Gluten free foods

Gluten free foods (Gluten-free, gf)

**WARNING** most gf products including breads are not failsafe. They need to be made from failsafe ingredients and you always have to check labels. Recent problems that have been reported include artificial colours 102 and 110 in gf custard powder and products including gf breads with salicylate-containing ingredients such as olive oil, corn (cornflour is permitted), vinegar, apple juice, natural colours such as turmeric, fermented rice powder, gardenia flower extract, sweet potato extract and ‘natural fruit flavour’. None of these are failsafe. These ingredients are likely to lead to a slow build up of symptoms - 1 or 2 serves may seem to be tolerated and most people then assume the product is okay, but it isn't. Many company websites now have allergen lists for gluten. E.g. Nestle and Cadburys, but that doesn’t mean the products are necessarily failsafe. Read the label! - thanks to Nikki and Sandy

In particular, watch out for 'cultured' or 'fermented' ANYTHING in any bakery product as this is a way of adding the ADDITIVE 282 propionate as an INGREDIENT

This incredibly useful website has all ingredients listed for each product so you can check online: Sunnybrook Health Store https://www.sunnybrookhealthstore.com.au/

Amaranth puffed, flakes or grain (e.g. Lotus, Olive Green Organics) www.olivegreenorganics.com.au have amaranth and quinoa products (including pastas)

Arrowroot flour e.g. McKenzies, may have sulphites listed, it is a small amount that is likely to be dissipated by cooking and heating. Lotus arrowroot flour now contains sulphites 220, available from health food stores and many supermarkets

Baking powder GF,e.g. Wards

Biscuits GF, made from permitted ingredients e.g. Orgran Shortbread Hearts (ingredients: Maize starch, palm vegetable oil, sugar, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, salt, vanilla, beta carotene, vegetable gums, stabiliser: methylcellulose, guar).

Warning Orgran Shortbread Hearts Recently (not sure how recently) a new ingredient has been added; 'natural flavour', which I don't think is failsafe. I was eating them for about a week and I was having typical salicylate/amine reactions all week and worked out it was them because it was the only thing different that I had eaten that week. - thanks to Shannen (Feb 2017) Anyone else had problems with these?

Warning GF biscuits such as Arnott’s rice cookies are not failsafe just because they are gluten free CHECK INGREDIENTS A reader comment: Does anyone know if Arnotts Rice Cookies and/or Ajita Vege Chips contain anything that will make my daughter go feral? She has been amazing for over a week as I have been strict on her diet, but I relented to these two treats this weekend thinking they were fairly safe and OMG, FERAL. So what is it??

Gluten free breads

**REMINDER*** Many gluten-free breads and breadmixes, such as Lauckes which we recommend, do contain sulphite preservatives 220-228. The potato and tapioca starches common in GF breads are purchased overseas, not manufactured in Australia and always contain sulphites from their method of preparation. Most report that they are not affected as sulphites cook off in baking, but watch out - thanks to Zoe (dietitian) for pointing this out.
Bread mixes GF, e.g. Laucke’s Gluten Free Easy Bakers Instant Oven Bread Mix (Readers say the Laucke’s gf bread is excellent - Thanks to Tanya and Lodzia) BUT NOTE that these do contain sulphites 200-228 in the potato and tapioca starches commonly used in GF breads - few report effects as the sulphites appear to be baked out.

