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Labels and Ingredients
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by Dorothy Vaughan
summarized by Jim Lyles
Dorothy Vaughan, our dietitian advisor, talked at our May meeting
about food labels and the many ingredients to be found on them. This
article contains some highlights from her talk.
The goal for a celiac is to be as gluten-free (GF) as possible. There
will be times when one ingests gluten unknowingly; therefore a celiac
must eliminate all known sources of gluten, and any sources whose
gluten content is unknown. Avoid wheat, rye, barley, and oats; but
also avoid all the hidden glutens, meaning all the ingredients that
can be made from these grains.
All foods sold in grocery stores must be labeled by law, if they
contain more than one ingredient. All ingredients must be listed,
unless they are below 0.03% of the total composition of the product.
Ingredients are listed according to weight, from most to least. In
most products, the first five ingredients are the most significant.
There is controversy about distilled vinegars and distilled spirits.
Theoretically, no gluten should remain once the processing is complete
in the laboratory. The concern is that cross-contamination of the
product may occur during processing for consumer use. This is the
reason some products are not considered "safe" for celiacs.
There is similar concern for grains such as quinoa, amaranth, millet,
and buckwheat. Botanists tell us they are not likely to contain
gluten, as they are more distantly related to wheat than corn and
rice. However they may be contaminated in processing and, though not
forbidden themselves, they cannot always be guaranteed pure.
When you are in doubt about the ingredients in a product, call the
manufacturer and ask; the label often has a toll-free phone number.
Don't just ask about the listed ingredients; also ask about
cross-contamination, flouring the conveyor belts, etc. Note that some
manufacturers may be reluctant to GUARANTEE their products are GF, due
to potential changes in ingredients, suppliers, cross-contamination,
and/or fear of litigation. [Often times you can get them to say
something like: "To the best of our knowledge, the product is GF; but
we can't guarantee it." You will then have to decide if that is
sufficient for you.--ed.]
Label Claims<1>
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Some food packages make claims such as "light", "low fat", and
"cholesterol-free". These claims can only be used if a food meets
strict government definitions. Here are some of the meanings:
Label Claim Definition*
----------- -----------
Calorie Free Less than 5 calories
Light or Lite 1/3 fewer calories or 50% less fat. If more than
half the calories are from fat, then fat content
must be reduced by 50% or more
Low Calorie 40 calories or less**
Fat Free Less than 1/2 gram fat
Low Fat 3 grams or less fat**
Cholesterol Free Less than 2 milligrams cholesterol and 2 grams or
less saturated fat**
Low Cholesterol 20 milligrams or less cholesterol and 2 grams or
less saturated fat**
Sodium Free Less than 5 milligrams sodium**
Very Low Sodium 35 milligrams or less sodium**
Low Sodium 140 milligrams or less sodium**
Light in Sodium 50% less sodium
High Fiber 5 grams or more fiber
______________
*Per standard serving size.
**Per 50 grams for products with small serving sizes, i.e., 30 grams
or less, or 2 Tbsp. or less.
Definition of Ingredients
-------------------------
Natural: There is no legal definition.
Organic: There is no legal definition.
Herbal Products: Not regulated; for non-food products it is not
required to list all ingredients.
Bulk Foods: The label may indicate a food is gluten-free; however the
product may become cross-contaminated if scoops are switched in the
store.
Additive: Anything that is added to food and becomes a part of that
food. Additives are used to enhance the appearance, texture,
and/or shelf life of foods. Salt, sugar, preservatives, colorings,
and flavorings are all additives. Combinations of letters and
chemical-sounding terms are usually synthetic and thus are usually
gluten-free.
Annatto: A type of food coloring.
Caramel Coloring: Adds color to food. Made by heating a starch.
Celiacs need to know the source of the starch to determine if it is
gluten-free.
Cellulose (not "cellulite"; that's a whole other problem): In plants
it gives structure. It is gluten-free and is used to give
structure to gluten-free products.
Dextrins: A carbohydrate hydrolyzed (broken down with water). It may
be the starch of any grain. When heated it turns brown. It is
used to sweeten or color a food.
Dextrose--Corn sugar
Invert sugar--Dextrose and fructose
Lactose--Milk sugar
Maltose (not maltodextrin; see below)--Usually from barley; used
in the form of an extract, flavoring, or syrup
Molasses--Cane sugar
Sucrose--Cane or beet sugar
Fat Replacers: These are present in "low fat" products, and are often
oat-based.
Flavorings: Extracts from artificial alcohols. Synthetic or alcohol-
free flavorings are gluten-free. Single spices made by McCormick,
Durkee, and Bickford (mail-order) are gluten-free.
Gums: These thicken or stabilize a food. Gums can be guar, locust
bean, arabic, xanthan, or oat. All but oat gum are gluten-free.
HVP (Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein): The source (corn, wheat, etc.)
must be stated on the label. If the source is gluten-free, then
the HVP would also be gluten-free.
Maltodextrin: In US products, this is derived from corn or potato
starch.
Modified Food Starch: The molecules of the starch are "rearranged" to
enhance food. It is necessary to know the source of the starch to
know if it is gluten-free.
MSG (Monosodium Glutamate): Gluten-free.
Spices/Herbs: Best to use whole, fresh, or single products. Mixes
may have additions that are not gluten-free.
Starch: When the word "starch" appears without any other words (such
as "modified" or "food") on U.S. products, then it must be corn
starch. Note that this is only true for foods, not for
pharmaceuticals. If you see any other words with the word
"starch", then you must identify the source to find out if it is
gluten-free or not. (Of course, "modified corn starch" and
"modified potato starch" would be perfectly okay.)
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) and gluten are two different things. Some
people have trouble with MSG, but it does not contain gluten.
Caramel coloring is usually safe, but there have been cases where it
was made from barley. In carbonated beverages it usually comes from a
sugar source.
Lecithin should be okay, as it comes from soy (even if you don't see
the word "soy" listed).
Label Exercise
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Dorothy passed out some labels and asked members in the audience to
read them and then indicate which ingredients might be a problem.
Here are some of the suspect ingredients noted, and what you can
assume about them:
confectioner's glaze--not known if it is GF or not.
wax--gluten-free.
vanillin--might have gluten, might be GF; check with the
manufacturer.
spice extract--might have gluten, might be GF; check with the
manufacturer.
tartaric acid--gluten-free.
EDTA--gluten-free.
citric acid--gluten-free.
sodium phosphate--gluten-free.
corn meal--gluten-free when listed as an ingredient in a product.
However, corn meal mixes generally have flour added to them, so
they are generally not GF
rice bran--gluten-free.
malt syrup--not gluten-free.
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