Alert: Mama Lucia Meatballs Removes Gluten-Free from Packaging

We love Mama Lucia All Beef Meatballs found in the frozen foods section of Safeway and Giant. They are delicious with pasta and in open-faced meatball subs with Udi’s Gluten Free hot dog buns. When I went to buy Mama Lucia Meatballs last night, I was shocked to see that gluten-free has been removed from the front of the All Beef package. I searched the package, and gluten-free is nowhere on the new package! 

Are Mama Lucia Meatballs still gluten-free? Here are the three email replies I received today from a conversation with a Quaker Maid Consumer Affairs representative, with the most recent reply last.

“Thank you for contacting us regarding the Mama Lucia All Beef Italian Style Meatballs. Your comments are appreciated. The “Gluten-Free” notation has been removed from the new packaging, however, the formulation and ingredients are the same. This all beef meatball is still gluten-free. Please accept my apology for the confusion.” 

“I understand that such packaging notation are very important and I’m sorry for any stress this has caused you. The change was made when the package sizes were updated and with the idea that new items may be added to the meatball facility sometime in the future. There has not been any manufacturing change at this point. Because this might mean the facility will no longer be strictly gluten-free, they considered this change very carefully and did not come to this decision lightly. At this time and in the near future you can be assured that all Mama Lucia Meatballs are gluten-free including the All Beef variety. It will be important to watch the BACK of the package where allergens are listed.” 

“Yes they are tested. Nothing is changing! Be assured that the meatballs you have are gluten-free, we are still producing all meatballs that are gluten-free.”

While I would like to trust the company that the product is still gluten-free, my 12 years of eating gluten-free tells me otherwise. Why would you take gluten-free off the package if your product is still gluten-free now? I can’t help but wonder if there is more they aren’t saying. Is it safe for celiac disease? They are clearly saying that their manufacturing may change in the near future when they introduce gluten products, so even if they are gluten-free now, they likely will not be in the near future due to cross-contamination. 

I asked multiple times if gluten-free is being removed from all of their meatball products or only the All Beef ones, but I did not receive a response. None of the photos on their website have gluten-free on any of the packages anymore. Their website FAQ now says, “There are no wheat or gluten ingredients in the products.”

My recommendation is to continue always reading ingredients and start searching for a different brand of gluten-free frozen meatballs. For brands, if you value your gluten-free consumers, don’t remove gluten-free from the package and expect them to keep buying it!

Problems with Celiac Disease Being Called a Gluten Allergy

Celiac disease is a serious autoimmune disease, not an allergy. Similar to an allergy, when you have celiac disease you must be extremely careful not to ingest any gluten and eating gluten is dangerous to your body, but the similarities to an allergy end there. Some people are allergic to wheat, rye, and barley and thus say they have a “gluten allergy”, but that is different than people who have celiac disease.

Here is a great quote from STAT Kids.

“While technically Celiac Disease is not an allergy, it is commonly referred to as a gluten allergy as a practical way to explain the dietary restrictions it requires. Although ingestion of gluten does not cause an acute, life-threatening reaction, it does cause a physical reaction which can make a person with Celiac Disease sick in the short term, and exacerbate a chronic condition over time. Since many schools, child care facilities, restaurants, and the public in general are becoming more allergy-aware, using the term gluten allergy facilitates the immediate goal of preventing an exposure to foods containing gluten.”

When at restaurants, there is a definite need to describe celiac disease as an allergy. However, in the media, I believe it is extremely important to not refer to celiac disease as an allergy when the intent is to increase celiac disease awareness. I have seen several television interviews, articles, and even books describe celiac disease as “a gluten allergy”. So, what are the problems with calling celiac disease an allergy? I recently asked this question on twitter and before I share the responses, which include two useful links explaining the differences between celiac and allergies, here are some of my answers.

Since 97% of people with celiac disease are undiagnosed, accurate information which encourages people to be tested is important.

Allergy testing does not include testing for celiac disease. So, if you have been tested for food allergies, it is unlikely that you were also tested for celiac disease. Testing negative for an allergy to wheat, rye, and barley does not mean you do not have celiac disease. Some people who test positive for gluten allergies may also have celiac disease, but testing positive for a gluten allergy does not mean you have celiac disease.

