I was in Sainsburys earlier in the week looking on the "Freefrom" aisle and spotted "Mrs Crimble's Dutch Apple cake.
I love apple cake and luckily I read the label which very clearly read "not suitable for ceoliacs".
I mentioned this to a staff member who was restocking this aisle who told me that "freefrom isn't just for ceoliacs but also those who can't tolerate gluten".....
I had a chat with her and suggested that she takes the matter "upstairs".
I haven't been back yet but this is just to warn people that even on "Freefrom" aisles it may be necessary to check ingredients.
Written by
justjake
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There are a few Mrs Crimbles products that aren't suitable for coeliacs but they are labelled. The free-from aisle is not just for gluten free products, it also contains products for those with other intolerances and dietary issues. I check everything for the presence of gluten no matter which aisle I find it on.
I agree with Chester31about checking everything, however in Sainsbury's I have found Dove's Farm regular flour in the the free from aisle next to rice flour (imagine the cross contamination) and Dr Karg's crispbread - apparently not free from anything according to the label.
It's important to take responsibility for yourself not rely on other humans to do it for you - their heads are just as full of "stuff" as yours
I agree with the last poster, the free from shelves cover a variety of intolerances not just gluten,so you still need to check. Lactose is another common intolerance. I still find our local Sainsbury is the best stocked of all
Thankfully I do check all ingredients but I would still think placing this cake in the Freefrom aisle is wrong,just as placing Dove Farm regular flour is?
I also agree with Chester. It is naive to presume that the free from isle is just for gluten-free folk.
That said, I did take issue with my local Asda a few months ago about citing all the free from products right next to the regular baking products in the store. Literally shoulder to shoulder with all the standard gluten flours - yuk! I pointed out the risk of cross contamination to them from the flour dust and to their credit they did listen. Free from products were eventually moved further down the same isle.
One supermarket I go to occasionally puts all their gluten-free bread/crackers/cakes in the same aisle as the normal bread and cakes. It's all sealed up in packaging, so the cross-contamination risk is probably fairly low, but it seems idiotic from a marketing point of view to put it in the one place anyone who's gluten-free is going to avoid.
I used to love Mrs Crimble Ginger Cake which was gluten free and I bought from Sainsburys, but now I notice that the present one states not suitable for coeliacs. I thought I would try it anyway because it was so nice, BIG mistake, couldn't leave the bathroom all evening and had terrible stomach cramps. I would love to know why they changed the recipe.
I have always believed that the Freefrom aisle was for ALL intolerances as there are the dairy free chocs ets -- however just what is the Apple cake free from??
I too got caught out by Sainsburys, I picked up a box of Pertwood muesli off their free from shelf. Was really looking forward to my breakfast the following day. I poured myslef a bowl full, and was just about to eat a spoonfull, then something made me check as it did not look like any muesli I had before, and there it was on the side of the box, Contains Gluten! I was so angry, just so pleased I did not eat any. So will not be bying gf agsin from there.
Hi, Holland & Barret mix their free from foods, so all should be checked as Gluten Free, so carry on going to Sainsbury as free from applies to other ingredients OK. Bit of a shock when you realize free from doesnt just apply to coeliacs. I had a Mrs crimbles macaroon and 2hrs later was glutend...they do one also that has gluten in I think.
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