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My original post was about the Berlin Natural Bakery in Ohio stating that
they used PURE, EUROPEAN SPELT and it was okay for people with wheat allergies
or gluten intolerance and the bread label said Wheat Free. . And when the
FDA forced the issue of wheat on the label, they complied, but also put a
newsletter in the product to state it was their original wheat-free product that
they always had.
Anyway, I knew we couldn't have spelt, but some of the answers were
interesting and included links to pages which described exactly what spelt was.....
which contains gluten. Here are some answers.... VERY IMPORTANT.....be sure
to see the last one...... #7!
Thanks To All Who Responded. Bev Messner...Richland County Celiac Support
Group....Mansfield, Ohio
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1. Spelt is an ancient form of wheat and there's gluten into it. It is
lower gluten than modern wheat, but WAY too much for us. It could be tolerated
for those who have not a too severe wheat allergy, but it is a no no for
those with celiac.
2. I definitely react to spelt. I think the industry is very confused about
it. My health food store tells people it is digestable wheat. It is my
undersatanding it is still wheat....
3. . Well, from my understanding, spelt is the original uhybridized wheat.
Before being diagnosed with celiac, we had switched to a lot of 100% spelt
products, and coincidentally our symptoms of celiac were actually magnified!
Spelt caused more immediate and severe symptoms in us back then---and now we
know why. So, would I trust pure European spelt---no way!
4. My daughter was diagnosed with Celiac Disease while we were living in
the Netherlands and we were also told NOT to eat spelt because it contains
wheat gluten. I recently saw an ad in a flyer from a local health food store
saying spelt was okay, even for people for celiac. Their ignorance makes me
mad. I know better than to give her spelt, but someone who is newly diagnosed
might not know. I wish they would quit saying it's gluten free.
5. This is from Wikipedia of spelt:
Spelt contains about 62 percent carbohydrates, 9.2 percent fibre [10], 17
percent protein[11] and 2.7 percent fat, as well as dietary minerals and
vitamins, including silica. As it contains a moderate amount of gluten, it
is suitable for baking. In Germany, the unripe spelt grains are dried and
eaten as Grünkern, which literally means "green seed". Spelt is closely
related to common wheat, and is not usually a suitable substitute for people with
coeliac disease and wheat allergy. However, spelt is sometimes used as an
alternative grain for sufferers of wheat intolerance and mild gluten
intolerance . [12]
6. We live in Lancaster County, PA and joined a plain Mennonite church.
I am sorry to say that these are lovely folks who make good furniture and
want to serve God, but sometimes they are very ignorant about medical and
scientific things because they get very little of it in their schooling. My guess
is these people are not deliberating hurting anybody, they are probably just
ignorant or some charlatan body has fed them a line of 'stuff' and they
believed it.
7. This seems to be a blatant example of misleading and confusing
advertising. I believe this type of information in the package will also not be
acceptable to the FDA. The FDA needs to be made aware of this. The FDA already has
declined one exemption petition suggesting a specific form of spelt was
different that all other spelts…wheat is wheat…and all spelts are a form of
wheat. I have forwarded your message to an FDA rep for comment. Please
continue to inform your members that products with spelt are not safe for persons
with celiac disease. I want to be sure that people understand that they
do not appear (to me) to be in violation of FALCPA (allergen law). They appear
to be using misleading and confusing advertising tactics.
Cynthia Kupper, RD, CD Executive Director Gluten
Intolerance Group of North America
Visit the Celiac Web Page at Http://www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html
Archives are at: Http://Listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?LIST=CELIAC
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