3 y/o not diagnosed with celiac disease but we are trying a gluten free diet anyway. But one thing I'm not sure of is some of the things he likes to eat and their ingredients.

Modified corn starch?
Is corn considered a grain or veggie? Can he eat corn chips?
If there is no kind of wheat or gluten listed in the ingredients or the allery alert can I assume it's gluten-free (like on a package of corn chips)?
What about hotdogs?
What are some key words I should look for?
What about those gummy kindof fruit snacks for kids?

We are living in japan right so reading anything, let alone ingredients, is impossible. So sometimes hubby will take a package or wrapper to his interpreter and have him read it (interpreter only available at work).

TIA

Here is a link to safe and forbidden ingredients:
http://www.celiac.com/st_main.html?p_catid...-11106256077.3f

Hot dogs and corn chips can contain gluten. Even if they don't contain gluten, they can be contaminated from other foods made in the factory. I have personnally been contaminated from "gluten free" hotdogs and corn chips. You really have to contact the company or get a very recent gluten-free product list.

I have a list of foods my 3 year old son eats, but it's all listed by brand. I don'tk now if that would help or not. Just PM me with your address if you want it. Bless your heart, this diet is hard enough when you CAN read the language! I hope it goes well.

TCA, can you PM me the list too? We are always looking for ideas for our 2 1/2 year old....

Hi can you put me also on the list for our 2 year old? We are going to the United States for vacation(live in Aruba) can I buy special bread at the Publix or other store? Is it possible to buy there special flour or mix?
my email adres:hoveling@setarnet.aw

thanks!

Most health food stores here sell gluten free breads and mixes. Frito Lay corn chips are definitely ok. I called and asked and they sent me a list of all of their gluten free snack foods. Most plain potato chips are ok too. It is the flavored ones you have to watch. Also with doritos, the regular cheese and the nacho cheese contain gluten but the cool ranch and the pepper jack are gluten free, go figure. It depends on the company for fruit snacks. I know that Betty Crocker fruit snacks are gluten free because I called and asked. So if you trust the companies that make it, best bet is to always call and ask. For example, I found out through a phone call the Kraft, that they label all allergens in plain words. If it says "food starch" and it is not followed by the word "wheat", than it is gluten free. This did back fire on me when I called McDonald's and they told me the fries were gluten free only to find out their not . Other than that, we have had no trouble.

Nicole

Burger King's french fries (as on their website) are gluten free AND they guarantee that they only use a designated fryer to fry their fries in. No other fast food place does this. I tried McD's and my son got sick. I went to other websites for several fast food chains and they said the fries were gluten free, but they were often too busy to regulate fryers. Mission corn tortillas are gluten free too.

You might want to delve further into this website. I copied off a list of forbidden foods for Celiacs. It contains a very extensive list. I printed off the copy and keep it up on my frig and one copy in my purse for grocery shopping.

I'd be wary of BK fries, if I were you. They are *technically* gluten-free and *technically* in a dedicated fryer, but I've been to BK more than once and found an onion ring in my french fries. The onion rings are obviously not gluten-free. They may be fried seperately, but their holding containers once cooked are right next to eachother, and the fry/onion ring flinging can lead to cc. Just a heads up.

I don't know if you have Chick-fi-A anywhere near you, but their fries are gluten-free and in a dedicated fryer.

From WHAT I UNDERSTAND and I am kinda new to this.....modified corn starch is fine....corn is a starch more than a veggie, but not a grain......corn chips-straight corn-should be ok, if not made in/on machinery that makes/uses wheat flour stuff (some people will eat Fritos, b/c the label looks good, but others worry about the machinery or the cross contamination).....Just because the word WHEAT is not listed in the ALLERGY ALERT does not mean that it is gluten free. Gluten is in barley, malt, rye, and some people argue back and forth about oats (I just go ahead and avoid them). Those things would not be listed in the ALLERGY ALERT. I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but on a snickers, the allergy allert says DAIRY and not PEANUTS!!!! Can you believe that? Everyone knows that snickers have peanuts in them! And they are one of the "top eight" so the should be listed. I would be careful.....hot dogs scare me, so I don't know what to tell you there. I am sure someone else knows a safe hotdog......Key words to look for are modified food starch, modified wheat starch, starch, wheat flour, enriched flour, bleached flour (these are just some of the ones I have found reading labels so be sure to check out the list on this website of the different names that are used for gluten-containing ingredients).

I hope that helped! Japan sounds neato!! God Bless, TiffJake

Hey, thanks for the heads up! That is absolutely petrifying to think that this could happen, esp. since my 21-month old son was just dx w/ Celiac. Any gluten in his system and it takes him a good month before he's his old self again!

These are the only fries we've been willing to try and no one got sick!!!! Their ice cream in gluten-free too and sooooo good!