Additional subjects will be added in future updates to this document.
Millet - Includes postings through June 7, 1995
Vinegar - Includes postings through Nov 2001 updated with the Gluten-Free Living article are 'Are All Vinegars Safe for Celiacs"
The problem has to do with the alcohol used in the extract. Some people believe that if the alcohol is distilled from grain, it might still have some gluten in it. Others feel this is not a risk. It's a judgement call on your part.
The previous posting follows:
Also, Heather Murphy wrote:
HM> Can someone tell me if all "extracts" contain gluten. Yesterday
HM> I drank a "Nantucket Nectars" bottle of pink lemonade, which
HM> contained extract of lemon....Lo and behold, about an hour later
HM> I experienced the familiar grumblings of something gone
HM> wrong...followed by hours of painful cramps, etc.
For your own baking, you can use all McCormick's extracts. In a letter dated August 11, 1994 they state, "McCormick Extracts are made with ethyl alcohol which has a synthetic petroleum base. All our extracts are gluten free."
There has been a lot of discussion in the past about products made with grain alcohol, which can include vanilla and other extracts. I decided to cull the archives for previous responses. I've edited out the redundant or unrelated portions (according to my judgement). This covers all the archives prior to June 1st:
...Most vanilla extracts are based on grain-derived alcohol, and in some cases it appears that a gluten residue can remain. It's something to watch out for; we generally avoid using any product that lists "vanilla" in its ingredients, and buy things with "vanillin" (an artificial substitute) instead...
I am extremely skeptical about any gluten residue that could cause harm to a celiac patient being present in distilled alcohol of any sort, including alcohol prepared from wheat grain. Is there any evidence for such a gluten residue?
...Many celiac groups warn that products prepared with grain alcohol can also contribute a gluten residue to the end-product (unless it is 100% corn alcohol)...
Anecdotal evidence: my wife has had reactions after eating foods that were later determined to have contained vanilla. And I've seen several references in celiac disease organizations' newsletters to people getting sick from drinking alcoholic beverages....It seems improbable to me, too, that gliadin could survive the distillation process, and I don't make any claims that it's a real threat--but the anecdotal evidence is there, and I prefer not to take unnecessary risks.
Is it possible that some people have a reaction to some component of real vanilla, an extremely complex extract, that has nothing to do with alcohol or celiac disease? There are people with milk allergy who do not have to avoid wheat, rye, barley, or oats. There are people with celiac disease who cannot tolerate milk, but does that mean that milk allergy is fundamentally connected with celiac disease and that no celiac patient should drink milk? It is important when dealing with anecdotal information about celiac disease to make the distinction between an individual's reaction and the general (defining) characteristics of the disease. Also, I have personally seen anecdotal information (not involving vanilla extracts) that turned out to be incorrect when the complaining individual was subjected to blind testing. Psychological effects can be strong.
...how it can it be a psychological effect when I ate it accidentally? In each case, I had the reaction and then discovered that vanilla extract had been used. No problem with vanilla from beans or extracted from non-gluten sources....I agree that anecdotal evidence is not evidence but in the case of sprue it's often all we have. In the face of all the contrary advice and information we're given--sometimes from the same organization!--I prefer to play it safe...
Commercial vanilla is based on grain alcohol. To make your own, buy some vanilla beans and a bottle of Polish potato vodka (widely available), and mix together in a small bottle.
Be sure to do your baking _before_ drinking the rest of the vodka.
I do have concern about what I see is a very strong tendency for each individual celiac to ascribe his or her own responses to all celiac patients--to celiac disease in general....I would caution people to be careful about extending their own experiences to others. As far as we know at present, the only substances that cause problems for celiac patients are wheat, rye, barley, and probably oats. I suspect there are a great many celiacs following unnecessary dietary restrictions because of this tendency for individuals to generalize.
This business about alcohol being a problem is indeed puzzling to me. It is not expected that the peptides responsible for celiac disease would be sufficiently volatile to carry over in a distillation process. Accordingly, I would not expect even grain alcohol from wheat to contain any peptides that would harm a celiac patient.... Anyway, supposing, for the sake of argument, there is some carryover in distillation. Celiac disease itself does not seem to involve an instant reaction to wheat gliadin peptides. This creates a problem in challenging people in that some people go for months or even years eating a normal diet before any evidence can be obtained of harm. Those people who have instant reactions to foodstuffs pose an interesting question. Is this another immune response, perhaps more characteristic of allergy, rather than the immune response characteristic of celiac disease? We don't know the answer to this question because we don't understand the mechanisms involved. But just remember that there are true celiac patients, properly diagnosed, who can eat a couple of slices of wheat bread and never notice any effect. These certainly would never notice the "residue' in alcohol used to extract vanilla beans.
