When I read the phrase "Naturally Gluten Free" on a package I think to myself, of course it was, so what was done to it that makes it not Gluten Free? If something is really "Gluten Free," it's either going to be a whole food, like an apple or a walnut in the shell, or it's going to come in a package with Gluten Free written on the package clearly, and there is likely going to be a little symbol indicating that it is even "certified gluten free." This certification really depends on the parts per million of whoever is doing the certifying.
So I was at Aldi where I was getting the Live G-Free Pizzas and Pizza Pockets I wrote about before and we noticed some potato chips that say "Naturally Gluten Free." It's been a few months ago, so I didn't think much of it. My wife noticed the package and brought some home. I didn't try them for a while, it was a Friday night, so I was feeling like giving something a try. The next day I felt like I had been hit by a train. Couldn't move, dizziness when I stood up, brain fog, I didn't realize I had been nailed until around 5pm in the afternoon when my brain came back. I chalked it up to cross contamination because we had guests. That night I had the chips again. Double hit, felt even worse the next day, this calls for lock down and a thorough cleaning in the house. Double-checked everything we had in the house that I came in contact with and consumed. Read the bag of chips again, "Naturally Gluten Free." Read the ingredients again, nothing jumped out.
The thing about products, if a product is on a shelf in the store and it is manufactured by a certain company, in this case the "brand name" on the bag was Clancy's chips, then by looking at the surrounding products with similar packaging from the same manufacturer, upon finding anything containing gluten, the chances are the same machines are used to bag both products. This isn't always the case, but 99 times out of 100 the manufacturer cuts a corner. After all most people, even those on a "gluten free diet" are going to notice a difference at all. Especially if they're in the habit of eating a lot of processed foods.
So I e-mail Aldi and asked if the chips were processed in a Gluten Free facility, if the chips were processed on equipment that also processed items that contained wheat, barley, or rye, and if the ingredients in the chips could be vouched for as well. I receive a phone call from a Canadian company going by the name Saratoga Chips. A look-up of Saratoga Chips shows New York, but this phone number resolved back to Kimmel Sales Limited. The woman says the chips are manufactured on equipment that also processes wheat, but that in between runs the equipment is cleaned really well, hence the reason they have their "certification." She didn't elaborate on this certification and on the chips there is no "Gluten Free" certification stamp. I stopped eating the chips and felt better the next day.
All it takes is one day for someone who cleans the equipment to not be on their game. They might not understand why they're cleaning the equipment anyhow or care. Additionally wheat flour can stay airborne for hours, so for a facility that also processes other items that contain wheat flour in a facility where they claim they have "gluten free" products is ridiculous. Any people walking between the two sides of the facility can cross contaminate if they come in contact with the flour as well.
Another product I've found at Aldi that said "naturally gluten free" was the Crispy Rice Treats. Since I stopped eating all of the processed foods, now when I get anything processed as a gift, or anything with sugar I have difficulty in not consuming whatever quantity of that substance that I have on hand: six Hershey's chocolate bars, an entire box of Crispy Rice Treats, etc. So my wife purchased these Crispy Rice Treats from Aldi for me. She often feels guilty about me not eating "the same things all the time." Reading the box I was thinking to myself, they contain oats. While oats can be farmed in a gluten free farm, in gluten free fields, and stored in a gluten free environment, sadly this isn't going to be the case all of the time, most of the time, or even some of the time. In fact this is pretty rare because it's expensive to only farm oats. Since both crops grow in the same environmental conditions it's not unheard of for the oats to be processed in the same facility as wheat, harvested on the same equipment, and even be stored side by side in a warehouse or granary. Someone can always spend $30 or better on 8lbs of Bob's Redmill Gluten Free Oats if they really want them that badly.
When I called Aldi about the Millville Crispy Rice Treats I asked if the items where processed in a facility that also processes wheat. The answer to that is yes, they make pies on the other end of the factory. While the PR person on the phone couldn't fathom wheat making it to the other end of the factory, she did tell me the Crispy Rice Treats and the pies were processed on separate equipment. Kellogg's Rice Krispies Treats normally contain [barley] malt, but they do make a Gluten Free version of their cereal. Someone at About.com was nice enough to make a recipe for how to make real gluten free treats from Kellogg's Gluten Free Rice Krispies using gluten free marshmallows.
As for "naturally gluten free" I do not trust the phrase. Fruit is naturally gluten free, I think I'll have some of that instead.
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