Gluten-Free Market Goes Mainstream

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Gluten-Free Market Goes Mainstream

July 27, 2005 1:59 PM EDT

 

ALBANY, N.Y. - For about 2 million Americans, the bread basket used to be

filled with a tasteless, brick-like loaf that crumbled when sliced.

That was the bleak world of food Bernie Mansbach found 25 years ago when he

was diagnosed with celiac disease, or an intolerance to a wheat protein

called gluten.

 

" In those days, the doctor just stuck his head in the door and said, 'Don't

eat gluten,' " said Mansbach, 74, of Scotia. " There were very few commercial

gluten-free foods available then. "

 

Now manufacturers are rolling out gluten-free equivalents of everything from

pizza crusts to doughnuts, buns and cakes. Once banished to the dusty bottom

shelves of obscure grocers, the gluten-free revolution is surfacing in the

aisles of major supermarkets.

 

At Wal-Mart, " gluten-free " products are hitting the shelves this month. The

retailing giant is requiring suppliers to identify whenever gluten is used

in its private-label products, said Bob Anderson, general merchandise

manager of the company's Great Value brand.

 

So far, 982 of the company's 1,254 products have been identified as

gluten-free.

 

What makes the market appetizing is that it's no flash in the pan. Celiac

disease is an incurable, lifelong condition, said Pam Cureton, a clinical

dietitian at the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Disease.

 

Gluten intolerance is believed to affect about one out of every 133

Americans and legions more are sensitive to gluten. Last year, the National

Institutes of Health held its first conference on the condition, concluding

the prevalence of celiac disease in the United States was much wider than

previously believed.

 

Gluten damages the small intestine of people with celiac disease and causes

symptoms that include severe cramping, diarrhea, chronic fatigue and

malnutrition. Untreated celiac disease can be life-threatening and lead to

organ disorders, according to the Celiac Center.

 

The only way to manage the condition is to banish gluten - a trickier feat

than one might expect. Wheat, rye and barley are in products ranging from

soy sauce to beer to modified food starch. Even the slightest trace can

wreak havoc on the digestive system for weeks.

 

A bowl of spaghetti simply wasn't worth the consequence for Mansbach - but

he also wasn't ready to resign himself to the dreary world of rice cakes.

 

Over the years, he started making his own bread, pizza and bagels. He

sniffed out gluten-free products in obscure, out-of-the-way grocers and had

a running list of where to score certain foods.

 

When he craved brownies, he could drive a half hour to a health food store.

If he drove farther west, he could get his hands on that coveted commodity

in the world of celiacs - gluten-free cereal. Mail-order food became

routine; stashed in his freezer at any given time are a half-dozen loaves of

bread from a Canadian company called Kinnickinick.

 

But these days, stores carry a range of gluten-free cookies, pastas and

bread, using substitutes like rice flour, arrowroot, potato and tapioca.

" There are more products to buy than I would ever eat, " Mansbach said.

 

The products are more expensive, though. A loaf of gluten-free bread, for

example, costs $3.99 compared to 99 cents for a loaf of house brand wheat

bread at Hannaford Supermarket in New York.

 

Hannaford, which operates 143 stores in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and

Maine, says it is expanding its gluten-free lineup this fall. Whole Foods

Market lists more than 800 gluten-free items, up from about 250 seven years

ago.

 

Wegmans supermarkets in New York has a " Celiac Recipe of the Week. "

 

" We hear from (people with celiac) more than any other group, because it's

such a life and death issue for them, " said Jane Andrews, corporate

nutritionist for Wegmans.

 

Still, Mansbach said many gluten-free products could be better.

 

" Some of the bread is still pretty bad, " he said. " They try to make it just

like the real thing, but it's never going to be exactly there. You just have

to accept that. "

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On the Net:

Center for Celiac Research: http://www.celiaccenter.org

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