Too Good to Be True? The Dangers of Cocoa Pebbles...

I was ecstatic when gf Cocoa Pebbles came out a few months ago.

I posted about it here.

The good news is, they are delicious.

The bad news is, they gave me a gluten reaction yesterday.

This is my niece, describing how sad it is when her aunt has a gluten reaction.

The first box I bought and tried last month was okay. I had a little tummy cramping but convinced myself it was fine... I didn't want to give up my first junk food cereal since going gluten free.

But yesterday, I became sure. I had a bowl, and within half an hour (my usual gluten incubation time) I was feeling fuzzy-headed, exhausted, achy, and all of the lovely digestive feelings that go along with gluten.

I did a bit of research and learned that Post self-certifies its products as gluten free, and gives no official statements on cross-contamination or whether its products are produced in a dedicated facility. They don't allow any outside organizations to test their products for gluten. Not good.

When a company decides to label a product it produces as gluten free, it has a responsibility to make sure that's true. Sadly, as of now the FDA doesn't have any strict labeling standards. Any company that wants to can label any product as "gluten free," without being forced to adhere to any standard of how many parts per million of gluten they can include.

This is why there's been a recent push for better federal standards. Sites like 1 in 133 are lobbying the FDA for better standards. Progress is slow, and because of this slow progress, I got to spend last night laying on the couch instead of out to a movie with my husband. Grar.

If you don't react to much gluten, you're probably fine with Cocoa Pebbles. If you have Celiac disease or are highly sensitive, steer clear. Try Chocolate Chex instead - those are much safer.