore stomach being caused by milk as well, so I've switched back to dairy free.

Doesn't help eating out once a week or so - just as I start feeling better I gluten myself on some steak. I just hate the thought of telling my husband I can't eat out for the next month or so until I get this under control

[i-geek]

I react to tapioca starch. It's gotten better since my gut's healed, but I still get some indigestion from it. I try to sub in potato or arrowroot starch when I bake, and limit my intake of purchased baked goods.

[cattriona]

  On 9/3/2010 at 11:22 PM, i-geek said:

I react to tapioca starch. It's gotten better since my gut's healed, but I still get some indigestion from it. I try to sub in potato or arrowroot starch when I bake, and limit my intake of purchased baked goods.

I don't know the specifics but I have heard that tapioca is sulphurized as it is made from the stem cuttings and as a result of the flesh being opened, needs to be preserved (I'm guessing it's the same concept as when apricots have their seeds removed). Just something to consider.

[cattriona]

  On 9/4/2010 at 8:06 AM, cattriona said:

I don't know the specifics but I have heard that tapioca is sulphurized as it is made from the stem cuttings and as a result of the flesh being opened, needs to be preserved (I'm guessing it's the same concept as when apricots have their seeds removed). Just something to consider.

By the way, some producers also classify tapioca as arrowroot. h

[i-geek]

  On 9/4/2010 at 8:09 AM, cattriona said:

By the way, some producers also classify tapioca as arrowroot. h

Interesting. I've only used it once or twice in baking and it would have been after my gut had mostly healed. I can't remember if I reacted or not (if so, it must have been mild). I only know that I stopped reacting initially after I subbed all potato starch for tapioca starch in recipes. I might be just fine with tapioca now. It would certainly make things easier.

[kerrig]

Be careful with products from South Africa. We are from South Africa , now living in Canada and I went to a South African store to buy some cereal. The packaging said Gluten Free but when we read the ingredients it says that there is barley malt - I contacted the company and they told me that the level of Gluten is low enough that they can state that it is Gluten Free..

"This is what they said

Several countries have implemented strict regulations for products carrying gluten free claims, and South Africa is no different. The CODEX Alimentarius Standard and the Draft South African labelling legislation require that the level of gluten in the final product 20 parts per million (20 ppm) of gluten in a product to be eligible to carry a gluten free claim. It has been reported that patients with celiac disease can consume these levels of gluten without any adverse effects.

We have our products tested annually by FACTSSA (Food & Allergy Consulting & Testing Services), who could confirm that the following Kellogg products qualify for a gluten free claim, as they contain exceptionally low levels of gluten "

Hope this helps.

Kerri

[sandiz]

what kind of sugar is it? I react to refined sugar so I have raw or organic cane sugar.