The post also goes into the differences between Sandwich and Competitive ELISAs, the two most commonly-seen forms of ELISA test.

While you’re there, be sure to check out the other awesome things on Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom: recipes, menu plans, super-informative videos from Dr. Vikki Petersen, etc etc etc.

You know that game that kids and psychologists alike play “What´s the first word that comes to mind when I say…?”

Let´s play.

What the first word that comes to mind when I say Sweden?

What did you think of? Snow? “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”? Well, I thought of three things: cold, happy people, and high quality furniture.

We met the lovely people from Ekomoa last week at Alimentaria, an international exhibition of food and beverages in Barcelona, Spain and got the opportunity to try their product. Needless to say, we´re kind of crazy about it.

What they do is create amazing, raw snacks out of 100% natural organic fruits, vegetables and nuts. Speaking of ingredients, Ekomoa uses a ton of different nutritious packed fruits, nuts and vegetables in their 10 varieties of sweet and savory snacks, such as: (mouth watering can begin now) bananas, coconuts, dates, zucchini, carrots, blueberries, raspberries, almonds, goji berries, sun flower seeds along with lemon, sea salt, and a variety of herbs for flavoring, just to name a few.

And you know us, we had to find out….is it too good to be true? Could such a tasty, healthy snack so jam-packed with flavor really be.…gluten-free?

We investigated a bit further into the company itself and how they create their products before we began testing their food for gluten.

We loved that they use an old-school air drying technique to make these “super snacks” rather than baking them. This way, the final product is still considered ‘raw’, which helps preserve the quality and benefits of the vitamins, minerals, fiber and enzymes of the ingredients.

Even better, there are no added sugars or preservatives – just wholesome, clean ingredients in a perfect snack on the go!

As you can see, all the ingredients used in Ekomoa´s products are naturally gluten-free. However, accidental cross contamination can be quite common even in facilities that produce only gluten-free foods, because of cross contamination during transportation or the ingredients could have already been contaminated when they arrive to the production facility. Trace amounts of a gluten containing ingredient can easily raise the level of gluten to 20 parts per million (ppm) (the Codex Alimentarius limit to consider a food gluten-free) or more.

Therefore, we´ve decided to utilize GlutenTox Home, which can test up to 5 ppm – helpful for those with extreme gluten sensitivity- to test out Ekomoa´s Banan&Blåbärskyssar snacks.

First we ground up a sample into small pieces and measured out 1 gram using the spoon provided in the kit.

We added this to the Extraction Solution in the yellow-lidded jar, shook vigorously for 2 minutes, and then let settle for 5 minutes.

Using the provided dropper, we collected some of the liquid that separated from the solids at the bottom of the jar, and since we were testing for 20 ppm, added 2 drops to the blue-lidded jar of Dilution Solution (if we wanted to test for 5 ppm, we would have added 8 drops).

After shaking gently for about 15 seconds, we added 6 drops to the analyzer (in the little well labeled ‘S’) and waited a few minutes.

Drum roll……

Success!

Our blue control line showed up first, telling us that we had correctly administered the test for gluten. We waited the full 10 minutes but not a single trace of a pink line showed up next to it, meaning, according to the Codex Alimentarius standards, that the Banan & Blåbärskyssar lot we have tested is gluten-free!

And what did it taste like?

Banana fans out there: Get your hands on a pretty flowered package of Bananbräck, you won´t be disappointed (editor’s note: they aren’t available in the US or Canada yet!). These things are like bananas’ overachieving older brother. Bananas 2.0 if you will. There´s so much banana-coconut flavor packed in there, I don´t know how I can ever go back to eating just a regular banana.

So these little pieces of heaven look like they would be crunchy like a cracker, which I was a bit worried about, because dried bananas can lose a lot of their banana-essence. But to my pleasant surprise, they were moist, soft and full of flavor. Not only that, the genius combination of coconut and cacao scattered throughout really creates a unique and dynamic taste.

Congratulations Ekomoa! And welcome to the gluten-free community!