Most of the 256 symptoms and related conditions associated with celiac disease are different than symptoms of food allergies. When you experience celiac disease symptoms such as fatigue and joint pain, it is not obvious that this could be because of eating gluten. Futhermore, some people with celiac disease show no symptoms and show no external reaction when they ingest gluten.

While wheat is one of top eight allergens required to be listed on food labels, gluten is not. Including gluten as an allergy on food labels to aid people with celiac disease and gluten sensitivities would be very useful. Celiac is sometimes referred to as a "wheat allergy", which again is inaccurate.

Responses (quotes) from the gluten free twitter community

tastyeatsathome the reaction is different. And an allergy you can sometimes "grow out of". Celiac is life, baby!

celiacdisease here's my reason why CD should not be called an allergy: http://tinyurl.com/cvw5kn

madamebarberi using the term allergy REALLY does not paint a realistic picture of the disease or its implications!

souralice because then people don't understand the full effect of gluten on our bodies! I always hear "why don't you get allergy shots??"

GFTiff Can not increase tolerance over time to gluten (like you can to dogs and cats via allergy shots).

GFTiff Not an allergy because:Cant take benadryl/claratin/etc allergy med for gluten-reaction. Epi-pen not for gluten-reaction.

GFCosmetics Reason it isn't an allergy - Because you can't take medicine to clear it up like hay fever.

I think these two tweets from GingerCM sum it up well!

GingerCM Celiac isn't an allergy at all -- it's a disorder of the immune system. http://tinyurl.com/crtg9u

GingerCM BUT, when I'm on real time/eating out, unless it's a GF friendly place like Outback, I stress "allergic" part for my safety

Follow me on twitter - MarylandCeliac and all the other wonderful gluten free people on twitter.

Review - Kunzler Chicken Hot Dogs

All Kunzler hot dogs say gluten free on the package. There is an useful allergen chart on their webpage and their hot dogs are free of many allergens. According to the Kunzler website, their hot dogs are made “only from the finest cuts of fresh meats”. They have “no meat by-products or organs, no binder or fillers, nothing artificial, and all natural spices”. They are manufactured in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and sold throughout the United States.

I recently tried the Kunzler Chicken Franks. I was very impressed with the taste. The dominant taste is chicken. There is no salty or spicy taste. The package says to boil for 3-5 minutes. I recommend boiling only for 3 minutes. They became softer than I like when boiled for longer. From what I remember, the taste is similar to the Wellshire kids chicken hot dogs.

I like that this chicken hot dog is lower in fat and sodium than other hot dogs. While these are not organic hot dogs like Wellshire and Applegate Farms, I am happy about the statement of quality ingredients. I have not tried the other Kunzler hot dogs yet as this is the only variety I could find, but I still need to check more supermarkets. The price is fantastic - $1.99 at Giant for 10 hot dogs! Thanks to Kunzler, there is a new favorite hot dog in my home!

Chicago Tribune investigation finds high amounts of gluten in "gluten free" Wellshire Farms chicken bites & corn dogs - Do not eat them!

I had the corn dogs in my freezer and ate them recently. Fortunately, I didn't get glutened. I saw the corn dogs still in the freezer at Whole Foods - DO NOT BUY - production was halted in June, but they did not issue a recall! I found this astonishing! Thanks to the Chicago Tribune for helping to keep consumers with Celiac Disease and allergies safe and informed! I am so glad I stumbled across this article. At the end of the article, they listed the actual gluten ppm it contained. If you still have your receipt, you can return them to Whole Foods. Otherwise, please throw them away and do not risk eating them.

Chicago Tribune article - "An alarming number of products sold as allergen-free actually contain harmful amounts, the Tribune found". They found "50: Percent of allergen recalls involving undisclosed milk or eggs." Use this link to read the full article.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/health/chi-081120-allergens-tribune-investigation,0,506031.story

A database created by the Chicago Tribune to search allergen related food recalls from the last ten years:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/health/allergen-database,0,7219804.htmlpage
Note: The database does not include gluten, only wheat. It appears that new recalls are not in the database. Remember, the Wellshire Farms chicken bites and corn dogs were not officially recalled, but clearly should have been.

To check for new and old food and drug recalls:
http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html
You can also signup to have recalls emailed to you.

To check for recalled meat, poultry, and eggs - USDA:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fsis_Recalls/index.asp