GF Vanilla Extract Question

simplifyjen · **Joined:** Mon Mar 05, 2007 9:14 pm **Posts:** 58

Hi there,

Does anyone know what ingredient(s) to look for in vanilla extract that might contain gluten? I see that GF recipes often mention that we should use "gluten-free vanilla," so I'm wondering what might make the vanilla non-gluten free. Is there some ingredient that is typically in vanilla extract that has gluten in it? Whew! I finally got my question out! :lol:

groundhogg · **Posted:** Wed Mar 14, 2007 2:56 pm

There might be a question as to where the alcohol comes from (grain alcohol, although recently this was officially given the okie-dokie for celiacs...yet there are still some who think it bothers them), or as to where the caramel color that some of them have comes from.

...to be safe, I found one I like that's got GLUTEN FREE clearly stated on the label (Kirkland Madagascar vanilla extract from Costco). If you can't find one labeled gluten free and have doubts, it might be safest to either e-mail or call the 800 number of the manufacterer and see if they can tell you whether that specific brand is gluten free.

simplifyjen · **Joined:** Mon Mar 05, 2007 9:14 pm **Posts:** 58

I'm trying to remember which grain(s) grain alcohol is made from. Do you know? Is it wheat? You'd think there still could be residue or "vibrations" even, from whatever grain was used. Never thought of that.

I'm not excited about caramel coloring. I think I'd steer clear of that anyway! :lol:

Thanks for the info, Groundhogg. That's really interesting.

groundhogg · **Posted:** Wed Mar 14, 2007 6:00 pm

I think the problem with grain alcohol is that it isn't possible for the consumer to know which grain was fermented to make the alcohol.

However, it is now believed that distilled grain alcohols probably are not dangerous. The carmel coloring might be another story...not sure. Though not all vanilla has coloring.

http://www.celiac.com/st_prod.html?p_pr ... 7605061.ed

DianeR · **Joined:** Fri Oct 20, 2006 4:29 am **Posts:** 1279

With the new labeling law, I would think that any item that has a trace of wheat in it due to coloring or whatever would have to list that. Your only problem would be with older items, those that might have been labeled prior to 1/1/06.

I haven't heard of the FDA setting threshold levels or giving a pass to any particular food yet.

This law should make things much easier than it used to be for the gluten-intolerant.

groundhogg · **Posted:** Thu Mar 15, 2007 7:10 am

I think i've read that it isn't always possible for some manufacturers to always know for certain on a regular basis whether some of their flavorings or other ingredients are gluten-derived, and if so, how much of that would be considered still gluten free (parts per million, etc.)--or if it's just an ever-changing incoming supply of various chemicals and stuff they use...it would be impossible for them to always know.

Right now, in the U.S., normally, corn or potato are used as starches in the vast majority of processed foods. Corn is also used to make citric acid here. This is because corn-manufactured products/ by-products are extremely cheap right now in the U.S. (the reason why high fructose corn syrup has begun to appear in just about everything)...but, I worry this might change soon, becuase of corn now starting to be the major crop used for fuel...namely, ethanol. This is just my own fear, here...but I worry that the day might come when corn gets to be expensive, and they start using wheat to manufacture all of these starches, fillers, flavorings, preservatives, caramel coloring, etc., and the labeling might take a while to catch up with that. That could hurt a lot of people...IF (again...my own fears!) that should happen.

Big food companies mostly use whatever is cheapest, from one purchase to another.

DianeR · **Joined:** Fri Oct 20, 2006 4:29 am **Posts:** 1279

I haven't studied the law in depth. But reading through it and the FAQs prepared about it, I don't see any loopholes. If they use an ingredient with wheat in it, it is supposed to say that.

There was a way for them to use up products with the old labels because the law only applied to things labeled after a particular date. But at this point I would think all those would be gone. Except for those of us with old spices in our cabinets :lol:

The biggest problem, I think, is unintentional wheat. The label only has to show what is deliberately in the product.

Of course, I'm sure there is a possibility that something is mislabeled.

It will be interesting to see what happens with the current "gluten free" label rulemaking.

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