You can....put a vanilla bean in sugar and make vanilla-flavored sugar to use. In Europe, that's the primary way to get vanilla flavoring in baked goods, toppings, etc..
In regard to celiacs having reactions to non-gluten foods....In my case, I have digestive problems that may or may not be related to sprue. But I also have a specific set of symptoms, far more than just digestive, that have *always* indicated that I've eaten gluten. Every time I get these symptoms, we've been able to trace a gluten culprit. (Admittedly, I don't know if there are times when I had gluten and didn't have symptoms, but we are very careful so I think our mistakes are rare.)
The two or three times I've accidentally had real vanilla or other extracts, it caused the same symptoms as other gluten exposures, although in a milder form....I agree that just because one person is affected by a product that doesn't mean all celiacs will be. But if the reaction is indistinguishable from a sprue reaction, there seems to be a reason to investigate, if nothing else.
Here again we may find differences due to the country we live in as Canada allows vanilla extract. We also allow alcohol that's distilled and vinegar since it is believed that the distilling process removes the gluten.
J.A. Campbell, Ph.D, Ottawa writes that spirits now are distilled in column stills containing 20 or more perforated plates in each column. Steam rises through the columns stripping the alcohol from fermented mash. Alcohol vaporizes at 78.5 degrees C but gluten or gluten fragments are not vaporized and do not go through the still. In the case of gin, vodka and the major components of Canadian whisky blends, the base spirit is redistilled through a multicolumn still with three to five columns to remove fusel oil and other impurities. This redistillation step further reduces the possibility of protein carryover into the final product. It is concluded that distilled beverages, fortified wines, white distilled vinegar and alcohol based drug and extract products do not contain measurable amounts of gluten or gluten residues and therefore must be considered acceptable for a gluten-free diet. It goes on and on, but I no longer use alcohol free vanilla, and do use distilled vinegar (my 6 year old hasn't asked for a cocktail yet!). This information was presented at a meeting of the Celiac Disease Foundation in Los Angeles a couple of years ago by guest speaker Don Kasarda.
As you can see, we have some strong theory and the Canadian policy on the one hand, and some personal anecdotal evidence against grain alcohol on the other hand. In the absence of definitive scientific studies, each celiac must make their own decision regarding the use of grain alcohol and extracts (such as vanilla) when they have a grain alcohol base. If anyone has any suggestions on how to further test this issue, or any NEW information regarding it, please post it to the list.
End of alcohol discussion
Subject: Previous Millet Postings
Jane Meehan wrote:
> As a regional director for csa/usa we have always said that any of
>the following grains were to be omitted by a celiac: OATS WHEAT
> BARLEY RYE MILLET as they are the troublesome grains for celiacs.
> I can't imagine any one with the celiac condition even wanting to
> think of partaking of any of these grains.
On wheat, barley, and rye, I think we have universal agreement. Most of us also agree that oats are a problem. However, there is considerable disagreement concerning millet's GF status. I decided to cull the archives for previous postings concerning millet. I've edited out the redundant or unrelated portions (according to my judgement). This covers all the archives prior to June 1st:
....Anyone who has read more than 2 or 3 celiac references will find significant differences of opinion between celiac groups. CSA/USA, and several other groups, have millet, quinoa, teff, buckwheat and amaranth on their Prohibited Lists. Don Kasarda wrote an article in the CDF (Celiac Disease Foundation) Summer 1994 newsletter on why he felt all the above exotic grains are probably OK --- personally I was persuaded by Don, but each person has to make their own decision...
....some of us have had severe reactions to these exotic grains. I have had particularly bad reactions to millet and to buckwheat. The sources I've read say that these contain a "gluten-like" protein, but I'm not sure how its chemical composition differs from regular gluten...
....Teff is a grass, but is likely to be safe for celiac patients on the basis of being more closely related to corn, sorghum and millet than to wheat, rye, barley, oats...
I'm not sure that I agree with your reasoning about the foodstuffs that are not closely related to the wheaty grasses being safe just because they are not closely related. That does not preclude them containing similar chemical compounds. For example, I believe that plant pigments such as the anthocyanins (that give the red and purple colors to african violets among other things) are widely distributed in many plant families...
