Quorn - some products have now been awarded Coeliac UK's Cross Grain symbol

[Regalbirdy]

Hi Everyone.

I'm posting the following because I think it might be of interest to some of you. Recently I have been noticing that information has been popping up about some Quorn items being gluten-free.

With this in mind, earlier today I had a phone conversation with customer services from Marlow foods. The lady confirmed that they have been working with Coeliac UK to establish which of their Quorn products meet the C-UK Cross Grain standards.

As a vegetarian Coeliac (diagnosed two years ago), I had to stop eating all Quorn products because many contained gluten (Barley etc); and those that didn't, carried a risk of cross contamination due to the manufacturing methods. I suspect that Marlow Foods may have had to review and update their risk assessments recently - to keep in line with the new food information regulations. As a result, they have now reclassified some of their products.

Here is an extract of what they said in a follow up email to me:

"As of July 2014 the (Quorn) products below are gluten free:

Mince (Frozen) 300g

Mince (Frozen) 450g

Mince (Frozen) 500g

Pieces (Frozen) 300g

Pieces (Frozen) 450g

Pieces (Frozen) 500g

Fillets (Frozen) 312g

Fillets (Frozen) 520g

Hot Dogs (Frozen) 270g

Family Roast (Frozen) 454g

Tikka Masala & Rice (Chilled) 400g

Piri Piri & Rice (Chilled) 400g

(the frozen products will have a Best Before Date after end of January 2016)

Coeliac Society logo will be appearing on packing in the New Year."

Now folks, please do use common sense - and remember the Quorn range has many products that are still NOT suitable for a gluten-free diet! I also appreciate that the current Codex 20ppm level is not suitable for everyone. Personally speaking, I'm seriously thinking about resuming eating Quorn in the new year. It will be good to be able to put it back on the menu. I'll post here if I have any issues/advese reactions to report on.

Btw, Marlow foods also gave me a second list of Quorn foods that they have also risk assessed as being under the 20ppm. PM me if you're interested - it's too long to list here.

Happy New Year!

[Hidden]

Hi Regalbirdy, this is all very interesting and you have obviously gone to a lot of trouble over it so well done and thanks for telling us.

I think that you are very right in your statement about suitable for those who can tolerate up to 20ppm because unless Marlow have changed their quorn mince process, there is 0.07% barley malt in it so it could easily be below 20ppm.

Worth bearing in mind with quorn is that it is a very processed food which is fungus based (it's a micro protein) which's then fed the waste from cereal manufacture. There is also a lot going on in the US over quorn as many people are reporting allergy issues with it and these are primarily gastric and very painful. A google search will reveal all.

So I'd try and find out about the barley malt and please give us feedback when you try some.

I also loved your comment about us lot using our common sense...LOL.

[Regalbirdy in reply to Hidden]

Hi Jerry,

Thank you very much for your comments.

You make a very valid point about Quorn mince - I intend reading a packet asap to see what it says.

I'm thinking about starting out with the Quorn pieces; which I believe have never had barley as an ingredient. The risk of cross contamination has put me off eating them up to now. However, it seems that this is now much less of an issue than it was. I used to enjoy eating Quorn regularly, so I'm hoping that reintroducing it to my diet will be successful.

Xx

[ThyroidThora]

Hi regalbirdy,

Thanks for your post about quorn. I used to eat it quite a bit but since my grandson was born and has allergies I don't often buy it because I am wary of it causing an allergic reaction. However, I would appreciate the full list so I can make some informed choices and perhaps try him with some quorn mince. My grandson is allergic to all dairy, beef, egg (but can tolerate it if mixed into other foods) and soya.

Many thanks in advance.

TT xx

[Regalbirdy in reply to ThyroidThora]

Hi

I've a feeling that Quorn is bound together using egg white. If you're thinking of feeding it to your grandson, you may have to take this into consideration.

[ThyroidThora in reply to Regalbirdy]

Hi,

Many thanks for your replies.

I think that my grandson has a problem with gluten even though he has been tested and the results have come back negative. I notice that when he has wheat based products he has very bad stomach pains and a nasty nappy many hours later.

As regards his egg allergy he manages to eat egg if it is baked in home made buns but he cannot eat it if it's on its own such as a boiled egg. I did try him with Quorn sausage once but when I went to buy some more the ingredients had changed and they contained milk proteins, his main allergen, so I've not got them for him since. I'm just wanting to find something healthier for him to eat because he loves sausage but the fat content can be very high and he has started to put on a lot of weight in a short period of time. This is causing much concern because the hospital keep getting on at my daughter even though she is doing her best to give him a healthy diet. What can you do when you have a child with allergies that will only eat chips, toast, crisps, sausage and fish fingers?

Anyway, now I've got your list I'll take it with me to the shops and see if I can find him healthy, low fat quorn stuff that he can eat.

Once again many thanks for your help.

TT xx

[Hedi]

Hiiiii

I had blood test previous week...the normal range of IgA in lab is under 25 and when I have diagnosed by ceoliac 3 months ago it was 20...then I was under strict G/F diet...and now it should be decreased but I dont know why it is 530 ???????I was shocked...what do you think??

is it possible?? I should mention that I use esomeprazole pills for my stomach ulcer ..it is made in Turkey...is it possible that maybe the pills contain Gluten??and this Gluten can increase this much of Iga??Im totally confused

another question is that my son also is diagnosed by ceoliac because of high IgA..but the pathology result was normal ..just the endoscopy mentioned that there is fissuring in D1 and D2...he is stomachache...do you think that high IgA may is because of another disease except ceoliac such as lupus or helicobacter or something like that???What is fissuring and way it happened?

by diet the signs of ceoliac such as itching and pains in joints decreased but other problems still remain and the IgA increased..

I should mention that I had bone density test...my hip damaged by low density problems...