Label Confusion
Label #1 - 60 count box of Delimex Chicken Taquitos purchased last week at Sams Club:
Ingredients: Tortilla (corn masa flour, water, salt), chicken filling (cooked chicken meat, water, modified corn starch, seasoning blend [salt spices, disodium iosinate and disodium guanylate], salt, gelatin, chicken base [chicken meat including natural chicken juices, salt, hydorlized soy protein, fructose, chicken fat, autolyzed yeast, dry chicken broth, dextrose, modified cornstarch, onion powder, natural flavors, spices including tumeric, granulated garlic), vegetable oil (soybean, corn, canola and/or sunflower).
Contains Soybeans.
Label #2 - 25 count box of Delimex Chicken Taquitos purchased yesterday at Wal-Mart:
Ingredients: Tortilla (corn masa flour, water, salt), cooked chicken filling (boneless skinless chicken breast with rib meat, water, boneless skinless chicken thigh, textured soy flour, seasoning [salt, dehydrated garlic, spices] corn oil, modified cornstarch, gelatin, salt, vinegar, chicken base [chicken meat including natural chicken juices, salt, hydrolyzed soy protein, fructose, chicken fat, autolyzed yeast, dry chicken broth, dextrose, modified corn starch, onion powder, natural flavors, spices including tumeric), vegetable oil (soybean, corn, canola and /or sunflower).
Contains Soybeans.
Both boxes appear to be similar product. The picture and the boxes look identical. There are a few differences in the label, but no where do you see WHEAT, RYE, BARLEY, OAT, GLUTEN, etc. on the first label. There are some things on both labels that as an allergy mom give me pause when I read them: spices, dry chicken broth, natural flavors, disodium iosinate (?), disodium guanylate (?), and just the sheer number of ingredients bothers me, but for the most part both boxes appear safe at first glance for someone who is allergic to wheat, rye, barley, egg, milk, peanut, tree nut.
I've learned my lesson on trusting labels. I've been burned before. So after buying the first box, I decided to call Heinz (the manufacturer) to double check that what I was reading and assuming was correct. I got a very nice man, Mark, on the phone and I told him that my son has several potentially fatal food allergies (I use that to let them know that this is serious) and that I read the label and didn't see any of them listed but and that is where he cut me off and said "Ma'am we list the top 8 and if you don't see it there it's because it's not in the product and if there were any issues with cross contamination it would be in the 'Contains' statement at the bottom of the ingredients". So I said ok, sounds good but I don't know what "chicken broth is" or "autolyzed yeast" and could you just double check for me. He said sure, so I listed the Little Mans allergies and again he said that the rye and barley would not be listed but everything else would so if they aren't on there it is ok. So I said "So there's no rye or barley or anything like that in the broth or hydrolyzed/autolyzed stuff"? So then I think something clicked with him regarding gluten and he said to hold on a minute. He put me on hold and came back on to say that this box of taquitos was not on their "gluten free" list. I already knew that. Because I have the gluten free list, I just wanted to make sure that I was reading things right and that it wasn't some new product or that it wasn't omitted by mistake. I don't know WHERE the gluten is hiding in that box of food, but it's in there. And the sad part is, if you don't have the "Gluten Free List" from Heinz or if you just read the label and don't call to double check, you wouldn't know that either. Heinz is pretty good about labeling and I'm not knocking Heinz. I'm actually giving them a big high five for having a gluten free list. I just wish our labeling laws were better. It's still a guessing game as to if food is safe to eat or not if you have food allergies, intolerance's or digestive disorders. I spend more time researching things on the Internet or calling people. And you can't just take the first answer they give you as the correct one. You have to probe deeper to be sure you are getting all of the correct information. My son isn't allergic to gluten. He's allergic to WHEAT, RYE, and BARLEY. But the gentleman on the phone couldn't answer me for those items. I use gluten as a catch all for those. If it's gluten free then those 3 things aren't going to be in there and it should be safe.
The second box of taquitos is gluten free. How do I know that? It's on the gluten free list. This list gives UPC #'s and I took it with me to the store yesterday and double checked it before I bought it. Now this is not a product we normally buy. I bought them to serve for the Little Man's birthday. They are easy and simple for kids to eat. I don't normally buy anything with that many ingredients for him to eat (and more than likely he won't eat these either because he's too picky and doesn't really like meat). I just wanted something simple for the party. I had even forgot about the gluten free list because the only Heinz product we use is the ketchup.
But I wanted to post this as a warning for all label readers out there to not believe everything that you read. Especially if you have an allergy to something that is not in the top 8.
This is the second time in a month that I've come across this with the gluten. A few weeks ago I e-mailed Pinnacle foods to see if Vlasic pickles were safe for the Little Man. I also asked them if they had a Gluten Free list they could e-mail me. The pickles are safe, but they don't have a list. Here's what they said: "At the present time, Vlasic® Pickles, Relish, Sauerkraut and Peppers and Log Cabin® Country Kitchen syrup are gluten-free. The vinegar used in production of these items is corn-based, rather than wheat-based. Other items in our product lines (which include Swanson® frozen foods and OpenPit® barbecue sauces) generally contain wheat-based ingredients in the form of modified food starches and other thickening agents".
We were using Open Pit. The contains statement on the label lists: SOY but no where does it list WHEAT. Luckily the Little Man doesn't eat it, so he was safe. So I'm back to calling the manufacturers on anything new that comes into our house. Even with the new labeling laws that went into place January of 2006, things just aren't as clear as they should be.