You can find more information about Ekomoa and their fabulously fruity-nutty snacks at www.ekomoa.se (don´t be afraid of all the Swedish, Google Translate does a pretty good job translating the whole page for you) or by contacting anita@ekomoa.se.

Unfortunately there’s no easy answer, but a landmark study from 2010 is extremely illuminative. In the study, published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 22 “inherently gluten-free grains, seeds, and flours not labeled gluten-free were purchased” and sent to one of the country’s best labs for gluten detection and analysis.

The test performed on these foods was the R5 sandwich ELISA, and samples were homogenized and tested in duplicate to lessen the risk of any hot spots of gluten in the samples giving atypical results. The foods purchased included, “white rice, brown rice, white rice flour, corn meal, polenta, buckwheat, buckwheat flour, amaranth flour, amaranth seed, flax seed, millet flour, millet grain, sorghum flour, and soy flour.”

So, were these foods gluten-free? Not nearly as gluten-free as we might like to think. Of the 22 samples, only 13 (59%) tested below the limit of quantification, which was 5ppm at that time. The other nine samples (41%) contained more than 5ppm of gluten, and seven of those nine (32% of the total samples tested) contained more than 20ppm of gluten — more than the FDA’s proposed limit and the Codex Alimentarius’ internationally-recognized standard for gluten-free labeling.

What does this mean for your average grocery shopper on a gluten-free diet?

Many unlabeled items found in your normal grocery store are going to be safe for celiac consumption, but many of them are not. Certified ingredients, while more costly, are going to be a safer bet. That extra cost isn’t just for show: it goes towards the manufacturer testing incoming ingredients for gluten (often with GlutenTox Pro or GlutenTox Sticks!), thoroughly cleaning production lines in between runs of gluten-containing and gluten-free foods, and having third party analysis and inspection to ensure compliance with the certifying organization’s rules and regulations. In short: the money goes to keeping you safe if your gluten-free diet is a medically necessary one.

And what if there is no certified gluten-free option for the food you’re buying? Or what if you’re sensitive below 10ppm (the threshold most gluten-free certification organizations test to)? GlutenTox Home can be a great solution for foods, drinks or cosmetic / personal care products that might contain trace amounts of gluten. You can use the test kit to detect cross-contamination from wheat, barley, rye and even oats — and because you can adjust the test’s threshold down to 5ppm or 20ppm, the test is helpful for even very supersensitive celiacs.

Have you used GlutenTox Home to test any non-certified items and found hidden gluten? Tell us about it!

If so, this report from Biomedal will surely be of interest! 

Everybody knows that currently there is neither medical treatment nor cure for celiac disease; the only way to avoid or alleviate symptoms is by following a gluten free diet.

Ouch! The cost of eating gluten-free.

That being said, its impossible to imagine the possibility that one with celiac disease could live a normal lifestyle without the inconvenience of a gluten free diet, due to the risk of developing an autoimmune disease or even lymphoma. Fortunately, thanks to medical advances and the increase in awareness among the general population, it has become easier to find gluten free products in grocery stores and local supermarkets. The drawback is that these products require a particular manufacturing process and in some cases special ingredients, which are therefore reflected by a higher price.

So realistically, how expensive is a gluten free diet in Spain?

A recently published study by FACE (Federation of Celiac Associates of Spain), “An Investigation of prices of Gluten Free Products 2012” which is based in the comparison of the diet of an average family that lives gluten-free (including only one celiac patient in their family) and one that doesn’t, relates the prices of regular foods with those that are gluten-free. Using this study we can get an idea of how much a gluten free diet really costs to the average Spaniard.

According to the study, a gluten free Spanish family spends 1,525.18€ more a year (127.10€ monthly) than the average wheat/oat/barley eating family. Above is a graph that shows the monthly increase in the prices of food sans gluten.

Obviously, its is much more expensive living a Spanish gluten-free lifestyle than one without. A whopping 259.73% more expensive to be exact.

Let’s take a closer look at a simple “homemade” meal and see how much it costs to make it gluten-free. Why not start with the classic (and my favorite), a hamburger – complete with bun, a hamburger patty and ketchup. To keep things realistic and tastier more interesting, we’ve included ingredients that are typically more problematic while maintaining a gluten-free diet: processed meats, bread, and sauces.

