<<Disclaimer:  Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
 
Yesterday, Will Estes <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
 
>Is there an economical way to test the contents of a suspect product,
>to determine its exact composition?  I recently purchased some Solait
>Rice Syrup powder, which the company claims is wheat and gluten-free.
>I had a bad reaction to it...
 
Will, there is an Australian company which makes a gluten test kit for home
use.  It is available from the Gluten-Free Pantry and a few other sources,
for about $50 a kit -- I think you get 6 or 8 tests per kit.  I don't have
the details handy, but if you search the archives for "kit" you should be
able to find it.  I have used the kit several times when dealing with suspect
foods or drugs.  Last month, my son got sick on a Saturday and we could not
call the drug company to confirm the GF status of the antibiotic.  I tested
one of the pills and it came back "ok".  On the other hand, we have found a
few supposedly GF foods which tested positive on this kit.  I posted a long
email about this, which you would find on the "kit" search.
 
Two problems -- the kit cannot detect oat protein, only wheat, barley and
rye.  Also, it gives false positives sometimes when the food being tested is
highly acidic, like lemon juice.  The test takes about 15 minutes to set up,
run, and clean up.
 
As for the rice syrup, you could also check the archives for prior extensive
discussions of this topic.  In the US, many rice syrup products are made
using barley enzymes which are later washed out. Aabout 8 months ago, I spoke
at length with the chief food scientist at California Natural Products, which
claims to be the largest producer of rice syrups in the US.  She said about
half of their products use barley enzymes, but claimed the residual 'gluten'
left in the rice to be too small to bother anyone.
 
If you have been on this list for awhile, you know there is a strong
difference of opinion on how much gluten is "too little" to be of concern.
It is possible that the particular rice syrup you were using was one example
of a little gluten being enough to cause an immediate reaction --- and of
course we all know that a celiac can be damaging him/herself  with gluten
without any obvious external reactions.
 
Bill Elkus
Los Angeles