"i Can't Believe It's Not Butter"

[steve-o]

Hi everyone,

I was sick today, with all the same symptoms I get when I eat gluten...so I've been racking my brain, trying to figure out what is it that I've eaten in the past day or so, that could have made me sick.

High on my list of suspect foods is "I can't believe it's not butter" spread. I had a pretty generous portion on my baked potato last night.

I looked on their webpage, and there was no gluten info. So I emailed them, and asked if they could tell me if any of their products are gluten free. Here's the answer I got:

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Hi Steve,

Thanks for writing!

Because our products are formulated for use by the majority of our

consumers, and not specifically for those on restricted diets, it is

possible our product formulations may change at any time. As a result, we

cannot provide a list due to several factors:

- Lists of this type reflect products as formulated at a specific time

- Possible that more products/varieties may have been added

- More important, changes in existing products may have occurred

Therefore, we suggest reading all ingredient labels carefully.

We hope this information is helpful!

Your friends at ICBINB!

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The only other thing I've ever used ICBINB on, is some gluten free bread that I've made...which always seems to make me ill. This led me to believe I might have a problem with the yeast, but now I'm wondering if it was the ICBINB?

So I'm just curious to see how many of you have had positive, or negative, experiences with this product.

Thanks in advance for your input,

Steve

[lovegrov]

What ICBINB is saying is that they don't give out a list because as soon as they do it could be old (this is true of ANY list) and that if a product has gluten (or at least wheat) it will be shown in the ingredients. ICBINB is a Unilever product and this is Unilever's policy for all it's products.

ICBINB is in fact gluten-free. I've never found a butter or magarine that isn't gluten-free. Are you certain somebody else hadn't used it and spread bread crumbs?

richard

[tommchale]

What ICBINB is saying is that they don't give out a list because as soon as they do it could be old (this is true of ANY list) and that if a product has gluten (or at least wheat) it will be shown in the ingredients. ICBINB is a Unilever product and this is Unilever's policy for all it's products.

ICBINB is in fact gluten-free. I've never found a butter or magarine that isn't gluten-free. Are you certain somebody else hadn't used it and spread bread crumbs?

richard

Hi Richard - I think you may be on to something. I have been sick all weekend and the only difference I am coming up with is a switch to ICBINB because I ran out of real butter, which I normally use. I am a very experienced gluten free dieter, it took me something like 18 months to figure out most of the details, but even now I am still finding exceptions (the hard way) like Sensodyne toothpaste which is something you don't even swallow! In this case, the tub of ICBINB using was pure (brand new, no chance of cross contamination of bread crumbs from other damily members). Can't prove it, but sure seems suspicious as I am very very careful about what I eat and cross contamination.

[maryjoali]

Oh my God! I just posted in another thread that I've been gluten/casein-free for 7 months and have started experiencing the same symptoms as before. We just moved into our new home Aug. 1 and I bought I Can't Believe... when doing out big shop to stock up. My husband and I are both gluten-free so there's no chance of CC here, but honestly that is the only item I've changed since moving. I hadn't even considered that the margarine I am using every morning may be the cause. Maybe this is why I should continue journalling my food intake! I'm going to eliminate it for a bit and try it again to test. Thanks so much for posting this concern! I never would have thought of it since I, too, called and they told me it was gluten-free.

[Mango04]

Oh my God! I just posted in another thread that I've been gluten/casein-free for 7 months and have started experiencing the same symptoms as before. We just moved into our new home Aug. 1 and I bought I Can't Believe...

I Can't Belive It's Not Butter contains dairy....

[maryjoali]

I Can't Belive It's Not Butter contains dairy....

I guess I shouldn't really say casein-"free" because you're right...it does contain 0.6% buttermilk powder. When we did my testing I could tolerate small amounts of dairy, which is why I wasn't concerned about that, but maybe in this formulation it sets me off. Seems like such a minute amount, though...0.6% in the whole container and I use a thin layer once in the morning. The body does work in unpredictable ways though....

[tommchale]

I guess I shouldn't really say casein-"free" because you're right...it does contain 0.6% buttermilk powder. When we did my testing I could tolerate small amounts of dairy, which is why I wasn't concerned about that, but maybe in this formulation it sets me off. Seems like such a minute amount, though...0.6% in the whole container and I use a thin layer once in the morning. The body does work in unpredictable ways though....