The Showdown:

Hamburger with Gluten vs. Gluten-free hamburger:

• 1 (50 grams) hamburger bun
• 1 (150 grams) hamburger patty
• 1 tablespoon (12 grams) of ketchup

According to the aforementioned investigation, the following are the prices of one kilogram of the ingredients. After a few calculations, we’ve also included the cost of each ingredient, with respect to the amount we have allotted to make our meal.

You can see that there’s a huge price difference in just a simple homemade hamburger, a price increase of 178.68% no less, by making our meal gluten-free.

One has to ask, what is the Spanish government doing to help its “gluten-free citizens” absorb this huge price increase? The answer is, unfortunately, nothing at the moment. On the other hand, governments of other European countries such as Sweden, England, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Portugal and Malta offer help via income tax breaks, a lower sales tax on gluten-free foods, and even yearly grants or monthly subsidies which can include free celiac friendly products by medical prescription. Meanwhile, in Spain only a few provinces such as Navarra (northern Spain), Castilla la Mancha and Extremadura (surrounding Madrid) and the areas near Valencia offer some kind of financial assistance to those with celiac disease. However, in many cases this isn’t enough.

The Spanish government not only needs to address the lack of financial assistance towards those who have a medical need to buy these products, but also work towards a more sustainable solution to the problem, such as subsidizing the gluten-free industry so the products themselves can be more reasonably priced. Furthermore, by offering training courses in the production and proper preparation of gluten-free food to restaurant owners and the common Spanish cafeterias, those with celiac disease can dine gluten-free and worry-free at a more economically feasible price.

So we ask to all of you bloggers out there, has the time come for the Spanish government to play a more central part in the monetary lives of its celiac citizens and therefore take a more active role in regulating the production of gluten-free foods?

Biomedal Diagnostics is happy to have Tina Turbin the multi award-winning children’s author of the acclaimed Danny the Dragon children’s series as a guest for our GlutenTox blog:

As celiac disease patients and worldwide travelers, where do you find it most difficult to keep a gluten free diet? It is most difficult to keep a gluten free diet in most restaurants. When we grocery shop and cook for ourselves that is far easier. One always run the risk when eating out because that cross contamination can occur. Relaying we have celiac to a waiter or waitress in detail is very important

Is there any food you find while traveling abroad that you wish you had easy access to at home? The desserts in Europe are to die for! They just don’t make them the same in the US. Also, we have never had such amazing espresso as we did while in Europe. Can we bring it all back?

When you are eating out, what can a restaurant do to assure you that they understand celiac disease? When a restaurant offers to clean off their grill before cooking our food we feel a sense of relief. What doesn’t make us feel at ease is when our server says they understand celiac disease and then asks us if rice has gluten in it. This happens in the USA a lot, as the kids are not taught what gluten is in many schools or universities here.

Do you bring any sort of card, or phone app, or other written explanation of celiac disease with you? Does it help? We do not but we have pretty good understanding of it and can easily explain it to others. If you can’t explain celiac disease we strongly advise you to keep a good laminated card with you at all times. Ensure the chef reads it and ensure your health situation is fully understood so you can eat a meal with no concerns.

When you are eating on the go, how do you choose where to get food and what to buy? We really enjoy our local health food store, which has an amazing and full hot bar with many GF options. It has many protein and vegetable dishes to choose from which makes our busy lives easier. The gluten-free community where we live is pretty expansive so eating on the go isn’t too difficult. Many restaurants we go to these days even have a separate gluten free menu. This is a result of our many celiac groups’ efforts spreading the word.

Do you travel with some emergency-snack in case you cannot find anything that you can trust is gluten-free? If so, what do you bring? Yes, yes and yes! We may have nuts & dried fruit, some sort of home made GF protein bar, fruit etc. in our purses in case we can’t find something close by. As a celiac preplanning is a way of life.