"I'm so excited that Laucke's Gluten Free Easy Bakers premix is a failsafe option. It tastes like bread when toasted and makes good waffles. My girls each like one of those things." - thanks to Bron

- Bread: GF Bread will never be as good as wheat bread. It usually tastes much better toasted but can be useful for a portable meal. You need to check labels on your local gluten free breads and try them all because quality varies. Most gluten free breads are not failsafe. Every ingredient must be checked (No propionate preservatives or mould inhibitors 280–283 • cultured or fermented dextrose, wheat and many others • vinegar • sulphites or dough conditioners 220–228 • sorbate preservatives 200-203 • antioxidants 310-321 in oil, sometimes unlisted • seeds except poppy seeds • no corn, no honey, no raisins or other fruit, fruit juice or flavours, herbs or spice extracts • no cultured whey powder, cultured wheat, cultured dextrose, cultured or fermented milk products which is a method of using propionate or sorbate preservatives without saying so • no olive or other non-failsafe oils (canola, soy, sunflower, safflower are safe)

- - The “Oriental” Naturally Gluten Free loaf is failsafe (ingredients: Water, Tapioca, Rice, Quinoa (Organic), Yeast, Sea Salt, Guar Gum(412) If you freshen it in the microwave for 20 seconds, it stays fresh all day. Warning: the Naturally Gluten Free “Classic” loaf and buns are not failsafe because the corn ingredient is ground corn (high in salicylates, not cornflour which is low in salicylates). – thanks to Melissa
  - FG Roberts Cottage Bread Mix (ingredients: maize starch, rice flour, soy flour, veg. fibre, dextrose, thickener 464, salt, thiamine, enzyme). Especially popular with children, this has superceded their a-maizing bread mix. https://www.glutenfreehealth.com.au/
    
    Reader review: 'Lansell Cottage is the only gluten-free bread I have made that you could wrap round a sausage, and it also makes delicious bread rolls using the 'dough' setting, which we sometimes have with soup. We add a bit of brown rice flour to the mix because we actually find it a bit too light and fluffy. ' - from the groups
  - Silly Yaks gluten free bread and pizza bases www.sillyyak.com.au Ingredients; Rice Flour, potato starch, soy flour, tapioca starch, soy lecithin, canola oil, GDL (575), xanthan gum (415), guar gum (412), salt, water added. The canola oil contains safe antioxidants (vitamin E), the potato starch is sulphite-free, and the tapioca starch contains only residual sulphites (less than 10 ppm).

Reader Review “I usually don't tolerate any gf breads so I am excited that I can tolerate this one. I am really sensitive to sulphites - I usually get tight chested pretty much straight away but sometimes it can be delayed, where I can wake in the night coughing and then my throat starts to feel like it is closing up - and haven't noticed a problem in that regard. I especially love the pizza bases... they are divine.” Thanks to Teresa

Gluten Free Wraps

Old Time Bakery Wholesome Gluten Free wraps Old Time Bakery Wholesome Gluten Free wraps (NOT the Unwholesome ones, they contain 282 and maize flour, not failsafe) - ingredients: Soy Bean Flour, Buckwheat Flour, Sorghum Flour (White), Xanthan Gum 415, Iodised Salt, Filtered Water, No Added Sugar, Fat or Artificial Ingredients. They are quite chewy in a wholesome sort of way and I love them but may not be popular with young children. A failsafe alternative that may be better tolerated by children is the home-made wraps from Laucke's premix https://www.laucke.com.au/shop/gluten-free/

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Breadmaker GF - Sanyo Gopan gluten free rice breadmaker grinds rice and makes a loaf of fresh gluten-free bread. A coeliac in Japan say it tastes a hundred times better than existing rice bread and Sanyo have been overwhelmed by orders. It is expensive (about $A600) and we haven't found a source to buy it from in Australia yet.

Buckwheat, buckwheat flour

Cornflour made from corn not wheat e.g. WhiteWings (also called cornstarch or maize starch) is failsafe. Hi-Maize cornflour as in Lansell cottage gf bread is a refined cornflour processed to make it high in fibre and is failsafe. Maize flour, wholegrain maize flour and cornmeal such as polenta is not failsafe. Cornstarches and flours contain sulphite residues from processing.

