Naked Science Forum
General Discussion & Feedback => Just Chat! => Topic started by: annie123 on 29/11/2012 22:09:06
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not sure which section this fits - also put it in Phys./Med. but someone among you may know -
I bought some fair trade cocoa and wanted to give it to a gluten intolerant person but am not sure if it is gluten free. I wrote to the company and they didn't know either. It is from Sol Colibri - certified organic cocoa. I wrote to the celiac diet site and had no reply.Any ideas?
Thanks
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Pure cocoa is gluten free. However, some manufacturers do add corn starch, milk solids or wheat products to some cocoa drink mixes and chocolate drink mixes. Anti caking agents may also be used.
The fact that your cocoa is organic is no guarantee that this cocoa is gluten free, just that it is organic, i.e. not treated with man made fertilisers, pesticides, fungicides etc.
You say the company whose brand it is cannot tell you if it is gluten free. This suggests to me that they are packers and distributors only, of produce processed/manufactured by a company who supplies more than one distributor. The cocoa in your brand product may well be identical to that of other brand labels.
This processor/manufacturer will probably be supplying a range of different foodstuffs to different distributors who will put their own brand label on the finished product. As such, the processor/manufacturer may be using many ingredients for their range. These ingredients will likely include dairy, wheat, seed and nut derivatives. Unless the manufacturer is absolutely scrupulous in their processes and cleaning, cross contamination cannot be ruled out.