Gluten-Free Failures
March 9, 2009
The first great tragedy of gluten-free living: my bottle of Bayer aspirin.
I called the Bayer customer service office and reached a representative who was nice and all. Then she told me that Bayer aspirin products do not contain gluten, but they ARE manufactured in a facility that manufactures products that DO contain gluten, so there’s a slight possibility of cross-contamination.
“Okay,” I said to her, “Thank you, that’s all I needed to know.”
“Do you want to receive coupons?” she asked me.
“No…” I said, “I’m all set.”
“Are you sure? It’s very easy,” she said.
“Well, thanks, but since I’m allergic to gluten, it wouldn’t make sense for me to buy products that are possibly cross-contaminated. So no, thank you,” I explained. I don’t know why I felt the need to explain myself. It must have been some compulsive, Hermione-like trait. At least I didn’t launch into a description of the Great Gluten Experiment 2009.
“But they’re NOT cross-contaminated,” she said, “I am required to tell you that they are manufactured in a facility that also manufactures products that contain gluten, but the aspirin doesn’t contain gluten, and it’s a very slim chance that they’re cross-contaminated.”
“Yes, but I’m allergic to gluten, and if there’s even a chance that they’re cross-contaminated, I don’t want to take it,” I said, now regretting that I hadn’t just said goodbye and hung up.
“But we’re held to very strict guidelines by the blah blah blah bureau and we follow those standards exactly,” she told me.
“That’s great,” I said, “thank you, but I just don’t want any coupons. It wouldn’t make sense for me to receive them since I wouldn’t be buying the product.”
“Well, can I have your name and address for our records please?” She sounded a little miffed.
“No, I’d rather not,” I said, “Unless there are any other Bayer products that aren’t manufactured in a facility that processes medicines that contain gluten.”
“No, all Bayer aspirin products are manufactured in that facility,” she replied.
“Okay, thanks. Bye now,” I went to hang up.
“You have a good day and thank you for calling Bayer Health Care Associates and we hope you appreciate our…” she said, talking faster and faster in an attempt to get it all in before I hung up. I didn’t wait to hear the rest.
So there you have it: Bayer contains gluten, which means I can’t ease my aching back today. C’est la vie. I think I’ll live.
Entry Filed under: Me in Real Life. Tags: aspirin, bayer, gluten, gluten free.
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1.
fatty | March 9, 2009 at 2:55 pm
You could get a neck rub. That sometimes alleviates headaches.
ALSO Have you given any thought to the possibility that you might need chiropractic care on an ongoing basis? The occassional adjustment works wonders for me as I collect stress in my neck….in the form of pain (not fretting). My neck stress causes me head pain. Thats the rub.
2.
Ryan | March 10, 2009 at 8:23 am
i think that the amount of pharmaceutical products that contain gluten would absolutely knock your socks off.
cough drops, for instance.
it’s not pharmaceutical, but twizzlers.
it’s really crazy! and sometimes, in order to preserve it in the freezer, fish is packed in gluten.
NUUUUTS!
3.
somebody who loves me | March 11, 2009 at 1:24 pm
You could probably take the aspirin just fine. Cross contaminations happen so rarely and when they do, they are normally caught by the Quality Control department before the product is released to the public.
There is the EXTREMELY MINOR times when it happens AND the product is released to the public, but it’s so minor, that it doesn’t count.
Think about it, how many time has asiprin been contaminated in the facility where it is manufactured? And if you calculate those times with the numbers of batches of products created, it becomes negligible.
You should have taken the coupons.
4.
Caren | March 20, 2009 at 2:57 pm
I think it best to err on the side of caution. If there is even a slight chance of cross-contamination, don’t risk it.
I had a bizarre incident happen while purchasing private lable vitamins from Sprouts Farmer’s Market. My GI doctor recommended I start taking a variety of daily vitamins due to malabsorbtion issues from Celiac’s. I chose Sprouts brand because they are advertised as being gluten free, free of artificial color and flavorings, etc.
After taking daily doses from several different bottles over many days time, I realized that one of the “tablets” didn’t look quite right… it should have been a soft gel A & D vitamin, but instead was a pink, fruity smelling tablet.
When I contacted the store about what could possibly be wrong with this picture, they gave me the run around like you wouldn’t believe! The store manager had me contact the corporate office and the vitamin buyer who asked I send several samples of the tablets to the vitamin manufacturer for analysis. I said I would do so providing they shared the results with me. Several weeks went by, and bottom line, I had to call the manufacturer who informed me that they would not be disclosing the results with me and basically said tough luck!
Be very careful about buying products from even a so called reputable company!
5.
SavvyChristine | March 20, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Wow! Thanks for the tip. I’ve been (slowly) finding out that even products that advertise gluten-free ingredients can become cross-contaminated. The manufacturer’s annoying reaction essentially tells it all, though. “Tough luck — these contain gluten, but we’re not going to tell you!” I’m surprised they didn’t stick out their tongues as well.