Until someone does systematic dietary trials of foods such as millet, buckwheat, etc., or chemical tests that show absolutely no gluten or gluten(or gliadin)-like compounds, I have to trust my instincts and refuse to eat things that produce the same symptoms as eating wheat, rye, barley, etc. I have been careful to prepare almost all of the foods I eat from scratch (though I do use commercially ground flours), so I believe the risks of contamination by gluten from other sources to be minimal. It would be tough to hide a contaminant in kasha (buckwheat) or whole millet grains, and I have always washed these things prior to cooking them.
....Many other grains have not been subjected to controlled testing or to the same scrutiny as wheat, rye, barley, oats, rice, and corn in relation to celiac disease. If we accept corn and rice as safe, then members of the grass family that are more closely related to these species (on the basis of taxonomy) than to wheat are likely to be safe. Such grasses include sorghum, millet, teff, ragi, and Job's tears, which appear to be reasonably closely related to corn. In some cases, there are protein studies in support of this conclusion, although the studies are not sufficiently complete to provide more than guidance....further studies of protein (and DNA) would provide the next best way to evaluate my suggestion that millet, sorghum, teff, ragi, and Job's tears are not likely to be toxic in celiac disease.
....Certain cereal grains, such as various millets, sorghum, teff, ragi, and Job's tears are close enough in their genetic relationship to corn to make it likely that these grains are safe for celiac patients to eat. However, significant scientific studies have not been carried out for these latter grains.
Donald Kasarda has pointed out that in the 1991 survey of the Canadian Celiac Association published in the Journal of the Canadian Dietetic Association (52:162-165), 26% of biopsy proven celiacs experienced celiac-type symptoms after eating buckwheat. For millet, the results were similar, at 26% having symptoms. Kasarda cautions that it was not clear in this study "that people understood about looking for pure buckwheat as opposed to buckwheat-wheat mixtures."
Though some people may have tried buckwheat mixtures, or used buckwheat flour contaminated in the field with wheat, the fact that a good quarter of the biopsy proven celiacs reacted to these foods supports the policy of putting buckwheat and millet on a cautionary list for celiacs.
It may well be that a majority of celiacs can tolerate millet and buckwheat fairly well, just as some people can and cannot tolerate msg or any other food. However, I think it is wise for doctors and other dietary specialists to point out that many celiacs do have problems with millet and buckwheat, just as they point out that many celiacs have problems with lactose intolerance. Maybe these foods do need to be removed from the "never eat" lists to the "eat at your own risk" lists, along with dairy products, to allow for these individual differences.
I would mainly be concerned about an implication that responses to buckwheat and millet (an implication that I do not attribute to Laura) have something to do with celiac disease. They may or may not, but there is no scientific evidence that they do and some that they do not--at least for buckwheat. People of all sorts are sensitive to all sorts of things. I feel that celiac patients should be wary of attributing all their own personal sensitivities or problems to their celiac disease. For example, lactose intolerance is certainly a problem for many people who don't have celiac disease. I suspect that because of somewhat indiscriminate testimony, large numbers of people with celiac disease are avoiding many foods that are harmless for them...
....I have no problem with scientific studies of buckwheat, millet, or any other suspect food in relation to celiac disease, but properly done studies are enormously expensive and the problem of finding a suitable number of well-characterized celiac patients to participate in any study is great (they would almost certainly have to submit to several biopsies and be followed closely for months). Accordingly, I am not too optimistic about such studies being carried out.
According to my Canadian Celiac Association book Millet is okay.
I believe CSA/USA advises against millet. Our local support group has also advised staying away from it. However, I'm not sure I could pin- point any reference that says why.
Perhaps some background information on my qualifications to comment would be helpful. I am a cereal chemist who has worked primarily on wheat proteins in relation to wheat mixing and baking quality for the past 30 years. Through collaborations with various medical groups over the past 25 years I have become somewhat familiar with celiac disease, particularly as it relates to grain proteins. I have attended three of the five major international celiac disease symposia that have been held during the past 25 years, including the last in Dublin, Ireland, held in 1992.
My position on millet is stated in the grains letter that many of you on the list have requested (and, I hope, received). Evidence so far on millet proteins (also millet taxonomy) indicates that millet proteins are closely related to corn proteins. If corn is accepted as a safe grain, then millet is likely to be safe as well. Of course, millet proteins have not been studied as extensively as corn proteins, so if you are extremely conservative, you may wish to avoid millet, but I am not aware of any evidence that indicates likelihood of toxicity for millet in celiac disease. I would very much appreciate hearing from CSA representatives as to why they include millet on the forbidden list. As for any food, millet may not agree with everyone, but I don't know of any evidence that would link millet to celiac disease.
