My son, who had a severe regression at 18 months because of a severe intolerance to gluten and two genes for celiac, has only gotten sick twice in the year he has been gluten free. The first time WAS A REACTION TO RICE DREAM that was labelled “contains gluten from barley protein at less that 0.002%” that was purchased by accident. His severe reaction to miniscule traces of barley was actually what made me realize that the gluten intolerance was behind his illness. The second time he got sick with foul diarrhea, red cheeks and cold symptoms and fussiness was A REACTION TO RICE DREAM that was labelled GLUTEN FREE. I thought the company had changed their recipe and that it no longer contained barley. Apparently it didn’t…The company took BARLEY off the label because it was such a small amount and because of testing which determined it was gluten free.
This letter is courtesy of Austin’s GFCF Diet Journal…He wrote to the company and received this reply.
Dear Customer,Thank you for taking the time to contact us regarding our Rice Dream Beverage. We apologize for the delay in our reply and appreciate your patience. We strive to maintain the highest quality products and we appreciate your patronage.
Analytical testing methods and detection limits have improved over the years. Recent testing shows that the Rice Dream Beverages (as well as the barley protein used to make the product) meet gluten free requirements. This has probably been true historically, however analytical testing methods did not permit us to make this claim. We have always maintained a conservative stance regarding gluten in the beverages. The same rigorous standards now allow us to declare them gluten free. The formula and processing methods for Rice Dream beverages have not changed. Each batch will be tested appropriately.
Thank you for your continued support. If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us at 1-800-434-4246, Monday through Friday from 7AM – 5PM Mountain Time.Sincerely,
Consumer Relations Representative
The human body is, apparently, more sensitive than some tests. Since gluten is toxic to people with celiac, no amount is safe for those who are super sensitive.
Dee/reddirtramblings - If he isn’t allergic to nuts, I really like the almond milk produced by Diamond Nuts. It tastes better than Rice Dream or soy milk.~~Dee
Mae - Even though Hain CLAIMS their rice beverage product is gluten-free, it is NOT. Since I changed from So Delicious coconut milk to Hain’s Rice Dream rice milk I have had increasingly horrific pain in my upper right flank, low-grade fever, terrible fatigue, and horrible diarrhea for the last six months. My body was acting like I had been glutened. I have spent months trying to figure out what I was eating that had gluten in it. The answer was: nothing. Apparently, I was drinking it.
Two days ago, I did a Google search for “Rice Dream rice milk gluten” and found many celiac forums and Celiac Disease experts cautioning against this brand of rice milk. Many people have written online in celiac forums about how they react badly to Rice Dream rice milk. When I started using Rice Dream rice milk, I had checked out Hain’s website to make sure that Rice Dream was gluten free before purchasing it. They said it was.
They lie – and the FDA allows this lie.
Hain uses a barley enzyme in the beginning process of making the milk. Hain is lying when they say on their site: “Is Rice Dream Beverage a gluten free product? Yes. Although Rice Dream Beverage is processed using a barley enzyme, the barley enzyme is discarded after use. The final beverage might contain a minute residual amount (less than .002%) of barley protein.” They state that they use it and then “throw it out.” But apparently it is still in the rice milk no matter what they say because I have reacted strongly to it. In fact, once the barley enzyme is in the rice milk, how in the world can it be separated out?
Hain also says that any gluten that might be in their product is below the FDA threshold of 20 ppm. But the problem is that the commercial tests for gluten contamination have some difficulty detecting hordein (the type of gluten protein found in barley) when the hordein has been broken down into smaller pieces or protein fragments.
It is also possible that there is not enough residual gluten left in the product for testing to detect (at least not with current tests), but there is plenty of gluten in Rice Dream rice milk for our bodies to detect it and be damaged by it, especially in people who tend to be very sensitive to even trace amounts of gluten.
More and more people do not trust the Rice Dream beverage – and they do indeed react like I have reacted. In fact, I drank the Rice Dream rice milk long enough to do further damage to my duodenum. It could take months and months to get over this glutening episode.
One would think that Hain would be more concerned about the dangers of gluten (and celiac disease) and not sell products that are made with anything that ever contained gluten. I will never buy Hain’s rice milk again or any of their products for that matter because I cannot trust them. And I will join others in spreading information all over the internet about the gluten dangers in Rice Dream rice milk.
Please do consider what I have said and do not trust what Hain claims their rice milk to be (gluten-free) because it is not. In fact, check out the statement I just found on the Rice Dream EU website: http://www.ricedream.eu/faq#n626
The FDA is as much to blame for my glutening as Hain is. The FDA is too lax in what they allow in gluten-free products. 20 ppm is way too high for many Celiacs like myself. Celiac Disease is serious. A teensy tiny bit will make some of us truly suffer. Printing gluten free on a product that has even a smidge of gluten can be toxic for someone like me.
I have been off the Rice Dream for 2 days. Already the pain is subsiding and I am feeling a bit better.
I am so angry at Hain, I could spit nails!