8 replies to this topic

[MWidra]

This is to be able to make a specific statement for a customer.

 

We produce purified cellulose fibers from various sources.  Our fibers are free of proteins and are gluten free.  The processing of our raw materials pretty much would denature any protein in existence.

 

A customer wants an allergen statement for our product that is derived from wheat straw.  Not from the heads, but the stalks.  We have an analysis showing that there is no protein in it.  But it's from wheat.

 

We were thinking of getting a sample analyzed for the wheat allergen, but there do not seem to be any labs that perform that testing.  Maybe the allergen is not fully identified yet, but I've only seen testing for wheat gluten.

 

Has anyone seen testing for wheat allergen (remember that gluten is not the same as wheat allergen)?

 

Could we correctly state that our XX product is free of wheat proteins and gluten, making it allergen-free?  Or would you just say that all our products are free of allergens and that XX is free of wheat proteins and gluten?

 

This is to be used by manufacturers and not packaged for consumers, but our information would guide their labeling.

 

Thanks,

Martha

[Snookie]

This sounds a lot like soybean oil: which even though its Soy is not considered an allergen:

 

"...The FDA exempts highly refined soybean oil from being labeled as an allergen. Studies show most individuals with a soy allergy can safely eat soy oil that has been highly refined (not cold-pressed, expeller-pressed or extruded soybean oil)..."

 

So how to determine wheat proteins which is where the allergens are.  I thought this was interesting:

 

https://www.grainsca...tm-mdtp-eng.pdf

 

I will have to do some more research, my curiosity is aroused. 

[MWidra]

Since the customer insisted that they need a statement, TODAY, we gave one that basically said our product is free of wheat proteins and gluten and has no contaminating allergens.  Hope that works for them.

 

Snookie, I'm still doing some research, but it appears that there are at least 27 allergens that have been identified so far in wheat.  Some cross react to rye and some other cereal grains.  That's quite a mess to make into a specific test for "wheat allergens".

 

Some scientific articles:

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/21623965

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/25146380

 

For my purposes they show how complicated this is, that there are several major allergens to worry about.  I worked in allergy research for over 15 years, and believe me that this is a nightmare scenario.  It's going to take some time to sort it all out.

 

Wikipedia article on wheat allergy, which gets fairly technical at times:

 

http://en.wikipedia....rgy#cite_note-1

 

EMSL is going to get back to me on this.  I think that saying things are gluten free and protein free is the way to go.

 

On the positive side, working on this prepared me for the kosher inspection today, since the possibility of material from any extraneous wheat grains contaminating the fiber was a concern for the organization all along.  Our product is made from the straw, with no grain material, but it did say "wheat."

 

I think that showing that there is no gluten, no protein, and no starch in our wheat product sort of put that worry to bed for good.

 

Martha

Edited by MWidra, 05 February 2015 - 09:35 PM.

[fgjuadi]

I was traveling so I didn't see this on time.  They were probably concerned about gladin , but an ELISA test kit should cover it down to 10 or 5 ppm depending on who you go with

[MWidra]

I was traveling so I didn't see this on time.  They were probably concerned about gladin , but an ELISA test kit should cover it down to 10 or 5 ppm depending on who you go withY

Yes, maybe gladin would make them feel better, but they wanted us to say that there were NO allergens in the product, and a gladin test would not cover all of the major allergens.

 

Those outlaw Ig E antibodies cause so many problems for so many people, including me.

 

Martha

[fgjuadi]

Ah, 8 individual allergen tests per lot?  I hope you're charging an arm and a leg for those fibers.

[MWidra]

We don't have to worry about allergens for anything else, because we get allergen statements from the suppliers.  Our fibers are made from pulp sheets that have been heavily processed, and most are from non-allergenic materials, like softwood and bamboo.  The wheat is made the same way, and there should not be anything there, but there appear to be more allergens in wheat flour than you can shake a stick at.

 

With a gluten free analysis, no protein or starch in the nutritional analysis, and being that it's made from wheat straw and not the grainhead, we can be confident that there's no allergen in it.  It would be nice to send a sample out for testing to show due diligence, but people only test for the gluten-related proteins.

 

The pulping process is so severe, that even a cockroach protein could not survive. 

 

Martha

Edited by MWidra, 06 February 2015 - 04:23 PM.

[AANNFF]

As an FYI, be careful when saying wheat free.  Wheat free does not have a recognized limit like gluten free (20ppm); which means that the default is 0ppm.  If there is even 1 ppm in any of your finished product, that could be cause for a recall.

[MWidra]

As an FYI, be careful when saying wheat free.  Wheat free does not have a recognized limit like gluten free (20ppm); which means that the default is 0ppm.  If there is even 1 ppm in any of your finished product, that could be cause for a recall.

I understand.  We decided to say that it is free of wheat proteins and gluten, which is correct.  It shows 0 protein of any kind.  There is 0 gluten in it also, so it more than satisfies that criteria.

 

Point well taken, though.

 

Martha