Question about wheat starch and European standards

[Guest guest]

This question may be best addressed to Cassi, as she is living in GF

heaven, but can anyone who has spent any time in Europe offer an

opinion on wheat starch. It's my understanding that it is considered

acceptable to eat it in moderation on a gf diet. Is there a special

process or type of wheat starch involved? Would you or do you eat it?

I'm headed to London in a couple of months, so I'm trying to do some

preliminary research.

Thanks,

Lori in ATL (who dreams of eating without research)

[Guest guest]

>

> This question may be best addressed to Cassi, as she is living in GF

> heaven, but can anyone who has spent any time in Europe offer an

> opinion on wheat starch. It's my understanding that it is considered

> acceptable to eat it in moderation on a gf diet. Is there a special

> process or type of wheat starch involved? Would you or do you eat it?

>

I'm not Cassi, I'm not living in GF Heaven and I've not been to

Europe in a long time... BUT...

Here's about the sum total of what I know about wheat starch.

Wheat starch is wheat with most of the gluten washed out of it.

There is only trace amounts of gluten after " starchifying " compared

to the original wheat.

But there still is gluten there. A smidge.

The Benedictine Sisters make their special Very Low Gluten altar

breads out of wheat starch and water.

I can still detect the gluten if I take too big a piece or

consume it too frequently.

Here is a collection of information:

http://www.celiac.com/st_main.html?p_catid=15

I know that wheat starch is controversial! Some say it's OK.

Some say a little is OK. Some say it's downright poison.

Esther

[Guest guest]

>

> This question may be best addressed to Cassi, as she is living in GF

> heaven, but can anyone who has spent any time in Europe offer an

> opinion on wheat starch. It's my understanding that it is

considered

> acceptable to eat it in moderation on a gf diet. Is there a special

> process or type of wheat starch involved? Would you or do you eat

it?

>

> Thanks,

> Lori in ATL (who dreams of eating without research)

Haven't had a chance to try CODEX wheat starch yet, but I am looking

forward to doing so on our next tip Europe. It is very different than

plain ol' wheat starch, tested to strict standards and AFAIK not

available in the US. If you google " Codex wheat starch " you'll find

lots of info on it.

Here's a little more info:

from http://www.celiac.com/st_prod.html?

p_prodid=208&p_catid=15&sid=91hH9H1V158D8ve-36106060899.bd

" The acceptance of the Codex wheat starch by most European countries

is based on years of research and the follow up care of hundreds of

thousands, perhaps millions of people with celiac disease, whose

doctors found that they recovered fine while eating it. There is

currently much clinical research being done in Europe on the safety of

Codex wheat starch, the results of which have further reinforced the

concept that Codex wheat starch is safe for people with celiac

disease. Most people with celiac disease (excluding extremely

sensitive individuals and people with wheat allergy) should be able to

eat Codex wheat starch without any damage or problems associated with

the disease. "

So do make sure anything you try in London with wheat starch is marked

as being safe for " coeliacs " and please report back on what you find!

Oh, and look at http://coeliac.co.uk/ for tons of usual info on where

to shop, eat, etc. You can also sign up for their free e-newsletter (I

get it) and be teased by all the different events happening in Britain

for coeliacs!

Maureen

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the links. I just discovered that I missed a beer

festival a few months ago that featured some gf beers. Had I known,

I might have re-scheduled vacation for that.

Lori in ATL

> Haven't had a chance to try CODEX wheat starch yet, but I am

looking

> forward to doing so on our next tip Europe. It is very different

than

> plain ol' wheat starch, tested to strict standards and AFAIK not

> available in the US. If you google " Codex wheat starch " you'll find

> lots of info on it.

>

> Here's a little more info:

> from http://www.celiac.com/st_prod.html?

> p_prodid=208&p_catid=15&sid=91hH9H1V158D8ve-36106060899.bd

>

> " The acceptance of the Codex wheat starch by most European

countries

> is based on years of research and the follow up care of hundreds of

> thousands, perhaps millions of people with celiac disease, whose

> doctors found that they recovered fine while eating it. There is

> currently much clinical research being done in Europe on the safety

of

> Codex wheat starch, the results of which have further reinforced

the

> concept that Codex wheat starch is safe for people with celiac

> disease. Most people with celiac disease (excluding extremely

> sensitive individuals and people with wheat allergy) should be able

to

> eat Codex wheat starch without any damage or problems associated

with

> the disease. "

>

> So do make sure anything you try in London with wheat starch is

marked

> as being safe for " coeliacs " and please report back on what you

find!

