Not sure what the Nima Sensor is and how it works? Here you go:
Sounds too good to be true? Have your doubts? I hear ya. I’m a skeptic by nature too. The product is the real deal and the people behind it (including the founder who is gluten-free) are the real deal too. I’ve seen the product and I’ve met the founders. I even did an interview with them here when the product was in the early stages of development. I believe in them and if you’ve been following me for awhile, that says a lot.
So now I have the Nima. But here’s the thing. I don’t just want to use it for me. I want to help the community. Sure…I could test my favorite Korean restaurant and make sure my dishes are safe. But how does that help you…my favorite peeps in the whole wide world? Well, after Mrs. Dude and the Dudettes. And my brothers and sisters-in-law. Oh…and my Aunt is pretty cool too. And then there are my in-laws. My nieces and nephews. Ok…moving on.
Here is what I’d like you to do if you are up for it (that’s what she said). Send me up to three items that you’d like me to test. Something that you’ve had your doubts about. (Cheerios…I’m talking to you!) Currently, I have 15 of the disposable test tubes so based on your feedback, I’ll use my best judgement.
Let the gluten-free testing commence!
The new “gluten free” Lucky Charms!!
And for shits and giggles any type of bourbon or whiskey. I can’t drink those anymore.
I can not test liquids yet.
From the Nima website: Nima cannot correctly detect gluten in the following items: Fermented foods (e.g., Soy sauce, Gluten free beer), Alcohol, Pure Vinegar
Yes please test them ! I’m dying to try it but I’m scared because I got sick the last time I tried cheerios !
Oats vs. Certified GF Oats
Anything that says GF but made in a shared facility
Yes! Particularly Bob’s Red Mill. I thought I read somewhere they switched production facilities and there was skepticism that it was no longer gf. Rumors, but I haven’t touched them since.
You are a great advocate for the Celiac (and non Celiac Gluten Intolerant) community. Thanks Gluten Dude!!
Hi Kelly, my daughter’s nutritionist told us to not use Bob’s Oats. She said the cereals and grains were fine, but the Oats are not held to the same standards.
Hi Kelly,
I think your concern is valid. I had some Bob’s Red Mill oatmeal last week and had a horrible reaction. Worst I have had in a long time. I have used their oats in the past with no issue, but not these new ones! I suppose I could have always been glutened by something else, but the oats seem like the likeliest source. I feel like your comment validates it too!
Bob’s Red Mill uses sorted oats. They no longer use GF Purity Protocol Oats. Check out the GF Watchdog articles about which vendors do still use Purity Protocol Oats for more information.
The Schar gluten free croissant rolls that have “gluten free wheat flour” listed as the first ingredient. I’m very skeptical about that one, and won’t touch it with a 10-foot pole unless you say it’s ok.
I would love to know if Bubbleyum and Classic Dentyne Cinnamon are gluten free. The only gums I can find with real sugar and I miss chewing them.
Nacho cheese Doritos (from what I read they don’t contain gluten but are processed on same equipment)
Fresh meat that’s in the same case as meats with marinades and/or breading at the grocery store
And yes… Honey Nut Cheerios
Doritos have always been one of my guilty pleasures and I’ve never had a problem eating them…the original Nacho Cheese flavor. I’ve never tried the other flavors. I always check http://www.gfoverflow.com/index.php to see if things are gluten-free and, of course, I double-check by reading labels. That site is a big help though.
Bisquick gluten free pancake mix
Trader Joe’s Cocoa Almond spread
Trader joe’s whole grain gluten free bread
Trader Joe’s gluten free oats, GF Lucky Charms, Trader Joe’s brand GF breads/bagels.
Costco Chocolate covered Raisins
Candy Corn
Any of the fair trade chocolates that are not labeled gf.
Van’s Blissfully Berry GF cereal. It’s supposed to be safe but I just got glutened, and it’s the only new thing I’ve eaten.
Brachs candy corn
Lance gluten free cheddar cheese bite size sandwich crackers
Any of the McCormick’s new GF gravy or seasoning packets
please test schar white bread and hamburger buns.
I’m really really interested in knowing the truth about Bob’s Red Mill flours
Bob’s flours make me ill every time.
Please test Quaker GF Instant Oatmeal. They use the same Utilizes the same “oat sifting process” used for GF Cheerios. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Tostitos Corn Chips.
