ATTENTION: When reading pet food labels, watch out for "wheat FLOUR" too.

[MonteLukast]

My dad bought a 4-pack of 9-Lives cuts-and-gravy canned cat food. So I'm thinking, "Wait a minute; isn't that on the recall list?"

But Dad says he's read the label, and there's no gluten in it.

So I read the list. And he's right: no gluten... but I do read, "Wheat Flour."

Naturally, I'm thinking, "doesn't flour contain gluten?"

Sure enough, it does:

"When wheat flour is mixed with water, a complex protein called gluten develops"
People with Celiac Disease have long known this
"Candies may contain gluten if flour is one of the ingredients"

There are many, MANY links testifying to this.

There is a way to remove the gluten from flour, forming wheat starch. However, wheat starch is still not considered acceptable in the celiac diet, unless it is a particular high-quality brand of wheat starch (Codex Alimentarius) that, at present, is only available in Europe.

That would indicate to me that it is extraordinarily difficult, in America, to completely remove gluten from wheat flour, and that therefore we need to consider wheatflour as well as wheat gluten, to disqualify a suspect pet food.

I know this whole post sounds like a no-brainer, but just as "white grape juice from concentrate" has been exposed as a virtually nutrition-free "healthy" sugar equivalent, we need to keep in mind ALL of the aliases and disguises in which offending ingredients present themselves.

[enki23]

1. oh, for chrissakes...

of COURSE wheat flour contains wheat gluten. the problem isn't with the damned wheat, it's with a particular batch (or multiple batches) of potentially contaminated wheat gluten from a particular processor in china. this is like flipping out about some contaminated corn oil and deciding you can't eat the sweetcorn from your neighbor's garden.

jesus, people. some of you're being... silly, to put it nicely.

[Warpy]

4. No kidding, without the naturally occurring gluten in wheat

we'd be eating nothing but tortillas and porridge, not bread.

The best things for folks who are owned by cats and dogs to do is just check the list daily, observe the furry critters for any change in habit or wellness, and consult the vet if you spot any changes. Blood work isn't that expensive.

And if you don't find your food on the list, feed it to the cat or dog.

[kirby]

2. 9-lives is okay

From their website:

'9Lives is not affected by the Del Monte Pet Product voluntary national recall or the Menu Foods recall.'

[kestrel91316]

3. BS. Wheat gluten is a food additive strictly defined in US food laws.

It also is found naturally in wheat flour. DUH.

The ADDITIVE wheat gluten from one company was found to be adulterated. This does not mean that all flour is adulterated, lol.

Get a grip. This is getting really absurd, people.