Gluten Free Diet and Fisherman’s Friend | Allergy

Gluten Free Diet and Fisherman’s Friend

by Allergy Guy

Fisherman's Friend | Gluten Free Diet I just pulled a package of Fisherman’s Friends out of my desk drawer, and suddenly had a moment of doubt.  What if they contain wheat in some shape or form?

There is no ingredients on the package, because it comes in a paper and foil package, originally housed in a larger box with many other packs.  No doubt, the ingredients are one the larger box, but that box is in the store, and I am at my desk, far far away.

The first thing I did – and I recommend you do something similar if you have such a question – was to type fisherman’s friend ingredients into Google.

The first result was not the official Fisherman’s Friend website.  Instead, it was Wikipedia.  Wikipedia seems to come up first for almost anything you type into Google these days.

According to Wikipedia, Fisherman’s Friend lozenges contains starch.

Starch = red flag. 

So the question is: what kind of starch?

Back to Google.  The second result is fishermansfriend.ca.  And from this site I got more information.  In fact, the information is very specific for people with allergies.

The short answer to whether Fisherman’s Friend lozenges is safe for a gluten free diet is YES, they are safe.

I was also pleased to see that Fisherman’s Friends are free of the following:

  • Wheat Starch
  • Rye Starch
  • Barley Starch
  • Oats Starch
  • Milk
  • Preservatives
  • Eggs
  • Soy
  • Sulpher Dioxide
  • Nuts
  • Gelatin
  • Meat products

One would not expect lozenges, or candy-like product to contain wheat or gluten, but you never know.  Some do (e.g. many types of liquorice candy), so it is always worth checking.

This article is not intended to promote these lozenges.  It does serve as a great example of how to discover answers to these types of questions.  It also shows how manufacturers can handle allergy information on their website.

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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Wade Wieringa January 19, 2014 at 05:11

Unfortunately as far as I can tell,f Fisherman’s Frienss “original extra strong” in the white package conain dextrin which contains gluten.

“Original Extra Strong lozenges contain sugar, liquorice extract, menthol, Eucalyptus Oil, tragacanth, and capsicum tincture. The Sugar Free versions of the lozenges contain Sorbitol, Menthol, vegetable sourced Sucralose and Acesulfam K.”
-Wikipedia

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2 Daniel Korn February 8, 2010 at 15:51

The best way to get around this …

Is just to avoid processed food. Eat tons of fruits and vegetables. As a side benefit, it looks likes there is a connection between allergic sensitivity and the gut flora, which will be built up over time by lots of fruits and vegetables (as long as you avoid soda and other acids). So you may even see a decrease in sensitivity. For years I could not figure out why my allergies seemed to get better or worse for no reason, but it was my produce intake.

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