Now with all that information I bet you are now totally confused, me too. It takes a bit of practice to get used to, but once you have an idea of what you are looking for it does become easier.
All you need to remember is: Check the labels of everything however silly you may think it is.
If in doubt, leave it out......and ask.
We have to live with this for the rest of our lives, no question is silly and all Coeliacs will know what they can eat and what they can't.
Personally I would rather have someone asking me questions every 5 minutes than for a mistake to be made, which would spoil the effort you put in and potentially could make me ill, and that would spoil it for everybody.
If everyone had a go at doing this periodically it would open peoples eyes to how many things contain 'hidden' gluten, that you would never be aware of if you hadn't read the label!!
I'm still learning and it still confuses me, so don't be put off trying, you will be loved for it by any Coeliac you know.
Saturday 2 February 2013
Flour, and things
If you are providing food that is homemade for a Coeliac here are some commercial products which are safe for us to use:
Flour
Doves Farm Flour that is marked Gluten Free, usually found in the Free from section of most supermarkets. Be Careful though as Doves Farm also produce ordinary flour, which will be in the normal aisles. Their products are usually marked clearly Gluten Free and as such will usually be found with the other Free From products.
DS (Dietary Specials) Gluten Free (Frozen)
Sausage Rolls
Shortcrust Pastry
Pizza's
Garlic Bread
Bread
All in the freefrom aisles
Genius (is one of the best)
Warburtons
Yes You Can
Marks and Spencers
Marks have all their Gluten Free products on the shelves with the ordinary things. Very recently they have just started to package a few items in green for their made without wheat range.
This is the place for Gluten Free Sausages they do all sorts of flavours, and that includes their cocktail sausages. They also have Gluten Free breaded fish and chicken. They use their own crossed grain symbol (it will be found where you would find the freezer symbol etc) and it is a little ear of corn with a line through it in a pale orange colour, but I would still check the ingredients, so far no problem.
Other known brands for gluten free that are readily available;
Mrs Crimbles
Genius
Glutafin
Trufree
Prewetts
FREE FROM supermarket own brands (Tesco, Morrison's, Sainsbury's, Asda, Waitrose, Co-op)
Biscuits*
Bread
Cake
*Be careful when buying supermarket own brand biscuits, many now contain Gluten Free Oat Flour and some Coeliacs can become very ill if they eat this. Even though it is labelled gluten free, Oats contain a protein that is very similar to gluten and can cause a similar reaction. Again if in doubt, ask.
Flour
Doves Farm Flour that is marked Gluten Free, usually found in the Free from section of most supermarkets. Be Careful though as Doves Farm also produce ordinary flour, which will be in the normal aisles. Their products are usually marked clearly Gluten Free and as such will usually be found with the other Free From products.
DS (Dietary Specials) Gluten Free (Frozen)
Sausage Rolls
Shortcrust Pastry
Pizza's
Garlic Bread
Bread
All in the freefrom aisles
Genius (is one of the best)
Warburtons
Yes You Can
Marks and Spencers
Marks have all their Gluten Free products on the shelves with the ordinary things. Very recently they have just started to package a few items in green for their made without wheat range.
This is the place for Gluten Free Sausages they do all sorts of flavours, and that includes their cocktail sausages. They also have Gluten Free breaded fish and chicken. They use their own crossed grain symbol (it will be found where you would find the freezer symbol etc) and it is a little ear of corn with a line through it in a pale orange colour, but I would still check the ingredients, so far no problem.
Other known brands for gluten free that are readily available;
Mrs Crimbles
Genius
Glutafin
Trufree
Prewetts
FREE FROM supermarket own brands (Tesco, Morrison's, Sainsbury's, Asda, Waitrose, Co-op)
Biscuits*
Bread
Cake
*Be careful when buying supermarket own brand biscuits, many now contain Gluten Free Oat Flour and some Coeliacs can become very ill if they eat this. Even though it is labelled gluten free, Oats contain a protein that is very similar to gluten and can cause a similar reaction. Again if in doubt, ask.
