<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

I need to hear from anyone who has tried the newly released package of 6 snack size pudding cups (any flavor) that are labeled GLUTEN FREE and distributed under the Giant brand name. Giant (also Super Giant) is a large chain of grocery stores in the mid Atlantic area. I would like to know if you have OR have not had any kind of reaction after eating them.

I recently bought the chocolate/vanilla layered pudding very similar to the Swiss Miss brand that are a staple for my 7 year old Celiac daughter. I bought one package and another of the Swiss Miss in case my daughter didn't like the taste of the new brand.

The pudding was proclaimed "excellent" but within ten minutes of finishing she said she had eaten it too quickly and her stomach was "too full". I didn't think anything of it at the time. The next day she had another and again she was too full right after eating it. This brought back a memory from when she was first diagnosed at the age of 4. She was diagnosed after a routine blood screening because she has type 1 diabetes. The only symptom I had ever noticed was she would complain she was too full after eating oatmeal. 

After eating the third cup, she went to the school nurse with a stomach ache and head ache. It was impossible not to come to the conclusion that this was a gluten reaction. She felt better again shortly. I fired off an email to Giant notifying them of the incident and asked that they check the gluten free status before others were affected. 

I was soon contacted by representatives of both Giant and Lakeview Farms who manufacture the pudding for Giant. They had contacted all of their suppliers to double check for any possible sources of gluten including cross contamination and didn't find anything. They do make one other product at their plant that does have gluten in it but it is on a totally different production line. Because Amelia has never had a definable gluten reaction even after accidentally eating something known to have significant gluten in it, I doubt if she would react to cross contamination. 

I am sending the last pudding cup (I ate two of the remaining cups to rule out the possibility of food poisoning) back to the manufacturer. They will run the ELISA gluten test on it. In the mean time, I promised to post this request to find if other Celiacs have tried this new product and will report back to them both negative and positive reactions.

If you have tried any flavor of the Giant Brand pudding cups, please let me know. 

For the record, I did find the representatives from Lakeview Farms to be thoroughly knowledgeable about CD and gluten and I am convinced they are sincere in their concern for the Celiac community. I would really like to report back to them that other more sensitive celiacs did not react and chalk it up to coincidence. Manufacturers who are willing to produce and label gluten free products should be encouraged for their efforts. 

Many thanks,

Mary Baechtel
[log in to unmask]

*Support summarization of posts, reply to the SENDER not the CELIAC List*