The interesting this is I have no problem with dairy at all, so the Gluten thing is really suspicious to me with ICBINB. There are way to many companies out there that claim gluten free but give no thought to cross contamination. I buy very little packaged dry food anymore as I have run across too many examples of products that have a big "Gluten Free" on the label, but apparently the product was made on the same equipment that processes gluten ingredients. Corn chips are the classic example. Most do not contain gluten as an ingredient (corn, salt, oil), but are almost certainly processed on equipment coated with flour to prevent sticking... If you are sensitive to cross contamination, gluten free facility manufactured is the way to go. I have had a number of problems with Amy's stuff even though that is supposed to be Gluten Free. Won't eat it anymore as I worry about their cross contamination control.

[CarlaB]

Could you possibly be sensitive to soy?

Maybe you're just sensitive to the hydrogenated oils and other ingredients ... if you're used to eating healthy, some of these artificial ingredients might cause some kind of a reaction.

[emcmaster]

Could you possibly be sensitive to soy?

Maybe you're just sensitive to the hydrogenated oils and other ingredients ... if you're used to eating healthy, some of these artificial ingredients might cause some kind of a reaction.

Yeah, that's kind of what I was thinking. Maybe it's something else in the product that you are intolerant to. I was convinced I was constantly getting glutened until I realized that I was intolerant to corn, which was manifesting problems most severely when I ate anything with Xanthan gum... which is in nearly every single gluten-free packaged product available.

[tommchale]

Yeah, that's kind of what I was thinking. Maybe it's something else in the product that you are intolerant to. I was convinced I was constantly getting glutened until I realized that I was intolerant to corn, which was manifesting problems most severely when I ate anything with Xanthan gum... which is in nearly every single gluten-free packaged product available.

Thanks all, now that I think back, the soy theory is consistent with some other episodes I have had, I will have to experiment with that. Thank you VERY much for the ideas!

[GlutenFreeKitty]

Hello Everyone -

I am new posting on this Forum. I have been getting answers from it for months since I was diagnosed with gluten sensitivity this year. I have been pretty good with an occasional binge but not severe reactions until Thursday night. I wound up with severe abdominal cramps and all of the related symptoms of a full blown reaction. I have been analyzing EVERYTHING I consumed and finally it hit me. The ONLY thing that was different was that I started eating I Can't Believe It's Not Butter again. I Googled it and found everyone's related posts.

I know it claims to be gluten free but I am sick of being sick so I am eliminating it. Guess I will take a risk in a few weeks if I get better and try it again to see if it's what caused my symptoms? It's hard following the gluten free diet but being free from the symptom of gluten intolerance has been wonderful. Having it come back on me is stressful. I will be back after my dietary experiment is complete.

[kareng]

Hello Everyone -

I am new posting on this Forum. I have been getting answers from it for months since I was diagnosed with gluten sensitivity this year. I have been pretty good with an occasional binge but not severe reactions until Thursday night. I wound up with severe abdominal cramps and all of the related symptoms of a full blown reaction. I have been analyzing EVERYTHING I consumed and finally it hit me. The ONLY thing that was different was that I started eating I Can't Believe It's Not Butter again. I Googled it and found everyone's related posts.

I know it claims to be gluten free but I am sick of being sick so I am eliminating it. Guess I will take a risk in a few weeks if I get better and try it again to see if it's what caused my symptoms? It's hard following the gluten free diet but being free from the symptom of gluten intolerance has been wonderful. Having it come back on me is stressful. I will be back after my dietary experiment is complete.

Please remember that you are responding to a 5 year old thread. Product info and ingredietns may have changed in such a long time.

[SandyH]

Being very newly diagnosed, this gluten issue is overwhelming. I had read an article that stated that CC contained a deriviative of gluten and should be avoided. So Icontacted Country Crock to see if their spread was gluten free and I was told that they do not publish information such as that. They suggested that if I have questions as to whether or not to eat it, I shouldn't! So it is deliberate -- their decision to withhold information.

[psawyer]

Actually, you asked the wrong question, triggering the response dictated by the legal department. They will not answer any question about "gluten-free" because to say yes opens them to legal liability if one of their suppliers accidentally provides a contaminated ingredient.

 

Ask if the product contains gluten, and they will tell you that any gluten source will be clearly disclosed in the ingredients list.

 

And this topic is now almost seven years old. But Unilever's gluten disclosure policy has not changed in at least ten years.

