An email that I received this morning from Amazon inspired me to write this post today. The email was about Gluten-free items on Amazon being up to 40% off. The one item in particular that caught my eye was the Dr. Kracker Flatbread Krackers – Sunflower Cheddar. Not only were these listed in the email ad as gluten-free items, but on the item description page, “Great for gluten-free diets”, is highlighted. Then you scroll down to the ingredients:
Ingredients
Organic Whole Grain Spelt Flour, Filtered Water, Organic Cheddar Cheese (Organic Pasteurized Milk, Hannilase Enzyme, Salt, Cultures), Organic Sunflower Seeds, Organic Flaxseeds, Sea Salt, Organic Sesame Seeds, Organic Spelt Bran, Yeast, Organic Barley Malt Syrup.
And then safety information:
Safety Information
Contains milk and wheat.
And then, the CYA disclaimer:
Legal Disclaimer
Actual product packaging and materials may contain more and different information than what is shown on our website. We recommend that you do not rely solely on the information presented and that you always read labels, warnings, and directions before using or consuming a product. Please see our full disclaimer below.
Ultimately we are responsible for ourselves & the food we put into our mouths. If the product is labeled correctly, the information is there for use to protect ourselves, even if a company is calling the product “gluten-free” by putting it in an ad or on a shelf that says so.
This is just a reminder to read labels every.single.time. you buy/eat a product. I know how easy it is to become complacent when buying and eating the same products over & over. I am very loyal to the brands I know I can trust, however, I always double check. You never know when a recipe or a supplier has changed.
On another note, Hannah said something today to me regarding my having to follow a gluten-free diet. She said “Mom, I am so sorry that you have to eat gluten-free.” I looked at her and smiled and then said “Thank you, but I am thankful for being able to eat gluten-free.” I went on, “I feel better than I used to feel and I am thankful that if I have to have a disease, that it is Celiac Disease and not something more serious, like Cancer.” I think that too often, when the going gets tough, we start to feel sorry for ourselves & mourn the loss of what we thought was our beloved gluten-filled foods. Little did we know that those foods were damaging our bodies and all we had to do to change that, is change our diet.
Have a wonderful, gluten-free day!
Filed under: Family, Gluten-Free, Gluten-free Products |
My son and me, November 2000. This is before we were gluten-free/diagnosed Celiac.
Gluten-free is Life 
So true! Since I do gluten free because of my husband I tend to “slack off” when I am grocery shopping (easy to do with 4 children under the age of 6) Anyway….this is a great reminder. Many people have no clue what contains gluten…..seems to be too much for them to think about. LOL
Yes, I can understand how that can be hard.
Amen! I just had an incident with Lays BBQ chips. I had just eaten some of the Kettly Mesquite extra crunchy chips a few months ago. Then, in a mad rush, I grabbed a bag of regular BBQ, snack size a couple weeks ago, and dug right in without even looking. After a minute, I thought to check the label to double check, and there it was [including barley malt flour] I felt so stupid. It was a good wake up call to check every single time, even if you think you have had that brand/flavor before. Good post!!!
Sorry you had a run in with barley malt flour! Hope you didn’t have too many ill effects. I did it about a month ago, too, eating a candy bar that had previously been gluten-free. I could have smacked myself!
Thanks for the reminder/warning, Kim! I believe what has to happen is that the FDA finally passes what qualifies as “gluten-free” and what does not. They have been working on this definition since 2007….
It is my experience that some companies try to print something like “great for a gluten-free diet” but they don’t say that their item is actually “gluten-free”. So be alarmed in any case where any item is not labeled with exactly those words!
Thanks Hajo!
RiGHT ON about focusing on the positive! When I tell people about Celiac Disease most of the time I get “It must be hard for you to eat” and I always say “not really – there are lots of things I can have and at least it is not serious like cancer!”
Thanks Tracey. 🙂
Kim – I like your perspective. Instead of mourning the loss of treasured food, you choose to be thankful that there is something you can do to be and feel healthier.
Thanks Mom! 🙂
Ahhhh………. before I became more anal about checking labels, I would often bring home a product that you would intuitively suspect is vegetarian, like “vegetable soup”, only to find out that it is made with chicken lard! lol
Btw, love your positive attitude about GF 🙂
Thanks Val! I hate when I find something that has an ingredient in it that should have no business being in there. Wheat/barley malt in syrup or salad dressing is a common one. 😦 I now stick with 100% maple syrup for this reason and it tastes better, too!
I love Dr Kracker Sunflower Cheddar crackers. I got a sample box with all their flavors the same week I was diagnosed with Celiac. I was supposed to review them for my blog. I reluctantly gave the box to my daughter who is enjoying writing up reviews and munching on the goodness that is Dr Kracker. But I agree with you – it’s better to be diagnosed with Celiac which can be treated with diet than to be diagnosed with something like cancer.
Thanks for the post.
Hi Johanna!
I am glad that your daughter is enjoying the crackers and glad you got diagnosed so you can get to feeling better & healthy.
Thanks for reading my blog.
Kim
Great reminder. I have been complacent a few times and bought an item, only to get it home and see that it has gluten in it. All of which just makes my life more hectic, in that I thought I was saving time by rushing but in the end had to spend more time by returning the item.
Lara,
I know what you mean.
Kim
Did you send any comments to Amazon or the manufacturer? This is quite dangerous, especially if someone is dealing with an allergy.
You are so right…always check for yourself.
Ann,
I am going to send this to Amazon and the manufacturer.
Kim
http://worldbathroom.com/
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