FAQcorn

Crackers, pretzels and rice cakes GF (no corn, no rye, Note Eskal crackers, Eskal Pretzels NOT failsafe as they now contain yeast extract) Naturally Good Buckwheat Crispbreads, Orgran GF Buckwheat pancake mix (stone milled buckwheat 48%, rice flour, maize starch, tapioca, raising agent: monocalcium phosphate, bicarbonate soda) or make your own from half buckwheat flour, half rice flour plus baking powder

Crumbs GF (e.g. Orgran All Purpose Crumbs, Casalare Rice Crumbs)

Flour mixes GF(plain or selfraising e.g. Orgran, Freedom Foods, FG Roberts)

Flours GF: many gluten free flours (cornflour, arrowroot, tapioca, sago and potato flour) contain sulphites (220-228) which have been associated with the full range of food intolerance symptoms including asthma, migraine, eczema, children’s behaviour, irritable bowel and depression. Rice flour, millet flour and buckwheat flour are sulphite free. However, the low levels of sulphites in gf flours generally dissipate during storage and when cooked, not a problem unless you are a very sensitive sulphite-induced asthmatic.eg. rice (McKenzies), buckwheat (Kialla), millet (Lotus)

GDL glucono-delta-lactone (baked products texturiser)

Guar Gum (e.g. Lotus)

Lasagna GF San Remo GF lasagna sheets

Millet e.g. Lotus French hulled millet, millet melal, millet flour (porridge made from millet meal is ‘a good gf tummy filler’, thanks to Andra)

Muffin & cookie GF premixes: range of GF/DF/Egg free/low GI gluten-free cookie and muffin mixes often based on de-bittered chickpea flour - always check ingredients!

Pasta GFGluten Grain Free (Ingredients: potato, quinoa, amaranth, bi carb and guar gum. Spiral, lily, shell, macaroni, cooks in 1-3 minutes)

Pasta GF, many brands, e.g. • Orgran GF spaghetti

Pastry GF: none known at this time

Pizza mixes GF, e.g. FreeFrom Pizza Dough Mix. Note that Orgran Pizza and Pastry Multimix contains maize flour so some salicylates.

Psyllium husk

Puffed grains: rice, millet, buckwheat, amaranth, quinoa (many brands, e.g. Good Morning, Lotus, Oliver Green Organics, Micronized Foods)

Quinoa, flour, puffed, flakes or grains black, red or white (many brands e.g. Lotus, Olive Green Organics)

Rice, white, brown, short, medium or long grain, arborio (not Basmati, jasmine, wild or black - moderate salicylates; sushi rice made with vinegar - moderate salicylates and amines)

Rice Bran, e.g. Ener-G Pure Rice Bran (no added fruit juice or prune juice as sweetener)

Rice Cakes e.g. plain SunRice Original, Pure Harvest Natural (no corn, no seeds, no flavours). Note that organic ricecakes may be high in salt.

Rice Crackers e.g. plain Sakata but see Warning in Pantry biscuits

Rice flakes, e.g. Lotus Rolled Rice Flakes (ingredients: wholegrain brown rice - no added fruit juice as sweetener)

Rice flour (made from plain unflavoured rice, not jasmine or basmati), e.g. MacKenzies in supermarkets or Lotus in health food stores.

Rice malt (e.g. Colonial Farm), not malt, malt extract or malt vinegar which are made from barley

Rice syrup (e.g. Nature First)

Sago, balls or flour e.g. McKenzies (we have tested for residual sulphites and found none)

Soba noodles are Japanese noodles traditionally made from buckwheat therefore failsafe and gluten free e.g. Spiral Foods Japanese Noodles (ingredients: buckwheat flour, water). www.spiralfoods.com.au - always read the label as some soba contains wheatflour both in Japan and overseas.

Sorghum

Weet-Bix Gluten-Free from Sanitarium are based on sorghum so are certainly gluten-free but beware that some kids are reacting, either to the sorghum protein or it may be the wholemeal effect.

weetbix

More information Factsheet on whether you might need to avoid wheat and gluten and about wholemeal issues