Scientists are far from understanding all the complexities of celiac disease and conditions that may or may not be related to celiac disease (for example, allergy-like symptoms from breathing grain dust). Also, there is no grain for which we have complete sequence information for every protein, including rice and corn. I can only provide my personal opinion based on my knowledge of the scientific literature, which is far from perfect given the enormous amount of information accumulated there. I do, however, make considerable effort to keep up with the literature on both cereal grains and celiac disease. My comments must be considered in that light as general information and not specific medical advice to anyone.
....In the archives you will find at least two long letters by Kasarda stating that millet is so distantly related to gluten-containing grains that there is no more reason to suspect it than most other plants. However, anyone can have a food intolerance to almost any food, and Celiacs tend to have more food Intolerances than others due to their autoimmune activity and (previous) porous guts. So many Celiacs may react to millet for other reasons than gluten content.
....I have eaten large quantities of millet and have a fairly severe reaction to gluten. I have not had any reaction to millet. Perhaps this is another grain to be added to the "and many celiacs have a problem with" list.
The big problem with millet is not millet, per se, but millet *flour* - same thing with buckwheat (kasha). Very often this stuff is milled in the same mills that are used for wheat/rye/oats, and thus the flour lands up contaminated. I'm the local "gluten detector" - a tablespoon of regular soy sauce in a dish for 6 will wipe me out for 48 hours or so - and have no problem with millet *grain*.
I think if I wanted to try recipes with millet flour that I would grind my own grain, as I do for brown rice.
Although gluten contamination is a risk, if you always react badly to corn or millet, it may be your personal metabolism that is reacting, and other celiacs are not at risk.
According to all the information I've gotten, millet is gluten free. My 6 year old Celiac daughter eats it with no problem.
Amaranth, millet, and quinoa are all GF. Spelt is ABSOLUTELY NOT gluten free. Spelt is essentially wheat <German wheat to be exact).
To Chris, and anyone else who does not have access to the Restricted Diet Information card put out by Celiac Sprue Association/ United States of America, Inc.
Inside it says....Most celiacs also are found to react to millet, buckwheat, triticale, quinoa, amaranth, and spelt....
So, we have millet's taxonomy, and some personal anecdotal evidence which suggest it should be safe for celiacs. We also have the word of some celiac organizations and more personal anecdotal evidence which suggest avoiding millet. In the absence of definitive scientific studies, each celiac must make their own decision regarding the use of millet. If anyone has any suggestions on how to further test this issue, or any NEW information regarding it, please post it to the list.
End of Millet discussion
In a recent post, Debi from Alberta Canada reported that the overall consensus of Celiac's is that white/clear vinegars are probably derived from distlled grains and the probability of gluten is high. This is an opinion I have seen many times on the listservers and in Celiac related material. As a celiac and a chemical engineering professor I must insist that the consensus of Celiac's is wrong in this case.
The probability that there is enough gluten in white vinegar to cause problems for Celiac's is extremely low. White vinegar is made from distilled alcohol.
Although the alcohol used to make vinegar may have been made from fermentation of wheat, distillation is an incredibly effective means of separating non-volatile proteins from volatile chemicals like alcohol. Distillation is a method of separating chemicals by evaporating them and then recondensing them. Proteins don't evaporate. Their vapor pressures are too low to be measured by any conventional means. I have been unable to find any vapor pressures for proteins in published literature. In my research, I have worked with proteins in ultra high vaccum conditions and have found that the vapor pressure of common proteins is lower than 0.00000001 torr. If we use this as an upper limit for the vapor pressure of proteins, this would indicate that in a one stage distillation one should find less than 10 parts per trillion protein in the overhead product. Since alcohol is produced in multi-stage distillation processes this is a very liberal upper limit for the protein content of distilled alcohol. This amount of protein would be below the detection limit for all chemical assays with which I am familiar. This hypothesis is confirmed by the makers of distilled alcohol who state that the nitrogen content in distilled alcohol is below the detection limit.
Although the chance of finding gluten in distilled alcohol is not zero, it is pretty darn close to zero. It is alot lower than your chances of winning 50 million dollars in this weeks lottery. I can not see any reason why Celiac's should avoid products that contain either white vinegar or distilled alcohol.
