Ever wondered why those 'may contain' statements are on your food packaging, especially when it comes to gluten content? It's time to understand the nitty-gritty of these precautionary allergen labels and how they could be helpful for someone with celiac disease. As responsible consumers, we need to appreciate the companies that voluntarily label their products, alerting us of the potential risk of cross-contact.
I'll guide you through scenarios where 'may contain' statements are used, such as when a product is made in a facility also processing gluten-containing products or when the raw ingredients might have been cross-contaminated. We unravel why even the tiniest amounts of gluten could be harmful over time, even if you don't experience immediate symptoms. The podcast also offers practical advice on navigating food labels, helping you make informed choices for a safe, gluten-free diet. This episode is a must for anyone wishing to get a handle on gluten contamination risks and food labeling.
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Music Credit bensound.com
Speaker 1:
Okay, let's talk about may contain statements on food packaging, because there's a little bit of misinformation going around on this subject and what you should be doing with it Now. If a company produces a product and there's no gluten containing grains as such in the ingredients list, but the product says may contain gluten underneath, then there is a risk that that product has got gluten in it, and that is where we recommend that you do not consume that product, because there is a higher risk of cross contact or that product being contaminated from gluten. So these are known as precautionary allergen labels. So if they're on the food products that you're, you know, deciding on buying, I would personally recommend that you put them back on the shelf and don't buy them and look for a product that doesn't have a may contain statement on it, because, though, even though those companies put them on there voluntarily, they do not have to put them on there. They are basically doing the right thing and letting you know that there is a higher risk of you accidentally consuming gluten. So that would be wise not to eat that product and search for a product on the shelves that doesn't have that statement. I know this takes a little bit more time, but it's worth it to avoid that risk of accidentally getting sick and accidentally consuming gluten that you shouldn't be consuming. So yeah, look for something that doesn't have that may contain statement.
Speaker 1:
Now let's talk about when these statements might be used on a product. So let's say, for example, a product is produced in a facility that it also produces products that contain gluten. So let's just say, for example, a company is packaging an item that didn't come out very well. A company is packaging an item that doesn't have any gluten grains in that actual package, but they produce that product on the same lines or the conveyor belts or whatever you want to call it. They use the same lines to produce another product that does have gluten grains in it. So there's that risk of that product now being contaminated from the grains from the other product that they produce in that facility. So that's one example. Another example could be that the, the product that they get the ingredients from, those raw ingredients may have been contaminated prior to them making their products. So the actual ingredients that they source. They haven't tried to source a gluten-free ingredient, so it could have been cross contact with something else prior to getting to their facility and in that instance there is that risk of it may contain gluten, so they're letting you know that this product is likely not safe for you.
Speaker 1:
Now some people do say that they eat food that says may contain on it that may contain gluten. They'll eat it, they've got celiac disease and they eat it and they're fine. So everyone is different. I would like to say, though are those people going and getting a blood test every three months? Are those people going and getting biopsies done to test that there's no damage being done inside?
Speaker 1:
Because, as we know, the slightest amount of gluten can be doing damage to our insides. You might not be getting outwardly symptoms, or you know feeling your regular symptoms that you would get if you know you've had a huge amount of gluten or a substantial amount of gluten that would regularly make you sick, but if these products have got just the slightest amount of gluten that wouldn't normally make you feel really, really sick, then you know it's not worth the risk if they're doing that damage. Having said that, not all of these products may have gluten in them. It's just a maybe, it's just that slight chance, and I'm all for. If there's ever a chance, then just go without, like if in doubt, go without, because there are so many more products that you can choose from, so why would you take that risk? You know, if you went to a restaurant and you know they said to you that oh, we don't know where these ingredients came from or they might have gluten in them, then that's the same thing. You don't want to be eating that. But if they're saying to you you know, this doesn't have gluten in it, this doesn't have gluten with.
Speaker 1:
We've prepared it on a safe, clean cutting board. We've used clean knives, we've used everything clean. We've boiled your gluten-free pasta in a fresh, clean saucepan of fresh water. That's much safer than them going oh yeah, it might have gluten in it, because we did use the same water that we boiled other pasta in. So there are there's exceptions. There's exceptions to these rules that we just have to think for ourselves and look at these risks and weigh up whether we think it's worth it for ourselves. Because I personally don't think it's worth taking any risks.
Speaker 1:
Because you know, with labeling, they're doing it to help us and, like I said, there's so many products out there that don't have these may contain statements on them. That doesn't mean that there's not a risk in those products. There still might be a risk. And if a product does have, say, a list of ingredients and there's no actual gluten in those ingredients, that makes it a safe product, as far as you know. So, as far as you know, that product doesn't have any gluten, it doesn't have any risk of cross contact. However, you don't know for sure whether that product has been made in a facility where something else has been, you know, produced with gluten.
Speaker 1:
So you know, let's think, for example, tin tomatoes very unlikely to be cross contact with anything else. But they don't generally write on tin tomatoes gluten free. So you can, you can be pretty confident that you could buy tin tomatoes and there's no risk of cross contact and they don't need to write anything about gluten free on them. Be very, very surprised if you picked up a tin of tomatoes and it said may contain gluten on it. So you know, it's about learning about labelling. It's a lot about learning what to look for, what to you know, really look for when you are reading your labels, to make sure that there isn't that risk and making the choices that are right for you and your health, because at the end of the day, that's what's most important is making sure that you're eating as best of a diet as possible and limiting your risk of getting sick from any gluten contamination.
Speaker 1:
So look for those may contain statements. If they're there, like I said, put it back on the shelf and look for something else, but just know that you should be grateful that these companies are putting those statements on there for you, because they are looking out for you. They are doing the right thing and making it easier for us to make better choices when it comes to looking for safe, gluten free food that may not otherwise specifically be labelled with the gluten free label. So I hope that helps. I hope that sheds a little bit of light on why these may contain statements show up and why we need to be looking for them. So thanks for tuning in this week and I look forward to talking with you again very soon. Have a wonderful week and I'll talk to you then. Take care Bye.