For help with labels see printable avoidance lists for reading labels.
Ingredients: Tortilla (corn masa flour, water, salt), chicken filling (cooked chicken meat, water, modified corn starch, seasoning blend [salt spices, disodium iosinate and disodium guanylate], salt, gelatin, chicken base [chicken meat including natural chicken juices, salt, hydorlized soy protein, fructose, chicken fat, autolyzed yeast, dry chicken broth, dextrose, modified cornstarch, onion powder, natural flavors, spices including tumeric, granulated garlic), vegetable oil (soybean, corn, canola and/or sunflower).
Contains Soybeans.
Label #2 - 25 count box of Delimex Chicken Taquitos purchased yesterday at Wal-Mart:
Ingredients: Tortilla (corn masa flour, water, salt), cooked chicken filling (boneless skinless chicken breast with rib meat, water, boneless skinless chicken thigh, textured soy flour, seasoning [salt, dehydrated garlic, spices] corn oil, modified cornstarch, gelatin, salt, vinegar, chicken base [chicken meat including natural chicken juices, salt, hydrolyzed soy protein, fructose, chicken fat, autolyzed yeast, dry chicken broth, dextrose, modified corn starch, onion powder, natural flavors, spices including tumeric), vegetable oil (soybean, corn, canola and /or sunflower).
Contains Soybeans.
Both boxes appear to be similar product. The picture and the boxes look identical. There are a few differences in the label, but no where do you see WHEAT, RYE, BARLEY, OAT, GLUTEN, etc. on the first label. There are some things on both labels that as an allergy mom give me pause when I read them: spices, dry chicken broth, natural flavors, disodium iosinate (?), disodium guanylate (?), and just the sheer number of ingredients bothers me, but for the most part both boxes appear safe at first glance for someone who is allergic to wheat, rye, barley, egg, milk, peanut, tree nut.
I've learned my lesson on trusting labels. I've been burned before. So after buying the first box, I decided to call Heinz (the manufacturer) to double check that what I was reading and assuming was correct. I got a very nice man, Mark, on the phone and I told him that my son has several potentially fatal food allergies (I use that to let them know that this is serious) and that I read the label and didn't see any of them listed but and that is where he cut me off and said "Ma'am we list the top 8 and if you don't see it there it's because it's not in the product and if there were any issues with cross contamination it would be in the 'Contains' statement at the bottom of the ingredients". So I said ok, sounds good but I don't know what "chicken broth is" or "autolyzed yeast" and could you just double check for me. He said sure, so I listed the Little Mans allergies and again he said that the rye and barley would not be listed but everything else would so if they aren't on there it is ok. So I said "So there's no rye or barley or anything like that in the broth or hydrolyzed/autolyzed stuff"? So then I think something clicked with him regarding gluten and he said to hold on a minute. He put me on hold and came back on to say that this box of taquitos was not on their "gluten free" list. I already knew that. Because I have the gluten free list, I just wanted to make sure that I was reading things right and that it wasn't some new product or that it wasn't omitted by mistake. I don't know WHERE the gluten is hiding in that box of food, but it's in there. And the sad part is, if you don't have the "Gluten Free List" from Heinz or if you just read the label and don't call to double check, you wouldn't know that either. Heinz is pretty good about labeling and I'm not knocking Heinz. I'm actually giving them a big high five for having a gluten free list. I just wish our labeling laws were better. It's still a guessing game as to if food is safe to eat or not if you have food allergies, intolerance's or digestive disorders. I spend more time researching things on the Internet or calling people. And you can't just take the first answer they give you as the correct one. You have to probe deeper to be sure you are getting all of the correct information. My son isn't allergic to gluten. He's allergic to WHEAT, RYE, and BARLEY. But the gentleman on the phone couldn't answer me for those items. I use gluten as a catch all for those. If it's gluten free then those 3 things aren't going to be in there and it should be safe.
The second box of taquitos is gluten free. How do I know that? It's on the gluten free list. This list gives UPC #'s and I took it with me to the store yesterday and double checked it before I bought it. Now this is not a product we normally buy. I bought them to serve for the Little Man's birthday. They are easy and simple for kids to eat. I don't normally buy anything with that many ingredients for him to eat (and more than likely he won't eat these either because he's too picky and doesn't really like meat). I just wanted something simple for the party. I had even forgot about the gluten free list because the only Heinz product we use is the ketchup.
But I wanted to post this as a warning for all label readers out there to not believe everything that you read. Especially if you have an allergy to something that is not in the top 8.
This is the second time in a month that I've come across this with the gluten. A few weeks ago I e-mailed Pinnacle foods to see if Vlasic pickles were safe for the Little Man. I also asked them if they had a Gluten Free list they could e-mail me. The pickles are safe, but they don't have a list. Here's what they said: "At the present time, Vlasic® Pickles, Relish, Sauerkraut and Peppers and Log Cabin® Country Kitchen syrup are gluten-free. The vinegar used in production of these items is corn-based, rather than wheat-based. Other items in our product lines (which include Swanson® frozen foods and OpenPit® barbecue sauces) generally contain wheat-based ingredients in the form of modified food starches and other thickening agents".
We were using Open Pit. The contains statement on the label lists: SOY but no where does it list WHEAT. Luckily the Little Man doesn't eat it, so he was safe. So I'm back to calling the manufacturers on anything new that comes into our house. Even with the new labeling laws that went into place January of 2006, things just aren't as clear as they should be.
For help with labels see printable avoidance lists for reading labels.
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© 2012 Created by Susan M..
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