Now that I have given you the science perspective, let me share my experience as a Celiac. I was diagnosed with Celiac disease last october (by biopsy) and have recovered very well on a diet which contains small amounts of distilled vinegar and distilled alcohol. My primary symptom was iron deficiency anemia which did not improve when I was given massive doses of Iron. After 6 weeks on a gluten free diet my serum iron levels went from 8.5 to 14 mg/ml. My other malnutrition symptoms have abated as well. I feel better than I have ever felt. I have not been back for a follow up biopsy to see if my intestinal villi have recovered. My doctor is of the opinion that since I have had complete resolution of all my clinical symptoms on the GF diet a follow up biopsy is not needed.
I know that some Celiac's experience apparent celiac related symptoms in response to vinegar. There are several possible explanations for this. Some celiac's may have an allergy or intollerance to vinegar in addition to gluten intolerance. Since vinegar is almost always consumed in processed foods, they may be responding to some gluten source other than vinegar. Some celiac's may be experiencing something equivalent to a placebo effect. If our brains are capable of healing our bodies solely because we think we are being treated, our brains can certainly cause "celiac symptoms" simply because we think we are eating something that contains gluten. And finally, since some celiac's are more sensitive to trace amounts of gluten than others, some people may actually be reacting to that one gliaden protein which defied the laws of probability and made it through the distillation process. This last explanation seems the most unlikely.
Hi all,
After a week or so I have decided to summarize the comments I received from various people on vinegar. I have certainly learned a lot, and I have, for now anyway, decided to try foods with distilled vinegar. So far I have not had any immediate problems.
Thanks to all who replied. Here are the comments:
Taken from aol encyclopedia-- Vinegar (from the French vinaigre, "sour wine") is an acidic liquid obtained from the fermentation of alcohol and used either as a condiment or a preservative. Vinegar usually has an acid content of between 4 and 8 percent; in flavor it may be sharp, rich, or mellow. Vinegar is made by combining sugary materials (or materials produced by hydrolysis of starches) with vinegar or acetic acid bacteria and air. The sugars or starches are converted to alcohol by yeasts of the genus Saccharomyces, and the bacteria make enzymes that cause oxidation of the alcohol.
If I ingest anything with distilled vinegar in it, it invokes the same response from ingesting gluten. I also seem to have trouble with salad olives packed in water with acetic acid.
My understanding with vinegar is that it is "better safe than sorry" there shouldn't be any gluten left by the end of the process. Vinegar can be made from many sources, including wheat, and unfortunately the source isn't always specified.
The real NO-NO is brewed vinegar. This can be made with any grain which is first brewed to give alcohol then has Acetobacter spp added to convert this to alcohol.
The CERTAIN way to avoid all problems is to use wine vinegar.
I hope this helps.
ALCOHOL AND VINEGAR - SOURCES OF GLUTEN? It has been common practice among celiac support groups and others offering advice on gluten-free diets to proscribe white (distilled) vinegar and alcohol as potential sources of gluten. The assumption is made that any product manufactured from a gluten-containing grain is probably contaminated with gluten proteins or peptides. But to those with some chemical training (myself plus others who have posted comments on this subject in the past), distillation is a highly effective method for separating volatile substances such as alcohol from non-volatiles such as proteins or peptides.
Vinegar, especially white vinegar, is a common ingredient in commercially prepared foods. Because I object to dietary restrictions that are unnecessary and that further limit an already restricted diet, I have tried to learn something about the manufacturing process. The following summary is for others who might like to know how white vinegar comes into being and what the level of gluten contamination, if any, is likely to be. My sources of information have been the biotechnology literature and telephone contacts with knowledgable people in the industry. I personally have had no hands-on experience in vinegar making.
FROM GRAIN TO STARCH TO FERMENTABLE SUGAR: White (distilled) vinegar is of course not distilled, but the ethyl alcohol from which it is made is distilled from a yeast fermentation mixture. (In the UK, however, I believe that 'distilled vinegar' has a different meaning, that it is made from malt and that it is in fact, distilled.) In most of the world, molasses, which can be fermented directly by yeast, is the major source of alcohol. Alcohol is also made synthetically from petroleum products but I do not believe that alcohol from this source is much used in the food industry. In the U.S., starches derived from grains are the major source, mostly (about 85%) from corn.
