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It has almost become completely obsolete to put out an announcement about Passover food, because there is such a plethora of gluten-free food on the market these days, that tastes better and may or may not be cheaper.  We no longer have to wait for Passover for goodies and pastas to appear.   But, that being said, this may still be helpful, especially to newbies.

In my neck of the woods, Passover products are on the shelves in stores, and shortly, if not already, the bakery goods will appear.  (I'll never know why the bakery goods are able to have such a long shelf-life...Not sure I want to know, either!).  

The importance.....Labeling and lack of contamination are better, with regard to Passover foods......

If a product is marked Kosher for Passover (Or a Kp or and U inside an O, with a small p after it, or something like that), then it has NO WHEAT in the product....BUT ONLY IF it does NOT say it contains Matzah, Matzah meal, cake meal or farfel...in any spelling. NOTE: Just saying Kosher is NOT enough.  Just saying Kosher for Passover is not enough.  Look for the matzah products in the ingredients list.  If they're NOT there....the product is gluten-free.

Most matzah is made from wheat, specifically the matzah products used in other foods, and religious law requires knowing if it is in the food...so the labeling is much clearer than on non-Passover food.  It must say it if it's in there.  And for Passover, the companies must clean off their production lines or have a dedicated building...so there is NO cross-contamination. 

It's also gluten-free if it says something about non-gebrochts...or has no gebrochts.  Don't worry about what gebrochts means...It's just completely and totally safe, if the packages says it doesn't have any.  I buy a few frozen tv meals that are non-gebrochts....just to have for emergencies during the year.  I think Meal Mart makes them, but I'm not sure. Must say non-gebrochts!

And every year at this time, I receive an annual booklet....A Passover Guide to Cosmetics and Medications, from Kollel Los Angeles, 223 South Formosa Ave, L.A., CA 90036   (ph 323-933-7193) listing numerous over-the-counter and prescription items.. that are kosher for Passover...and inherently gluten-free...and indicating if something is not reliably so.  The booklet is free, but I always send them (it's expected) a donation, to cover the cost. It's useful all year, because companies don't change their cosmetic or medication ingredients for Passover, like Kosher food companies do.

Note: None of this is for celiac purposes.  None of this is for the benefit of gluten-free people.  This is a religious (Jewish) thing.  It happens to work out for the benefit of those of us who are gluten-free.  

I happen to be kosher, too, and I celebrate Passover, with all the rules and regulations (and cleaning out my house, hunting for the minutest crumb), so the labeling and the booklet....very helpful.

Watch the calories.  Watch the fat and salt content.  Passover, pre-made products are not the healthiest things to eat....just like high-calorie, high-glycemic, high-salt stuff that is gf and has nothing to do with Passover. 

Spelt matzah is not gluten-free.  Oat matzah is only gluten-free if it is marked as such.  My experience with oat matzah is that it's awful, doesn't hold up in recipes, (my opinion) and is very expensive.  There is a cheaper gluten-free matzah on the market, although I haven't bought mine yet and hope I can find it, before it sells out.  

Lin

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