Email from Heinz!
August 7, 2007
Thank you for your interest in Heinz Products. We certainly understand how difficult it can be to find foods that meet the requirements of a restricted diet.
As you requested, the following is a listing of all of our products that do NOT have gluten containing ingredients. If the product you asked about is not on this list, then it does have gluten containing ingredients.
HEINZ PRODUCTS:
Heinz Ketchup (All Varieties)
Heinz Organic Ketchup
Heinz One Carb Ketchup
Heinz No Sodium Added Ketchup
Heinz Hot & Spicy Kick’rs
Lea & Perrins Products– All Varieties
Jack Daniel’s EZ Marinader — Teriyaki Variety
Jack Daniel’s EZ Marinader — Garlic & Herb Variety
Distilled White Vinegar
Red Wine Vinegar
Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple Cider Flavored Vinegar
CLASSICO PASTA SAUCES:
All Classico Pasta Sauces
TGI FRIDAY’S SALSA:
Both Mild and Medium Salsa in 16-ounce jar
DELIMEX PRODUCTS:
UPC CODE: PRODUCT NAME:
1769600012 Taquitos, 36 ct. Delimex Chicken
1769600018 Tamales, 12 ct. Delimex Beef
1769600019 Tamales, 12 ct. Delimex Chicken & Cheese
1769600020 Taquitos, 24 ct. Smart & Final Beef
1769600024 Tamales, 6 ct. Delimex Beef
1769600028 Taquitos, 25 ct. Delimex Beef
1769600029 Taquitos, 25 ct. Delimex Chicken
1769600048 Taquitos, 36 ct. Delimex Beef
1769600095 Taquitos, 12 ct. Delimex Beef
1769600096 Taquitos, 12 ct. Delimex Chicken
1769600133 Taquitos, 22 ct. Schwan’s Beef w/ Salsa
1769600155 Tamales, 15 ct. Costco Beef
1769600159 Tamales, 20 ct. Delimex Beef, Costco
1769600180 Taquitos, 60 ct. Delimex Beef
1769600186 Taquitos, 60 ct. Sam’s Club Beef
1769600206 Tamales, 2 ct. Trader Joe’s Beef
1769600207 Tamales, 2 ct. Trader Joe’s Chicken & Cheese
1769600214 Taquitos, 25 ct. Delimex 3-Cheese
1769600222 Tamales, 6 ct. Schwan’s Beef
1769600481 Taquitos, 36 ct. Delimex Beef (Mexico Import)
1769600500 Taquitos, Delimex Beef / Deli-Pak
1769600505 Taquitos, Mini, 40 ct. Beef, Snacker Tray w/ salsa
1769600554 Tamales, Cheese Deli Bulk Pack
1769600555 Tamales, Chicken Deli Bulk Pack
1769600556 Tamales, Beef Deli Bulk Pack
1769600565 Tamales, 20 ct.Beef, Sams Club
1769600684 Taquitos, 66 ct. Costco Beef
1769600685 Taquitos, 66 ct. Costco Chicken
1769601208 Tamales, 2 ct. Trader Joe’s Cheese & Green Chiles
ORE-IDA PRODUCTS:
UPC CODE: PRODUCT NAME:
13120XXXXX- ALL VARIETIES of Ore-Ida® Tater Tots®
1312000080 Ore-Ida Golden Patties® (9 ct.)
1312000198 Ore-Ida® Snackin’ Fries ™ (10.5 oz.)
1312000258 Ore-Ida® Golden Fries® (32 oz.)
1312000278 Ore-Ida® Golden Fries® (5 lb.)
1312000286 Ore-Ida® Golden Crinkles® (32 oz.)
1312000291 Ore-Ida® Golden Crinkles® (5 lb.)
1312000296 Ore-Ida® Pixie Crinkles (26 oz.)
1312000377 Ore-Ida® Cottage Fries (32 oz.)
1312000392 Ore-Ida® Southern Style Hash Browns (32 oz.)
1312001417 Ore-Ida Extra Crispy Fast Food Fries (26 oz.)
1312000469 Ore-Ida® Potatoes O’Brien (28 oz.)
1312000647 Ore-Ida® French Fries (8 lb.)
1312000654 Ore-Ida® Country Style Hashbrowns (6 lb.)
1312000801 Ore-Ida® Shoestrings® (5 lb)
1312000809 Ore-Ida® Crunch Time Classics Straight Cut (24 oz.)
1312000810 Ore-Ida® Crunch Time Classics Crinkle Cut (24 oz.)
1312000828 Ore-Ida® Shoestrings® (28 oz.)
1312000829 Ore-Ida® Shoestrings® (40 oz.)
1312000833 Ore-Ida® Country Style Hashbrowns (30 oz.)
1312000845 Ore-Ida® Deep Fries Crinkle Cuts (24 oz.)
1312000854 Ore-Ida® Hash Browns (5 lb.)
1312000862 Ore-Ida® Country Style Hashbrowns (6 lb.)
1312001012 Ore-Ida® Potato Wedges with Skins (24 oz.)
1312001190 Ore-Ida® Steak Fries (3.75 lb.)
1312008564 Ore-Ida® Golden Crinkles® (8 lb.)
1312008565 Ore-Ida® Golden Fries® (8 lb.)
1312008572 Ore-Ida® Golden Crinkles® (8 lb.)
Again, we appreciate you taking the time to contact us. If you need further information, feel free to call us at this toll-free number
(1-800-255-5750). Our offices are open Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM until 6:00 PM, Eastern Time.
