Allergen Information
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Gluten Sensitivity/Celiacs Disease | Peanut/Tree Nut Allergies | Lactose Intolerance/Dairy Sensitivity | GMO Ingredients | Kosher Certifications | Dedicated/Non-Dedicated Production Lines | Allergen-Free Facilities
Gluten Sensitivity/Celiac’s Disease
What Is Gluten?
Gluten is the protein found in wheat. Similar proteins which are harmful to celiacs are present in rye, barley and possibly oats. Wheat, rye and barley are therefore excluded from the gluten-free diet.
CELIAC DISEASE
Celiac Disease is a life-long inflammatory condition of the gastro-intestinal tract that affects the small intestine in genetically susceptible individuals.
Gluten damages the lining of the small intestine, reducing its ability to absorb adequate nutrients from food, resulting in illness which may resemble malnutrition. The treatment for Celiac Disease is a strict gluten-free diet for life. For more information on Celiac Disease click here.
WHAT IS NATURALLY GLUTEN-FREE?
Many foods are naturally gluten-free as they do not contain any wheat, rye, barley or oats. For example, all fresh meat, fish, cheese, eggs, milk, fruit and vegetables are gluten-free. However, once such foods are processed or used as ingredients in other foods, great care must be taken to ensure that wheat or other gluten-containing cereals have not been added in the manufacture.
OBVIOUS DIETARY SOURCES OF GLUTEN
Wheat is usually milled into flour and therefore any food made from four, such as ordinary bread, biscuits, cakes, pastries, puddings and pies, will contain gluten.
HIDDEN SOURCES OF GLUTEN
Gluten is also contained in manufactured and processed foods where wheat flour is commonly used as a processing aid, a binder, a filler or as a carrier for favourings and spices. Contamination with wheat or wheat flour can also occur during cereal production, storage, processing or manufacture.
WHAT IS WHEAT STARCH
Wheat starch is produced from wheat four by removing the proteins including gluten. Years ago it was believed that all the protein could be removed. It is now recognised that it is technically impossible to remove all traces of protein and a small amount remains.
There are two types of wheat starch:
Commercial wheat starch which is not pure enough to be suitable for celiacs.
Specially-manufactured wheat starch which complies with the lntemational Gluten-free Standard (Codex Ahmentarius) and can safely be included in the gluten-free diet.
Wheat starch of this purity is expensive and it is most commonly used in products specially-manufactured for celiacs, to provide palatable and acceptable bread and flour substitutes.
WHEAT FREE, GLUTEN-FREE DIETS
These may be preferable for a few celiacs who appear to be intolerant to wheat starch. This diet contains breads and flours made from naturally gluten-free foods such as maize, potato, rice and soya rather than wheat starch.
Food labelling
Unfortunately, food labels do not tell consumers everything. A label will reveal the obvious presence of wheat or wheat flour, but where flour is used as a processing aid or as a small percentage of a compound ingredient, it does not have to be declared on a label.
Although labeling legislation is continually improving, celiacs are still advised to use the celiac Society’s Food List rather than rely totally on information given on a label. If a product is not in the Society’s Food List then it should be avoided.
Each year the celiac Society produces an extensive List of Gluten-free Manufactured Products which is sent to all its members. This list is constantly updated throughout the year using information from the major food manufacturers and supermarket chains. Only a current Food List should be used, and it is essential that this is regularly updated throughout the year with information available from the celiac Society.
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Peanut/Tree Nut Allergies
Peanut allergy is one of the most common food allergies. Unfortunately, it also is one of the most dangerous, since peanuts tend to cause particularly severe reactions (anaphylaxis). Some people are very sensitive and have reactions from eating trace amounts of peanut. Non-ingestion contact (touching peanuts or inhaling airborne peanut allergens, such as dust from the shells) is less likely to trigger a severe reaction.
Peanut allergies seem to be on the rise in children. In the United States, the number of children with peanut allergy doubled between 1997 and 2002. Subsequent studies in the United Kingdom and Canada also showed a high prevalence of peanut allergy in schoolchildren. Unlike egg and cow’s milk allergies, which most children outgrow, peanut allergies tend to be life-long. Recent studies, however, indicate that approximately 20% of peanut-allergic children do eventually outgrow their allergy.
The peanut (Arachis hypogaea) is not really a nut, but a kind of legume. It is related to other beans, such as peas, lentils, and soybeans. People with peanut allergy are not necessarily allergic to other legumes (even soy, another of the “big eight” food allergens), so be sure to speak with your doctor before assuming that you have to avoid these protein-rich foods. A person with a peanut allergy may also be allergic to tree nuts (almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews, etc.). In fact, some 30-40% of people who have peanut allergy also are allergic to tree nuts. Not surprisingly, allergists usually tell their peanut-allergic patients to avoid tree nuts.