Tostitos Corn Chips are certified gluten-free and have the little GF symbol on them. I eat them regularly and have never gotten sick from them.
Progresso chicken corn chowder with bacon. Another General Mills product.
Hi Gluten Dude,
I recently got sick by eating Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Quick Cooking Oats. Bob’s Red Mill Gluten free Rolled Oats never bothered me but this type did. I wrote to them today asking how they can possibly call this product gluten free. It would be interesting to know if your device found gluten in it.
Nature Valley Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Protein Bars, please! These totally tore me up recently and I’m suspicious of their gluten free claim!
How about Amy’s brand things that claim to be gluten free but aren’t certified. My daughter with celiac disease particularly loves their baked beans…
To everyone who has had sensitivity to Bob’s Red Mill products: My kids and I have too, and so it prompted me to spend an entire day of research to figure out why the Bob’s mixes made us feel like poo… (And we know it was the Bob’s mixes because we introduce anything new, one thing at a time and wait to see if any reactions occur.)
I may have found the answer. Bob’s red mill uses xanthan gum that has been grown… ON WHEAT! They even address this in their blog! Now they say that the company who grows the xanthan gum only uses the wheat sugar, and no protein, and that there is no gluten, but I posed the question to them: Wouldn’t people who have a severe allergy or sensitivity to gluten and/or wheat have a reaction to anything grown off of ANY part of that plant? Just like people who are allergic to nuts cannot have Anything that has come into contact with nuts?
I asked them to please, please reconsider where they purchase their xanthan gum from, so that people in the celiac community can eat their products without being glutened. I know we are Not the only family who has had issues with Bob’s products.
I also asked King Arthur Flour company what the xanthan gum they use is grown on, just to be safe (we have never had reactions from their gf products before) and they let me know that their xanthan gum is grown on corn and soy, and they absolutely do NOT use any that has been grown on wheat…
Seems like common sense to me…but apparently not to Bob’s.
I react to xanthan gum that’s wheat-based as well. I buy a corn-based xanthan gum for use in my own baking. I basically avoid it otherwise so that I don’t spend a bunch of time trying to contact manufacturers to determine the source of their xanthan gum. I make an exception for Udi’s pizza crust, though, so I can enjoy the gluten-free pizza at Pizza Hut. Someone from Udi’s told me their xanthan gum is corn-based. Glutino’s all-purpose flour uses acacia gum instead of guar gum or xanthan gum, and it was wonderful to find a 1-to-1 flour with neither of those. I react to guar gum itself, so I can’t use it either.
That’s nice to know about Glutino’s, thanks! I try not to use any flour mixes with “gum” anything in them, but sometimes you just wanna throw together some muffins, darn it, or make your kid’s favorite birthday cake with a cup for cup blend!
Here’s my question about that device… since so little gluten is required to make us sick, maybe the “parts per million” would be in one Cheerio but not another. Gluten is sticky, so maybe it would be in one slice of GF bread but not another. So you could get a negative on a product if you tested the wrong Cheerio but other parts of it do have gluten. Does that make sense?
That was what I was wondering too.
Products that claim to be GF but have wheat or barley grass in them. I got really sick from a GNC green powder once… never again!
McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning
Nestlé Aero Chocolate
Hunts Tomato Sauce
Thanks so much for doing this! Very excited for the results of whatever you test…
Annie’s GF broccoli cheese soup and any of their gf entrees
Swiss Miss instant hot chocolate
Kraft shredded cheese – what exactly do they use to keep those shreds separate?
Bush’s vegetarian baked beans
Too bad you can’t do liquids, because I would want you to go to Starbucks and just order everything on the menu to test.
I wish you could test the validity of the device itself. I am a skeptic despite how much I’ve read about the company and their goals in making this product. I would be curious to see how your test results on a certain product matched against a true GF test and whether the results were similar (versus false positives or false negatives).
The conversation above about Xantham gum is interesting. I’ve wondered what could possible upset my system with my GF/DF/EF/SF/Paleo pizza crust – this may be it!
So, ok, I can’t really suggest this without entering into “shameful confession” territory, but I’d really, really love for you to test fast-food fries….
I’m dying to know if Schar’s croissants (that supposedly have the gluten removed) are actually safe to eat. I drool over them at the super market but can’t bring myself to eat them. PLEASE test and report back!
This is so nice of you, because those capsules are expensive! I agree about the Bob’s Red Mill rolled oats, I have some that someone gave me and I’m scared to use them. Also would love you to test Daiya cheese and McCormick spices, cinnamon in particular. thank you!