May contain statements.......
Due to a change in the law for allergen labelling many companies are now putting 'may contain statements on their products, this is because cross contamination is an issue for Coeliacs.
Even if the product ingredients list doesn't state that there is any Gluten present please be aware that even the smallest crumb of Gluten can cause problems, but here you need to use a bit of common sense.
There have been reports of pre packaged vegetables having a statement on the label which states the following: May contain traces of cereal and gluten. This is because vegetables are obviously grown in fields where wild cereals will grow. All vegetables are naturally gluten free, therefore in this instance it would not be unreasonable to buy the vegetables and to wash them before you use them, and obviously if you're going to peel them then you will remove the outer layer.
At the other end of the scale check all ice cream and chocolate, many Cadbury products now have a disclaimer which states 'May contain traces of ....wheat' For these I would avoid, it's not worth the risk for the sake of a chocolate bar and if the Coeliac you are catering for is very sensitive than this could make them very seriously ill.
Even if the product ingredients list doesn't state that there is any Gluten present please be aware that even the smallest crumb of Gluten can cause problems, but here you need to use a bit of common sense.
There have been reports of pre packaged vegetables having a statement on the label which states the following: May contain traces of cereal and gluten. This is because vegetables are obviously grown in fields where wild cereals will grow. All vegetables are naturally gluten free, therefore in this instance it would not be unreasonable to buy the vegetables and to wash them before you use them, and obviously if you're going to peel them then you will remove the outer layer.
At the other end of the scale check all ice cream and chocolate, many Cadbury products now have a disclaimer which states 'May contain traces of ....wheat' For these I would avoid, it's not worth the risk for the sake of a chocolate bar and if the Coeliac you are catering for is very sensitive than this could make them very seriously ill.
Now, what to look for.....
By Law all allergens should be listed in the ingredients list. An allergy advice box is not always available and therefore the safest thing to do is to read the list of ingredients. Wheat, Barley, and Rye are very often listed in bold at the top of the list, but not always so you need to be vigilant. As always, if you are not sure, ask.
Most Coeliacs are registered with Coeliac UK the National Charity for the condition and this gives us access to a food and drink directory, which means if you don't know, we can check.
WHAT IS NOT SAFE
Wheat
Wheat Starch
Wheat flour
Barley
Barley Malt*
Barley Malt Extract
Rye
Rye Flour
Rye Starch.
Oat Flour
Gluten
Wheat Gluten
Barley Gluten
Durum Wheat
Cous Cous
Bulgar wheat
Pearl Barley
Semolina
Spelt
Modified wheat starch
rusk
wheat bran
wheat flour
wheat protein
wheat rusk
wheat starch
WHAT IS SAFE
Buckwheat
CODEX wheat starch *
Cornflour
Corn Starch
Rice Flour
Rice Starch
Rice Bran
Rice Malt
Rice rusk
Potato flour
potato starch
polenta
Modified Starch
Modified Maize Starch
Mustard Flour
Mustard seeds
Gram flour
Hops
Quinoa
Teff
*Barley Malt Vinegar is safe for the majority of Coeliacs, best to check first if they have sensitivity to it
*CODEX wheat starch is specially treated wheat starch which again makes it safe for the majority of Coeliacs again best to ask as some are sensitive to it.
If you're catering for a Coeliac who has a problem with wheat then avoid the Codex Wheat Starch.
All Vinegars are Gluten Free.
All Beers, Lagers, Ales and Stouts are not Gluten Free, but Wines and Spirits are incl. Malt Whiskey.
Most Coeliacs are registered with Coeliac UK the National Charity for the condition and this gives us access to a food and drink directory, which means if you don't know, we can check.
