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MANY GLUTEN FREE PRODUCTS FOUND UNFIT FOR PESACH BY BADATZ EIDA HACHAREIDIS OF JERUSALEM
SOME GLUTEN FREE PRODUCTS ARE BEING DECLARED CHOMETZ
The revered kashrus organization, Badatz Eida Hachareidis of Jerusalem, has come out with an alert this year in their Pesach Guide regarding gluten free products.
In the Badatz’s Pesach Guide 5774 beginning on page 25 it states the following:
"Over recent years we are witness to an increase in the number of people that refrain from ingesting gluten with or without a connection to celiac disease. In the past the disease was a serious one but today there are many gluten free substitutes in the marketplace. Items made without gluten are marked “ppm20” which translates to 0.0000002% parts gluten among the ingredients.
"While it is widely believed that non-gluten flour is kosher for Pesach without concerns, this is simply not so.
"To remove any confusion regarding this matter, most flour sold as “gluten free” is in essence different starches produced on the basis of potato starch, rice, soya, buckwheat or corn, with the latter ones being kitnios."
Gluten Free Products Made from Wheat = CHOMETZ, According to the BADATZ
The guide continues....
"There is also non-gluten flour produced from wheat, which is one of the five grains and to remove the gluten which is an integral component of the wheat, the wheat is washed with a great deal of water and this leads to chametz process as the wheat begins to ferment and the resulting flour is chametz in every sense of the word."
COMPANY SELLS ITEM WITH KITNIOS FOR PESACH
Barkat, a gluten-free foods company based in the U.K., makes a gluten-free matzo cracker that's free from milk, eggs, nuts and yeast (of course). The matzos include maize (corn) starch, soy bran, tapioca starch, sugar, salt and palm oil. Barkat gluten-free matzo crackers are available by mail order in the U.S. from a few retailers.
You can find this information by clicking here.
OAT PRODUCTS MAY HAVE SAME CONCERN AS WHEAT PRODUCTS
Oat products are naturally gluten free. They do not have to undergo any process to make them gluten free.
However, oats have a natural rancid taste. The basic way to eliminate or lessen this taste is for the product to go through a steaming process.
There seems to be a new way to eliminate or lessen the rancid taste. It is by milling the oats many times.
The concern the BADATZ has with gluten free wheat products which go through a washing process in regard to be eaten on Pesach, may apply to those oat products that go through a steaming process as well.
Therefore, labeling gluten free wheat as chometz may apply to these gluten free oat products as well.
In addittion, the gluten free oat matzos pictured at left may have another Pesach concern. For information regarding this concern click here.