Starches are mixtures of large straight and branched chain polymers of the simple sugar, glucose. Since yeast is incapable of fermenting starches, whether from corn, wheat, potatoes or any other source, the grain starches must be pre-digested with amylases, enzymes that are capable of splitting the starch molecules into smaller fragments. Depending upon the nature of the amylases, the end products are usually maltose (a disaccharide of two linked glucoses), some free glucose, and small amounts of assorted dextrins (small polymers of more than two glucoses). In the brewing industry, the source of the amylases is usually barley malt, barley that has been allowed to sprout until the amylases and proteases needed to digest the nutrient stores in the seed have developed and then heated enough to stop the sprouting without inactivating the enzymes. For industrial alcohol, including the food industry, it is common to replace malted barley with cheaper, partially purified amylases prepared from bacteria (several species of Bacillus can be used) and/or a mold such as Aspergillus niger or Aspergillus oryzae.
ALCOHOLIC FERMENTATION: After the starch is largely transformed by the amylases, yeast is added and the temperature adjusted to initiate fermentation. The small polymers in the digest such as maltose (glucose-glucose) and maltotriose (glucose-glucose-glucose) are hydrolyzed by the yeast cells to glucose. Glucose is then converted by fermentation to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing energy in the process which is used by the yeast for growth. Fermentation results in conversion of roughly 90% of the original starch to alcohol plus smaller amounts of other volatile products such as aldehydes, ketones, fusel oils (higher alcohols), phenol derivatives, and esters. These volatile contaminants which vary with the yeast strains used and with the bacterial contaminants in the fermentation mixture contribute significantly to the flavors of alcoholic beverages but must be removed in the production of purified neutral spirits.
ALCOHOL IS PURIFIED BY DISTILLATION: After fermentation, alcohol and other volatiles are separated from the non-volatile components by distillation. There is often a first crude distillation in which the fermentation mixture is boiled and the vapors are condensed back to a liquid phase that contains about 50% alcohol plus other volatile products. While vigorous boiling can drive off microdroplets of the pot liquor (that contain non-volatile components) along with the alcohol containing vapors, industrial fractionating stills are built as tall refluxing columns with sections of transverse plate barriers that are designed to trap entrained droplets followed by multiple plates to rectify the vapors, i.e., to concentrate the alcohol, separate it from the other volatile constitutents (and purify them as byproducts), and to act as a further barrier against non-volatile material. The problem for the distiller is not the relatively simple task of avoiding carry over of the non-volatile material in the distilling pot, but rather the separation of the various volatile products from one another.
IS THERE NITROGENOUS CONTAMINATION IN THE DISTILLATE? I spoke to an official of a firm in Iowa that provides U.S.P. grade 95% ethanol to Heinz and other vinegar producers. I was informed that their product which undergoes repeated distillations contains no detectable nitrogen using an assay whose limit of detection is 0.1 parts per million. Assuming that all the hypothetical nitrogenous impurities are protein or peptide, this limit level corresponds to about 0.7 mg protein per liter of 95% alcohol. The alcohol undergoes about a 20-fold dilution in its conversion to vinegar (4 to 5% acetic acid), so that, if all of the hypothetical protein survives the acetous fermentation, its final concentration is less than 0.035 mg per liter of vinegar. This worst case scenario represents the limit of detection; the actual amount present may be far less, and if it exists, it may have originated from yeast protein (non-gluten) as well as from seed protein.
IS 0.035 mg/liter DANGEROUS? Assuming that the maximal daily consumption of vinegar by an average person is of the order of 30 ml ( 6 teaspoons), the daily dose of protein or peptide originating in the yeast fermentation mixture would be less than 0.001 mg (1 microgram). The significance of this maximum level can be judged by comparing it to the estimated gluten level in European GF diets that are based on wheat starch from which the gluten has been removed by washing (see the March 16 summary by Bill Elkus of a CelPro discussion of a possible gluten tolerance level). Estimates of residual gluten in these "gluten-free" diets are in the range of 4 to 40 mg per day. To reach the lower estimate of this possible "tolerance" dose would require a daily consumption of at least 100 liters of white vinegar. This might well be dangerous to one's health, but not because of its gluten content.
