Ketchup

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I know this is really trivial, but I don't know where else to turn. Which ketchups are suitable for someone with coeliacs? The only supermarket that sold it in my town can no longer it it from the supplier so I'm wondering if there is something I don't know, like a 'normal' one now being gluten free?

Heinz doesn't seem to contain wheat/gluten ingredients

Thanks, but the dietitian said some spices are not suitable for gluten intolerance do I've been buying gluten free ketchup. My daughter has zero tolerance to gluten so I'm trying to avoid everything that may contain gluten

Heinz website says no gluten containing ingredients. What spices would be a problem for gluten intolerance?
www.heinz.co.uk/products/tomato_ketchup/products/heinz-tomato-ketchup

I have coeliac disease and use Sainsbury's own brand ketchup, that doesn't contain gluten.

Great, thanks. Where do I find out if something is gluten free but doesn't say on the packaging? Or is it that they've not been certified and therefore can't claim to be gluten free?

You look at the ingredients. By law they need to state if they have gluten containing ingredients (normally in bold type)

www.coeliac.org.uk/gluten-free-diet-and-lifestyle/food-shopping/food-labels/ register with this group and you can get info about foods that are safe

Are you a member of Coeliac UK? I joined when I was first diagnosed (think it was about £20 a year but this was a few years ago). They list all brands of all products that are gluten free and they send you updates each time a brand changes it's recipe and either stops being GF or becomes GF. IIRC I think they also differentiate between things with very low gluten (which some people can tolerate) and things which are completely free from gluten. I found it really helpful to get an idea of what I could eat. I no longer subscribe as I'm now much more familiar with what I can eat.

dementedpixie beat me to it!

DS is gluten intolerant and sometimes just eats Heinz with a fork (he’s 2.5 but still ) and has no issue. Stay away from branston fucking pickle though - barley in that. Which I found out to my (and obviously DS’) cost a few weeks ago. Bastards.

Thanks guys this is great, I'll get signed up to these sites. I was ok at first, but now were treating her as bring ceoliac (under dietitians advice), I feel like I'm back in the dark!

It could be the vinegar. I think that most people can have distilled malt vinegar but just a few (and it would be me) still react. This could be what they are referring to. The level of gluten though is very small so for most people it wouldn't be an issue. It is so low that it doesn't need to be declared on ingredient lists. Unless the symptoms return with it then it should be ok. Alternatively make your own with tomato puree, garlic and balsamic vinegar.

She's reacted to an invisible cross contamination so I might make my own ketchup then. Didn't think about the vinegar in ketchup!

Were 9 months in and still not fully symptom free, hence fully excluding gluten, we've had plenty of bumps on the way though

It is a pain. Malt vinegar is rightly labelled in holds easy to avoid. This is generally the chip shop vinegar so avoid it there even if chips are gluten free. I must admit that I don't always search for distilled malt vinegar as it isn't in bold. I have had a few reactions to food and the distilled vinegar is the only possible source so now I try to avoid that too.

I would be looking at cross contamination first before ruling out ketchup.

Completely separate butter/toasters/baking trays/fryers/ etc

By spices your dietician was probably meaning jars of spices, for example my Schwartz Spicy Itaian herb mix isn't gluten free but my Schwartz Garlic Italian herb mix is gluten free

The coeliac uk app is supposed to be great but I've managed so far without it just by reading labels, cooking mainly from scratch and keeping an eye on the Coeliac UK Facebook page where the question about things like ketchup comes up regularly (it's also great for hearing about new products)

Spirit vinegar isn't made from gluten containing ingredients so is ok for a gluten free diet