Don’t bother with McCormick cinnamon – order from King Arthur flours online. Their cinnamon is richer and works much much better (unless you are trying to sprinkle into coffee – might try filling a shaker if that’s the case). Also their baking powder is aluminum and gluten free.
TYSON (FROZEN) CHICKEN BREAST.
Several people (including myself) have had a reaction to Tyson (frozen) Chicken Breast. Their “broth” seems to be the culprit, but Tyson’s website marks this item as gluten-free. I don’t think it will be enough to show up on a Nima, but it would be nice to give Tyson a kick in the teeth for the pain they’ve caused.
And, of course, I’m dying to test Cheerios.
I think I may have reacted to their gluten-free nuggets. Those contain xanthan gum.
1) I would like you to test Diaya mozzarella cheese (dairy free) shreds. They use it at a local completely gluten free restaurant and I get sick with all the gluten symptoms every time I tried to eat there (which wasn’t the case before I had to go dairy free when I ate there). Then I made my own pizza at home using the diaya cheese and got sick too. It says it is gluten free, but I’m not sure about that.
3) Eggo gluten free waffles.
My concern is that, for many foods, it would not detect all contamination. Imagine a salad with a some crouton crumbs mashed into it. Unless you tested the whole salad, it would probably miss the contamination.
I expect that the device works, but you cannot take your whole meal and test it – only a little bit that goes into the hopper. So, I can see it as a helpful aid for crowdsourcing independent tests of prepared GF food, but it is less useful at a restaurant. Unfortunately.
Correction, I meant “packaged” GF food.
In addition to the above mentioned products, I would like these tested please:
McCormick GF gravy packets.
Three Bakers Bread
Van’s Waffles
Teddie’s Peanut Butter
Bisquik Pancake mix.
My son and I are asymptomatic Celiacs (no really symptoms – only found out about the Celiac because my son wasn’t growing.)
Thank you for your honest appraisal of GF products.
How about Cheerios?
A few products have been repeated showing that more than a few people are having problems with them, even though they are touted as gluten free. I’ll be interested to see ANY results you have with the labeled gluten free items. This will be a good way of finding out if we are being duped, and also, a good way to start an avalanche of consumers saying “no” to their so called gluten free products. Money talks, lack of money going into their coffers will talk even louder. Either the item is gluten free or it is not. No more! If they want to label it gluten free, then make it gluten free. Period!
I love this! Can’t wait to hear about results!!!!
As so many others have mentioned ( sorry, I am late to the discussion…): Bob Red Mills products and especially gf oats.
As I have also become dairy-free, I have not eaten any cereal in like 6 years… but still am curious about the whole gf Cheerios…
For those of you who have been experiencing problems with bottled dried spices: i buy Simply Organic spices. They have no anti-caking ingredients added to them. They are 100% pure spice; worth the extra money if you ask me
Thank you for doing this!
The reason I found Glutendude.com was from searching for Bob’s Red Mill after I got sick from their “gluten free” flour. I guarantee it is not safe!
Frozen veggies- It seems that to to many options for frozen veggies are manufactured by brands that also make lots of wheat ingredient frozen items too. Ever found a frozen piece of corn in bag of peas? I feel like bits of wheat are just as easily getting contaminated in those bags too.
Lentils- While technically gluten free, they are grown in rotation with a lot of wheat. I feel like they have a pretty high potential of cross contamination. Especially since I have found wheat kernels mixed in with dried lentils on more than one occasion.
P.A.N. brand corn meal arepa mix. Arepas are awesome Venezualan corn muffins that you can stuff with whatever you want. The packaging says gluten free, but I swear I get sick when I eat them. Either that or dried corn masa for making homemade tortillas, I’m usually fine with those, but every once in a while there is a bag of mix that I just can’t bring myself to finish.
Aren’t you in LA, at the moment?? There’s a Chinese Restaurant that claims to be safe for Celiac’s…I’m dying to know if it is. Mandarette!
But otherwise…the Trader Joe’s products, for sure!
Please do Cheerios and Lucky Charms which is what everyone says. My 6 yo is so mad at me because I refuse to let her eat them based on what I’ve read here. How about Udi’s holey bread? Candy corn! Is there really wheat in it? My daughter reacted and it was just made on equipment in a facility. Aldi’s products would be another one!