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

Just a quick friendly alert to those of you who might go to Friendlys and might be tempted to have a Fribbleccino. According to the company's Public Relations Department, these drinks are gluten free.  The ingredients include milk, sugar, cream, skim milk, cornstarch, whey, high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavor (corn based), mono and di-glycerides, guar gum, sodium citrate, carageenan, sodium phosphate, annato extract and tumeric for coloring.

While the drink itself is defined as gluten free, I suggest that you request NO whipped cream and a paper covered straw.  Among the many ingredients in the whipped cream are karaya gum and polysorbate 80, both of which are known diarrhea causing agents.  Polysorbate 80 contains sorbitol.  The Center for Science in the Public Interest is petitioning the FDA to label to state that sorbitol can cause diarrhea and is poorly absorbed by the body.  Karaya gum acts as a laxative and does not disintegrate appreciably in the alimentary tract.  It can cause abdominal discomfort and allergic reactions in the form of hay fever, asthma, dermatitis and gastrointestinal distress.  

Friendly's was responsive to my request for ingredients and in retrospect the drink was delicious; however, the next few days for me were a major celiac disaster.  It is apparent that I am sensitive to some of the ingredients in Friendly's Fribblecinos with whipped cream, while other celiacs may not be.  The uncovered straw that came in my drink may have contributed (contamination from breads etc. on hands) to my reaction.

Bottom line - again, as we well know, gluten free is not always diarrhea free and allergy free, and the best intentions of  restaurants to define gluten free cannot protect us as well as our own intense investigation and evaluation of products according to our own individual sensitivities and reactions before we consume the product.  Karaya gum, one of the ingredients in the whipped cream, is new to my knowledge base.  I know that I will stay away from products containing this ingredient.

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