Tina, as a children’s writer, have you been tempted to turn one of your characters celiac? In the Danny the Dragon series I have not as of yet. This does not mean that is cannot happen but that is not the direction these stories are going. I have other books in the works. I feel it is important to use my position to help get the word out about celiac disease, the importance of early detection, misdiagnosis and increased awareness. Children are very important to me. Due to the amount of writing Miranda Jade and I do on this area and on a monthly basis, we find ourselves pretty busy. Miranda Jade is taking over much of the research and writing so I can now devote more time to working in the kitchen on 100% grain free recipes and my own personal writing.

Tina Turbin became extremely interested and involved in the subjects of celiac disease and gluten a number of years ago after many years of unresolved troubles, to finally get properly diagnosed herself. She has since been a diligent researcher, writer, develops gluten-free recipes with her business partner Miranda Jade, they teamed up with top professionals, reviewing GF companies & GF cook books on their renowned website: GlutenFreeHelp.info.

As the multi award-winning children’s author of the acclaimed Danny the Dragon children’s series, Tina and Miranda Jade take great pleasure in additional writing contributions for: CeliacCentral.org, Celiac.com and EverydayHealth.com. They work in their East and West Coast studios continuing to write, promote and work within the celiac and gluten-free arena to help increase the awareness of this area and help others on a daily bases. Tina is forever writing additional children’s books to entertain the world. To stay updated please sign up for their newsletter by visiting GlutenFreeHelp.info.

Illustrations obtained from: © Copyright 2012 TinaTurbin.com

Specifically, it’s helpful to have:

• a mortar & pestle, to grind up harder samples
• a timer, so that you know your sample is shaken and settled for long enough
• a digital scale, in order to weigh a precise gram of sample (alternately you can use the provided plastic spoons!)

You might have these things around your house already, but if you don’t we recommend having a look at these in particular. All of the items featured are not only available via Amazon.com, but eligible for Amazon’s free shipping (clicking the images will take you to their site):

Mortar & Pestle	Timer	Scale

As we fine-tune everything, you might encounter the occasional hiccup. If so — please do get in touch. If we’re not already working to fix it, we’ll add it to the list and make it right ASAP.

If, for any reason, you are having trouble using the shop on the website, there is also one on our facebook page (just click “Shop” on the lefthand menu).

We hope you’re enjoying the new site!

Hooray!

The post deals with gluten detection, of course, which is an area near and dear to my heart. Specifically, I try to explain a bit about what happens when a person tests for gluten. What are they looking for? Why are some tools better than others? Where’s Waldo?

It would be silly to rewrite the post here, so I’ll just point you straight to the source: Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom

Stay tuned for more posts about the differences between lateral flow and ELISA tests, the murky world of gluten in oats, and all sorts of other tidbits of gluten-free knowledge.

Head on over to their site for details on the GlutenTox Home Giveaway, and to enter — there are 2 chances to win!

Deadline for entry is January 1, so you have a little time. Entry is easy, just click the link above (or below). You can earn up to four additional entries by sharing news about the contest; increase your odds of winning, says FaveDiets, by:

1. If you blog about this giveaway at your blog, we’ll give you an extra entry. Send us the link to your blog post.
2. If you twitter about this giveaway, you’ll get an extra entry. Please see below to easily share this contest on Twitter and earn an extra contest entry.
3. If you add a link to us on your blogroll or website, we’ll give you an extra entry. Again, please show us that link!
4. If you post a link to this contest on your Facebook page on your wall, we’ll give you an extra entry. Please see below to easily share this contest on Facebook and earn an extra contest entry.

Our favorite sentence from the review?

“It’s basic enough that anyone can use it, but the scientific element makes the process almost thrilling.”

The testers at FaveDiets used GlutenTox to check some sweetened condensed milk, and also a packet of bacon ranch dressing mix — which raises a very good point. Just because something doesn’t contain any obviously-gluten-containing ingredients does not mean it’s gluten-free! Cross contamination is a major concern.

Check back at FaveDiets next week, as they may have an additional something to say about GlutenTox (cough cough giveaway contest hint cough cough).