Heinz Consumer Resource Center
Heinzconsumeraffairs@us.hjheinz.com
When contacting us, please refer to the following reference number: 002686800A
HEINZ/JNEEL
P.S. – For your convenience, here’s a recipe for a barbecue sauce without gluten-containing ingredients:
Heinz Ketchup Basic Barbecue Sauce
½ cup Heinz Tomato Ketchup
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons Heinz Apple Cider Vinegar
2 tablespoons Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon celery seed
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon hot pepper sauce
In saucepan, combine all ingredients.
Simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes.
Brush ribs or chicken with sauce during last 10 minutes of grilling or broiling.
Makes about ¾ cup of sauce.
Just returned from Argentina. I found if you tell waiters and cooks that you have :”Celiaca” they understand very well. Also found that small health food stores were well supplied with gluten free products, and it is a law that all super markets have to have a gluten free shelf. In some ways they were more well versed that people in the food business in the United States! My worst experience was on my flight home on Delta, when they did not have my gluten free meals, and I had trusted they would, as they had my meals on the 12 hour flight down….good lesson always have your own food just in case…Annie
I read the email from Heinz that you posted. This is wrong!
I haven’t checked all these products, but definitely Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce should be avoided – like the plague. Unless the recipe is different in the US than it is in Canada, then its main component is MALT.
Celiacs need to be on high alert when talking to any company that lists so many of its products as gluten free. I recently called Nestle and asked about their quality street chocolates and was told which were gluten free and which were not. I ate 1 1/2 pieces of the ones that were supposed to be gluten free – big mistake!
Do your research yourself and don’t trust anyone but another Celiac who has first hand experience with the product in question.
Sincerely,
Anna
Anna, Thank you for your message. In fact, you are mistaken. The ingredients are very different here in the United States. L&P is safe here (no malt, no gluten ingredients at all). And I do all of my research myself
I always read the labels, no matter what. It is also important to note that we have labeling laws here that prevent a company from listing a product as “gluten-free” that is not gluten-free, which is why so few will do it, even if their product IS safe, because they don’t want to take the chance of a lawsuit.
On another note, if you called the company (Nestle) and they told you the chocolate was gluten-free, how do you know that it wasn’t? I have made several (!) pounds of fundge this year using Nestle sem0sweet chocolate chips. I have not gotten sick. The label states that they contain no gluten-ingredients. Perhaps this is another product that is different in the United States?
Thanks again for checking my website.
Tiffany
I got the following email reply from Anna (I hope it is ok to post this, please let me know if it is not Anna!) and following is my reply, for everyone’s info
Tiffany,
I know the chocolate was not gluten free because I ate it and got
sick! How else would I know? As I stated in my email “unless the
recipe is different” and as you are pointing out, it is different.
Thank you for that clarification. In Canada, Malt is the first
ingredient in Lea & Perrins and so the product is definitely not
gluten free, as you know.
I have been newly diagnosed after years of getting sicker and sicker
with no clue to as to why. The internet is my biggest research
network and it might not be a bad idea to state somewhere that many
products have considerably different formulations, country by country,
and that certain information is valid only in the US. Your website
was a joy to visit and holds a great amount of information,
unfortunately, not for me.
Again, thank you, when I travel to the states, I’ll be able to enjoy
this sauce.
Sincerely,
Anna
And I replied:
Thanks for your reply! I was wondering about the chocolate because if the ingredients are not different between here and Canada with Nestle, then I would advise you to keep in mind that it doesn’t always mean “gluten” when you get sick. I have had to learn this the hard way. I have eaten food that I knew for a fact to be gluten-free, and I got sick. I have found that I have other food intolerances, like Teff, a gluten-free grain. I also have a hard time with sweet potatoes (they give me headaches). I used to assume that it was gluten that made me sick since the symptoms are all the same (for things like Teff, for me), but I have had to learn that getting sick does NOT mean gluten. It is a possability, of course, but it isn’t a sure-fire test.
I am so glad that you are getting better after years of being sick!! I, too, was sick for several years before being diagnosed. I will make a note on my site, I had not even thought about that before (the difference in countries!) so thank you sooo much for pointing that out!
I wish you a very Merry Christmas!
Tiffany