>

> Oh, and look at http://coeliac.co.uk/ for tons of usual info on

where

> to shop, eat, etc. You can also sign up for their free e-newsletter

(I

> get it) and be teased by all the different events happening in

Britain

> for coeliacs!

>

> Maureen

>

[Guest guest]

I personally don't trust Europeen gluten-free products. I just spent the summer

in France

and while I was there I bought I loaf of gluten-free bread and I'm sure I was

glutened from it.

I didn't read all the ingredients before I ate it, but when I asked the man in

the store he told

me he was sure it was gluten-free. I honestly don't know, you can experiment if

you feel

comfortable but after having tasted that loaf, I just steered clear of anything

that wouldn't

have naturally been gluten free.

~Amy

[Guest guest]

>

> I personally don't trust Europeen gluten-free products. I just

spent the summer in France

> and while I was there I bought I loaf of gluten-free bread and I'm

sure I was glutened from it.

> I didn't read all the ingredients before I ate it, but when I

asked the man in the store he told

> me he was sure it was gluten-free. I honestly don't know, you can

experiment if you feel

> comfortable but after having tasted that loaf, I just steered

clear of anything that wouldn't

> have naturally been gluten free.

> ~Amy

So based on one loaf of bread - the ingredients of which you did not

check - you are condemning the gluten-free products of an entire

continent, one that happens to be about 10 years ahead of the US in

diagnosis and treatment of celiac? Strikes me as a triffle hasty.

I buy quite a few European made GF products and have found them to

both consistently good tasting and safe, altho we have not yet tried

any CODEX wheat starch goods.

Maureen

[Guest guest]

Is " CODEX " some kind of brand name, or acronym, or standard

European medical term, or what?

>

>

>

> Haven't had a chance to try CODEX wheat starch yet, but I am looking

> forward to doing so on our next tip Europe. It is very different than

> plain ol' wheat starch, tested to strict standards and AFAIK not

> available in the US. If you google " Codex wheat starch " you'll find

> lots of info on it.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Codex means laws. In this case, it is short for Codex Alimentarius,

a set of international standards for food safety and labeling

created by Codex Alimentarius Commission which was created by the

World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization

of the United Nations. Codex wheat starch means starch prepared to

the Commission's definition of " gluten-free " for that product

categlry - which in not zero gluten in anything, BTW.

Sometimes you see it in all caps (that version I'm more used to) and

sometimes in mixed letters.

Maureen

> >

> >

> >

> > Haven't had a chance to try CODEX wheat starch yet, but I am

looking

> > forward to doing so on our next tip Europe. It is very different

than

> > plain ol' wheat starch, tested to strict standards and AFAIK not

> > available in the US. If you google " Codex wheat starch " you'll

find

> > lots of info on it.

[Guest guest]

I don't really feel uncomfortable with it. From the reading that I

have done so far, medical research in Europe regarding Celiac seems to

far outpace what has been done here so far. And, from what I can

tell, the research that is happening here is at the hands of or

influenced by European doctors and scientists. I had a couple of

gluten free products the last time I was there, but I was very new to

GF and was afraid to try too much. I had no idea that there was a

wheat starch controversy at all, so I just looked for the 'gluten

free' on packages with no ill effects. I have been glutened here,

however, by supposedly gluten free stuff. So you really have to be

careful of everything from anywhere. I assumed that it was probably

just cross contaminated at some point. A while back, I also made

contact with a company that supposedly sold frozen gluten free fish

and chips. Made, packaged and sold in the US with gluten free on the

label in huge letters. But, it turns out it had powdered malt vinegar

in it. And, I haven't written off all American products yet:)

Lori in ATL

>

> I personally don't trust Europeen gluten-free products. I just

spent the summer in France

> and while I was there I bought I loaf of gluten-free bread and I'm

sure I was glutened from it.

> I didn't read all the ingredients before I ate it, but when I asked

the man in the store he told

> me he was sure it was gluten-free. I honestly don't know, you can

experiment if you feel

> comfortable but after having tasted that loaf, I just steered clear

of anything that wouldn't

> have naturally been gluten free.

> ~Amy

>