THE CONVERSION OF ALCOHOL TO VINEGAR: I should perhaps comment on the conversion of alcohol to vinegar, a process in which no distilllation or elaborate purification is involved. This process involves a second fermentation (the alcoholic yeast fermentation being the first) that uses bacteria, a species of Acetobacter, in place of the yeast. The procedure is basically the same whether the alcohol is U.S.P. grade or the crude alcoholic mixtures in fermented apple or grape juice. The bacteria in the vigouously aerated vinegar reactor may be in suspension or on the surface of wood chips, and the liquid phase contains in addition to the alcohol source, a nutrient mixture to keep the Acetobacter growing while they oxidize alcohol to acetic acid. The nutrient mixture is said to consist of a variety of salts and some carbon and nitrogen sources such as glucose, citric acid, ammonium phosphate, some yeast extract or dried yeast, and hydrolyzed soy flour. At the conclusion of the fermentation the vinegar is not distilled, but rather is filtered to remove microorganisms and particulate material and diluted to bring the acetic acid level down from values as high as 15 to 20% to roughly 5%.
CAN GLUTEN BE INTRODUCED DURING THE ACETOUS FERMENTATION? Since it is possible that traces of the nutrient mixture could persist into the finished product, one might wonder whether gluten-containing grains were ever used instead of or in addition to soy protein. I spoke to the president of one of the major suppliers of nutrient mixes to vinegar manufacturers. While he would not give me a detailed list of ingredients (trade secret!), he assured me that his product is gluten-free, and he further stated that he was familiar with the composition of other such products in use on both sides of the Atlantic, and that they were all gluten-free. The nutrient mixture is used in cider vinegar as well as in white vinegar, although in significantly smaller amount.
CAN VINEGAR BE A FOOD ANTIGEN? I have not searched the allergy or toxicology literature. It is evident that with any vinegar there is a finite content of dissolved solids that consists of inorganic salts, trace metals, and nitrogenous and other organic materials that could originate from the nutrient mix or as byproducts of the metabolism, death and lysis of the Acetobacter, or in the case of cider vinegar, from the variety of materials pressed out of the apple cores and peels and juice or produced in the yeast fermentation that yields alcohol for the subsequent acetous fermentation. Total solids in vinegars may approximate several percent, practically equal to the acetic acid concentration, and there may be constituents to which some people, celiac or not, are sensitive, but it is inconceivable to me that a gliadin or a gliadin peptide could be one of those constitutents.
J.A. Campbell, Ph.D, Ottawa writes that spirits now are distilled in column stills containing 20 or more perforated plates in each column. Steam rises through the columns stripping the alcohol from fermented mash. Alcohol vaporizes at 78.5 degrees C but gluten or gluten fragments are not vaporized and do not go through the still. In the case of gin, vodka and the major components of Canadian whisky blends, the base spirit is redistilled through a multicolumn still with three to five columns to remove fusel oil and other impurities. This redistillation step further reduces the possibility of protein carryover into the final product. It is concluded that distilled beverages, fortified wines, white distilled vinegar and alcohol based drug and extract products do not contain measurable amounts of gluten or gluten residues and therefore must be considered acceptable for a gluten-free diet.
It goes on and on, but I no longer use alcohol free vanilla, and do use distilled vinegar (my 6 year old hasn't asked for a cocktail yet!). This information was presented at a meeting of the Celiac Disease Foundation in Los Angeles a couple of years ago by guest speaker Don Kasarda.
Dear List readers, and specifically to "sandybill" who was commenting about the real need for unity in a gluten-free diet. There is progress!
A Ph.D. chemist did a distillation experiment at our Sept. Houston chapter meeting. Here is the summary. Note the paragraph at the end commenting on a new development at the CSA Annual Conference. This is exerpted from the November 2001 issue of the Houston chapter Newsletter.
DISTILLATION EXPERIMENT
- Presented by John Longo, Ph.D.
The distillation process, whether it’s for alcohol or vinegar, is of interest to John, a recently diagnosed celiac and a chemist. He wanted to have some independent information on the controversy that one sees on the Internet or in a variety of articles about gluten in vinegar. To demonstrate that gluten/gliadin is not transferred to the product during distillation, John used some white vinegar to which he added Eriochrome Black T (EBT), a common coloring agent used by chemists to do titrations. The vinegar had about 300 ppm (parts per million) or 0.03% of the coloring agent which made the vinegar a dark purple. The Europeans and Canadians use 200 ppm as a cutoff for gluten/gliadin. That level, 200 ppm of gluten, is considered okay to digest. To put that into perspective, that’s 200 mg. in a whole liter of water.
