<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
On March 28th Karen M Davis <[log in to unmask]> to my post which was:
> Yes, Vietnamese food is great, and they do use a lot of rice products.
> However, they still use soy and fish sauces in most of their dishes, both of
> which can contain gluten. They also make a vinegar/hot pepper sauce which
> traditionally contains rice vinegar, but most places use white vinegar. Make
> sure you order all dishes without soy sauce, fish sauce and vinegar.
She followed with several statement:
>"You are also needlessly condemning people to absolutely tasteless food..."
My intention was to warn people about a potential problem. With my celiac
disease Internet site I have spent a lot of my personal time and money
towards this end.
>"I reacted" doesn't cut it...
Actually this list has shown that the gut reaction is often the only way we
have to find hidden gluten. I am sure that the exchange information
regarding foods which are prone to cross-contamination at factories, or
during transportation, has helped many people on this list avoid getting
sick. There have been many posts over the years regarding products which
possibly contain gluten, but do not list any possible gluten-containing
ingredient on the label (most recently "Pamela's Cookies"). I agree with
your comment:
>"I would hazard that many of us, with the typical "leaky gut" damage of
celiac, >react to a lot of strange things....that may not always be gluten!"
Many of these posts could be the result of something else other than gluten.
However, due to labeling laws in the USA it is likely that some of these
products do contain gluten, and this list is the only way for people to be
cautioned about it. As I understand it, current labeling laws in the USA
allow for not listing certain ingredients at all if their percentage of the
total product falls below a certain level, and depending on whether or not
they are an ingredient or a flavoring. I also believe that there is no real
way for the USDA to check products' ingredients (especially foreign
products), and that they must basically rely on companies to supply them
with their own ingredient lists. This leaves much room for mistakes, and
outdated lists, which is another reason for us to belong to this list and
trust our guts.
>"I'd like someone (Scott?) to find me *one* brand of fish sauce as
>used in Vietnamese cuisine which contains gluten, and I'll shut my
>mouth."
I have received several e-mails over the years from people who said that
they had gluten-reactions when they had fish sauce. I received another one
after my post. I do not have leaky gut, but have reacted to a brand called
"A Taste of Thai" fish sauce on several separate occasions. Its ingredients
are: "Anchovy Fish Extract, Salt, Sugar and Water." Nothing would indicate
that it contains gluten, but my experiences with it tell me that it does.
Perhaps in the form of MSG or some other flavoring. My reactions to it are
typical and severe, and I even get a DH-type rash from it. I eat all of its
individual listed ingredients often, and have no reactions to any of them. I
have also reacted to fish sauce several times at my local Vietnamese food
restaurant, and I therefore feel it my duty to make people on this list
aware that fish sauce could be a problem, and leave it up to them whether or
not they want to eat it.
Last, you said:
>Worcestershire sauce (a poor American copy of nam pla) usually
>contains a wheat-based soy sauce...many soy sauces from Southeast Asia,
unlike >their Chinese/Japanese/Korean counterparts, *ARE* safe!
I looked at a bottle of Worcestershire sauce and don't see soy sauce as an
ingredient. Also, for the benefit of the List, please post any brands of soy
sauce which are safe for celiacs.
Scott Adams - San Francisco, USA
Celiac Support Page:
http://www.celiac.com/
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