WHAT IS NOT SAFE
Wheat
Wheat Starch
Wheat flour
Barley
Barley Malt*
Barley Malt Extract
Rye
Rye Flour
Rye Starch.
Oat Flour
Gluten
Wheat Gluten
Barley Gluten
Durum Wheat
Cous Cous
Bulgar wheat
Pearl Barley
Semolina
Spelt
Modified wheat starch
rusk
wheat bran
wheat flour
wheat protein
wheat rusk
wheat starch
WHAT IS SAFE
Buckwheat
CODEX wheat starch *
Cornflour
Corn Starch
Rice Flour
Rice Starch
Rice Bran
Rice Malt
Rice rusk
Potato flour
potato starch
polenta
Modified Starch
Modified Maize Starch
Mustard Flour
Mustard seeds
Gram flour
Hops
Quinoa
Teff
*Barley Malt Vinegar is safe for the majority of Coeliacs, best to check first if they have sensitivity to it
*CODEX wheat starch is specially treated wheat starch which again makes it safe for the majority of Coeliacs again best to ask as some are sensitive to it.
If you're catering for a Coeliac who has a problem with wheat then avoid the Codex Wheat Starch.
All Vinegars are Gluten Free.
All Beers, Lagers, Ales and Stouts are not Gluten Free, but Wines and Spirits are incl. Malt Whiskey.
What to look for when buying food for a Coeliac
I decided after reading some posts and talking to people that a basic guide to ingredients lists would be useful if you are buying food gifts or just feeding a Coeliac as it can be very confusing.
Firstly some things to remember:
All Coeliacs need to be Gluten Free. However not all Coeliacs can have Gluten Free Oats so always check with them.
Some Coeliacs also have problems with Dairy, Soya, yeast and a few other things so again always check before you go shopping.
Rule 1: Always check the label of anything you buy no matter how silly it may seem.
Rule 2: If it states anywhere 'may contain' avoid I'll explain more later about what you need to look out for.
Rule 3: All allergy advice boxes are a voluntary code ALWAYS check the ingredients list too, to be safe.
With a bit of practice and knowing what to look for, it doesn't take long to know what is safe and what isn't.
The GOLDEN RULE is: If you are not sure always ask the person you are buying for.
There is nothing worse than being given a gift in good faith to discover that the ingredients of that particular gift means that you can't actually enjoy it.
I personally, would rather be asked than to be given a gift, which is no gift at all, in the end.
If you are giving a gift I'm sure the last thing on your mind is to make the recipient of that gift, ill.
ALWAYS ASK if you are unsure, it's easier, safer and the person who is Coeliac knows you are making the effort. It may seem trivial to you, but to us it means the world, as you will have a better understanding of what we have to go through everyday. We know how confusing this is!!
Firstly some things to remember:
All Coeliacs need to be Gluten Free. However not all Coeliacs can have Gluten Free Oats so always check with them.
Some Coeliacs also have problems with Dairy, Soya, yeast and a few other things so again always check before you go shopping.
Rule 1: Always check the label of anything you buy no matter how silly it may seem.
Rule 2: If it states anywhere 'may contain' avoid I'll explain more later about what you need to look out for.
Rule 3: All allergy advice boxes are a voluntary code ALWAYS check the ingredients list too, to be safe.
With a bit of practice and knowing what to look for, it doesn't take long to know what is safe and what isn't.
The GOLDEN RULE is: If you are not sure always ask the person you are buying for.
There is nothing worse than being given a gift in good faith to discover that the ingredients of that particular gift means that you can't actually enjoy it.
I personally, would rather be asked than to be given a gift, which is no gift at all, in the end.
If you are giving a gift I'm sure the last thing on your mind is to make the recipient of that gift, ill.
ALWAYS ASK if you are unsure, it's easier, safer and the person who is Coeliac knows you are making the effort. It may seem trivial to you, but to us it means the world, as you will have a better understanding of what we have to go through everyday. We know how confusing this is!!
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