Natural Meats – Yet Another Hidden Source of Gluten and Who Knows What Else

Having a child with celiac has really opened my eyes to all the additives put in our foods that for the most part we are not even aware of. I use to think that I ate relatively healthy and was at least aware of the types of things going into my body. Boy, was I wrong.

Recently, when I went to open a package of pre-made “all-natural” burgers to throw on the grill for dinner, I noticed on the front of the package that it stated “natural flavors added.” No where on the packaging did it list exactly what these “natural” ingredients were. So much for my daughter having a burger with us that night — she happily ate just french fries and chedder cheese instead.

Since it was the store brand meat, I called the grocery store the next morning to see if the manager or someone in the meat department could tell me what had been added. The gentleman I talked to said it could range from seasonings such as salt, pepper, garlic, water and the like to chemicals for preservation like sodium nitrite, dextrose, lactic acid, etc. When pressed he didn’t know whether it was for sure gluten free or if MSG (monosodium glutamate – a chemical that itself does not always contain gluten but many celiacs react negatively to). He was nice and apologetic about the situation but said a lot of the meats sold have such additives. And I thought I was doing the right thing by buying “natural meat.”

So next time I went to the grocery store, I looked a bit more carefully at the labels for meat. Indeed, items from whole chickens to pork chops and frozen shrimp often have some type of additive. The better labels tell you what these are so you can choose. There also are some of the “natural” or “organic” products that appear from their labels to be just meat.

I also did a little research online — apparently the USDA definition for “natural” is rather vague. Meat must only be minimally processed and not contain artificial or synthetic ingredients. Yet there appear to be wildly different ideas about what artificial and synthetic ingredients are. And the “natural” label alone does not mean that the animal was raised without hormones or antibiotics. Gluten and MSG both appear to be naturally enough to be allowed under that label.

An additional scary bit for folks with food allergies or who just like to know what they are eating is that a 1958 Food Additives Amendment allows food additives that are “generally recognized as safe” to be exempt from the FDA testing process. Yikes – and if the meats I buy at the grocery store can be this confusing, I am sure meats I eat out can have even more added to them before they find their way to my plate!

The lesson I guess is to (1) read all food labels carefully ever time you shop, (2) fill out the comment cards at the grocery store stressing you want to know by name what all the ingredients are in the food you consume and (3) vote!! (And talk with your representative(s) about the importance of food labeling!)

For the full definition and other information visit the USDA website.