[courud7346]

 PSAWYER---Thanks for your post. I'm so sorry this is the following year but after yet another sick day, I'm convinced ICBINB has something with gluten in it. I'm not allergic to dairy, never any issue with it or soy nor yeast yet, I ate some vegetables a pat of it on it and needless to say, sick doesn't do justice in describing it. When I visit my mother, she uses it, she keeps things pretty gluten free and for a while, I thought it was something she had that I was CC with my food.  She eats wheat still, she has diabetes so that's to be expected but she keeps her "wheaty" things away from me. Only when I come in contact with ICBINB do I get the symptoms show. I don't know what they have in there but if UNILEVER isn't going to fully disclose what they include in their products, I don't think anyone with an allergy should take a chance using their products.  

Actually, you asked the wrong question, triggering the response dictated by the legal department. They will not answer any question about "gluten-free" because to say yes opens them to legal liability if one of their suppliers accidentally provides a contaminated ingredient.

 

Ask if the product contains gluten, and they will tell you that any gluten source will be clearly disclosed in the ingredients list.

 

And this topic is now almost seven years old. But Unilever's gluten disclosure policy has not changed in at least ten years.

[kareng]

PSAWYER---Thanks for your post. I'm so sorry this is the following year but after yet another sick day, I'm convinced ICBINB has something with gluten in it. I'm not allergic to dairy, never any issue with it or soy nor yeast yet, I ate some vegetables a pat of it on it and needless to say, sick doesn't do justice in describing it. When I visit my mother, she uses it, she keeps things pretty gluten free and for a while, I thought it was something she had that I was CC with my food.  She eats wheat still, she has diabetes so that's to be expected but she keeps her "wheaty" things away from me. Only when I come in contact with ICBINB do I get the symptoms show. I don't know what they have in there but if UNILEVER isn't going to fully disclose what they include in their products, I don't think anyone with an allergy should take a chance using their products.

I can eat it and I don't have a problem. I wonder why you think this company wants to hurt people with allergies? What will they gain?

But, if you have evidence that. Unilever is lying about ingredients, please provide it to the FDA. They have a way to do that on their website.

[NewBGlutenFree]

I know this is a older stream, but I just want to thank everyone for their posts.  Being extremely new to a Gluten Free lifestyle and doing a lot of research on items, it's actually nice to hear that others are experiencing symptoms after eating I Can't Believe it's Not Butter too.  I have been diligently watching what I eat and could not for the life of me figure out what was causing my symptoms to come back.  Then suddenly I remembered the I Can't Beleive it's Not Butter...thinking it was such a small amount I was using, there's no way that could be the culprit.  Well, I was wrong.  I have no problems with other dairy, soy, etc...but for some reason each time I use the ICBINB, I pay for it later.  I will be avoiding it now, especially after reading these posts and others experiencing the same thing.

[Roz Melanson]

OMG!  I’v had symptoms for almost 2 weeks and like many of you the only change in my diet has been ICBINB, no indication of gluten in the ingredients so I thought it was safe.  Just had my toast with nothing on it, will post another response in a couple of days!

[kareng]

1 hour ago, Roz Melanson said:

OMG!  I’v had symptoms for almost 2 weeks and like many of you the only change in my diet has been ICBINB, no indication of gluten in the ingredients so I thought it was safe.  Just had my toast with nothing on it, will post another response in a couple of days!

No reason to think it has undisclosed gluten. Maybe it’s another ingredient that bothers you? I am assuming no one uses it for gluten bread 

from the current ICBINB site ( July 2019)

 

“Our spreads, sprays and sticks are are naturally gluten-free.
And now for the fun legal language: Because our product recipes change, please double check the specific ingredient list of the product. Ingredient allergens as defined by FDA (peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish, seafood, wheat, eggs, and milk or dairy, as well as any ingredient that may contain gluten) are always listed on the label. If gluten is present, it is clearly listed in plain language on the ingredient label (i.e., wheat flour, rye, barley, oats, and malt). Malt is a barley-based ingredient.”

Edited July 9, 2019 by kareng

[Roz Melanson]

What can I say!  Nothing on the ingredients list has caused me issues in other products.  My tummy feels better than it has in two weeks.  But for a gluten sensitive vegetarian, something in ICBINB has given me ALL symptoms of gluten  interaction....I’ve thrown the product away and  warn everyone to stay away from  ICBINB, if the company isn’t taking the sensitivity seriously then avoid the in ALL products they make.

[Mgee]

I use the I can't believe its Not butter Vegan. Wal mart is only store that I find it. When in Kroger stores Fred Meyers I buy "earth balance" original Non GMO, Vegan gluten Free, non dairy. )g trans fat. Taste good.