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Wheat starch under a microscope<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Food starch can break your gluten free diet, if the starch is made from wheat or other gluten-containing grains.<\/p>\n

Current labeling laws in Canada make it difficult to be sure how pure starch is when listed in food ingredients.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Starch can be made from any number of raw ingredients.\u00a0 The most common in Canada is corn starch, but wheat starch is also common.<\/p>\n

Current labeling laws in Canada are weak.\u00a0 Currently, labeling is supposed to be as follows:<\/p>\n

If the ingredient contains any protein from the allergen source, the food allergen source must be declared e.g.<\/abbr> soy lecithin, wheat starch, egg lecithin etc.<\/abbr><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The manufacturer could decide that there is not significant amount of protein in the starch, and elect not to list what was used to make the starch.\u00a0 We can\u2019t be sure that the starch was once protein-free, but that they changed their supplier, or that starch made from wheat is guaranteed 100% safe for those with celiac disease or a gluten allergy.<\/p>\n

Starch Listed in the Ingredients \u2013 What To Do in Canada<\/h2>\n

If starch is listed in the ingredients for a food product for sale in Canada, what should a celiac or gluten allergy sufferer do?\u00a0 Should you risk your gluten-free diet?<\/p>\n

You could avoid the food completely.\u00a0 If there is an alternate choice that is clearly labeled, I suggest you choose that instead, but for your own peace of mind, and to reward manufacturers who are more forthcoming in their labeling.<\/p>\n

You should also phone the manufacturer and ask them what the starch is derived from.<\/p>\n

Yes, you could visit their website, but I suggest you call them instead.\u00a0 Here\u2019s why.\u00a0 Firstly, visiting their website could be a big waste of your time.\u00a0 The gluten status of the food may be hard to find, or not there at all.<\/p>\n

Secondly, when you call the manufacturer, your request will probably be logged, and your feedback, along with that of other gluten avoiders, will probably make a difference to their future labeling decisions.<\/p>\n

Canadian Labeling Laws May Change<\/h2>\n

According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency<\/a>:<\/p>\n

It is expected that the future food allergen labeling amendments to the FDR<\/abbr> will require the declaration of the sources of lecithin, hydrolyzed protein, starch and modified starch, regardless of the source or the presence or absence of protein residue.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is good news, and part of a larger trend expected to take place with food labeling laws in Canada.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, if you are allergic to gluten, have celiac disease, or are gluten intolerant in any way, avoid food products that list starch in the ingredients, unless they specify that the starch is from corn (or some other non-gluten source).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Food starch can break your gluten free diet, if the starch is made from wheat or other gluten-containing grains. Current labeling laws in Canada make it difficult to be sure how pure starch is when listed in food ingredients.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[11],"tags":[68,36,239,37,240],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.allergy-details.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.allergy-details.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.allergy-details.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.allergy-details.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.allergy-details.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=865"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/www.allergy-details.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":867,"href":"http:\/\/www.allergy-details.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865\/revisions\/867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.allergy-details.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.allergy-details.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.allergy-details.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}