Researchers have isolated three major peanut allergens. They are trying to learn why peanuts cause such severe reactions and why the number of people who suffer from peanut allergy is increasing. Investigators also are trying to develop therapies that would prevent anaphylaxis in people with peanut allergies.
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Lactose Intolerance/Dairy Sensitivity
What is lactose intolerance?
Lactose intolerance is an inability to digest and absorb lactose (the sugar in milk) that results in gastrointestinal symptoms when milk or products containing milk are drunk or eaten.
What causes lactose intolerance?
Lactose is a larger sugar that is made up of two smaller sugars, glucose and galactose. In order for lactose to be absorbed from the intestine and into the body, it must first be split into glucose and galactose. The glucose and galactose then are absorbed by the cells lining the small intestine. The enzyme that splits lactose into glucose and galactose is called lactase, and it is located on the surface of the cells that line the small intestine.
Lactose intolerance is caused by reduced or absent activity of lactase that prevents the splitting of lactose (lactase deficiency). Lactase deficiency may occur for one of three reasons, congenital, secondary or developmental.
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GMO Ingredients
Genetically modified (GM) foods are foods derived from genetically modified organisms. Genetically modified organisms have had specific changes introduced into their DNA by genetic engineering techniques. These techniques are much more precise than mutagenesis (mutation breeding) where an organism is exposed to radiation or chemicals to create a non-specific but stable change. Other techniques by which humans modify food organisms include selective breeding (plant breeding and animal breeding), and somaclonal variation.
GM foods were first put on the market in the early 1990s. Typically, genetically modified foods are transgenic plant products: soybean, corn, canola, and cotton seed oil.
Critics have objected to GM foods on several grounds, including perceived safety issues,[5] ecological concerns, and economic concerns raised by the fact that these organisms are subject to intellectual property law.
[wikipedia.com. 5/16/2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_food]
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Kosher Certifications
In today’s world of prepared foods, ingredients and processing methods are often unclear. For those interested in buying kosher products, it is helpful to have a rabbi who is knowledgeable about Jewish Dietary Laws examine the food to make sure it is kosher. The process of kosher certification assists kosher consumers by differentiating between kosher and non-kosher items.
Kosher certification agencies examine the ingredients used to make the food, supervise the process by which the food is prepared, and periodically inspect the processing facilities to make sure that kosher standards are maintained. Different kosher certifying agencies tend to follow different kosher certification standards, some more strict and others more lenient.
Products that have been certified as kosher are labeled with kosher symbols. The symbols are printed on the food’s package. Kosher symbols are registered trademarks of kosher certification organizations, and cannot be placed on a food label without the organization’s permission.
Kosher symbols not only ensure that the food is kosher, they also identify the kosher certifying organization that issued the certification. This guide identifies the kosher certifying agencies behind the most commonly used kosher symbols in the United States. More information about each agency, and the kosher standards it maintains, can be found on the agency’s site.
[about.com. 5/16/2010. http://kosherfood.about.com/od/guidetokosherfoodlabels/ss/symbols.htm]
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Dedicated/Non-Dedicated Production Lines
This classification applies to the production line on which a particular product is manufactured. When a product is manufactured on a dedicated line, the equipment used to produce that product will only come into contact with elements that are explicitly included in that product’s ingredients (i.e. if “product A” is produced on a dedicated line, then there is no chance of contamination from the ingredients explicitly contained in “product B.”) Even if a different product is run on this dedicated line, the line will be thoroughly cleaned between production runs to ensure that there is no possibility of cross-contamination.
If a product is not run on a dedicated line, this means that a chance of contamination by foreign elements (not explicitly contained in the product’s ingredients) is possible. In this scenario, potential contaminating substances may or may not be present in trace amounts, depending on the ingredients contained in other products run on the same line. When making a decision on whether or not to eat a product that is not run on a dedicated line, one should carefully consider one’s allergies, taking into account the severity of the allergy/allergies. Since contaminating elements are potentially only present in trace amounts, the product in question may be suitable to an individual with only mild allergies/sensitivities. Individuals with more severe allergies/sensitivities should avoid products with potential contaminants altogether.
Click on the “allergen” tab for any individual product for detailed information on that product’s allergen profile.
For specific questions, please contact info@e-goodhealth.com
Allergen-Free Facilities
Some of our products are produced in facilities that explicitly do not produce products that contain a certain ingredient. Many of our products, for example, are produced in facilities that are Peanut/Tree Nut Free. This means that there is absolutely no possibility of contamination of these products by Peanuts/Tree Nuts, since this ingredient is never present in the facility.
If you have a severe allergy/sensitivity, you are 100% safe if you stick to products that are made in facilities that are guaranteed free of that product.