Distillation involves boiling a liquid to a high enough temperature to make steam-like vapors. The original solution of 300 ppm EBT in vinegar was boiling vigorously. What’s coming over is whatever is carried over by the distillation process. Only the vapors come up and are cooled by the air, condense back to a liquid and flow into the receiving cup. (In a more efficient distillation process, the vapors are water-cooled.) He showed a jar with just 1 ppm of EBT in the vinegar solution, which was light pink, but the color was still evident. For comparison, He had a separate jar showing the rather dark color of fluid with 200 ppm EBT. He then showed a jar with just plain water totally clear. The distilled liquid coming through the tubing was also totally clear and had NO COLOR at all indicating that less than 1 ppm of EBT was carried over during distillation. We could smell the vinegar in the front of the room. This was just normal 6% acetic acid. Acetic acid has a molecular weight of 60. That’s actually heavier than ethyl alcohol, which has a molecular weight of 46 and is present in all alcoholic beverages. In the alcohol distillation process, the lighter ethyl alcohol molecule gets over easily. Water has a molecular weight of only 18 so it comes across very easily in any distillation. Alcohol and acetic acid also come across easily with water, but molecules like gluten/gliadin are too heavy to be carried over during distillation since the EBT coloring agent with a molecular weight of 460 was not able to come over. For comparison, an amino acid, just one of the components that make a protein, typically has a molecular weight in the range of 110 to 130. Just one amino acid is about double the weight of acetic acid. In the case of gluten and gliadin, we are concerned with proteins, which are the result of linkages of many amino acids. The part of the gluten protein that is of concern to celiacs is gliadin. It is reported to have 19 amino acids strung together in a very specific arrangement. During the process of distillation, gliadin is thus very unlikely to get over since its molecular weight is almost 2500. That’s just the gliadin part of the protein in gluten. The whole gluten protein is therefore many, many times larger than the simple acetic acid found in vinegar. The EBT (with a molecular weight of 460) is relatively small when compared to the protein that we are concerned with.
The issue of cross contamination was not being addressed here. However, cross contamination is a common problem when talking about gluten. In conclusion, one can see visually that the boiling process of distillation does not allow heavy molecular weight molecules like the gluten/gliadin proteins to be carried over into the product. As a chemist, John is satisfied and will use vinegar that has been distilled. Distilled white vinegar is common in condiments like mustard, ketchup, pickles, etc. There is usually no issue over cider, wine, balsamic, rice vinegars which should be safe if only made from their basic starting material (like grapes/wine, rice, apples, etc.). Be aware of flavored or colored vinegars that could be contaminated with added agents. There are individuals who are just inherently sensitive to all vinegar, beyond gluten. Look carefully at the labels.
One member mentioned that she had learned that celiacs with yeast intolerance may also be sensitive to vinegar and should avoid it (In the book Feast Without Yeast by Bruce Semon, M.D., Ph.D.). Note that this is not proven research. John commented that naturally fermented vinegars may still contain the original yeast/fungi that facilitated the fermentation. However, if the vinegar is distilled, the yeast will not be carried into the product since it is too large to make its way over in the distillation process. Yeast is a living thing that contains many large proteins.
NEW: Important information learned at the recent CSA/USA conference.
All the presenters laid the issue of pure distilled vinegar/alcohol to rest, believing that the process of distillation eliminates gliadin from getting through into the distillate. Therefore, we don't have to worry about pure distilled vinegar any more!! (with exceptions noted below in terms of enhancements, additions, and malt)
Also, the single word "vinegar" on a label should indicate only cider vinegar; this interpretation has not been previously understood by all the celiac community, thinking that the word indicated distilled vinegar. This news is so helpful for all celiacs! According to a new 2001 publication from CSA/USA, "Grains+ Glossary", " 'vinegar' or 'apple cider vinegar' or 'apple vinegar' on a food label on a product of the U.S. must be made from apples; CFR, Title 21, Section 525.825, revised March 1995. Note: A segment of those on a celiac diet report reactions to malt vinegar, distilled vinegar, recycled vinegars, enhanced vinegars, stabilized vinegars and color added vinegars. Avoid barley malt and wheat."
I am disappointed and frustrated that CSA waited so long to let us know about this "new" labeling feature. Going out to eat is so much easier when we don't have to worry about vinegar in a salad dressing. Just order a vinaigrette dressing; no more hauling a bottle with you!
End of Vinegar summary
1. Most people agree that distillation makes something gluten-free
2. Some people still get reactions. Some say due to residual gluten others say it's a separate reaction to the vinegar, alcohol, etc.
3. Unless there is another questionable ingredient -- tomato paste, HVP, food starch, etc. those condiments and flavorings previously off limits should be GF.
Are All Vinegars Safe for Celiacs? as submitted by Gluten-Free Living
End of Vinegar discussion
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