Coconut Flour

[hezzier]

Has anyone found or looked for a coconut flour that is safe for TNA? 

[MandCmama]

I'm curious as to what one uses coconut flour for... It sounds yummy!

[hezzier]

It's used instead of wheat flour...my DH prefers to follow the paleo diet so he doesn't eat gluten by choice.  I was thinking if I could come up with some safe coconut flour than I could make some baked goods for breakfast while on vacation. 

[twinturbo]

When I use anything coconut to cook I use the brands imported by Edward & Sons. Coconut is tricky because it is one of those items almost exclusively of foreign origin meaning whatever facility info we get for "safety" is all second hand through the trading company who is probably emailing or faxing over requests for facility information... where? In what language? Where's the oversight?

That's problem 1 of 2.

The second part is coconut is considered a tree nut so if you call on whether or not it's shared line with tree nuts you may get a logical yes if not a botanically accurate yes. Anyhow, we use Edward & Sons coconut milk, flour, etc. because I'm most comfortable with them as the importer with their attention to labeling practices. I also know the likelihood of knowing what path the coconut has taken from harvest to product shelf is anyone's guess so I just accept those risks.

[Jessica]

Is their coconut water safe for pa/tna? I have a recipe that calls for it and I'd like to try it but none of the companies whose coconut water I can buy locally have replied to my emails.

[Jessica]

Found some allergen info for them and it says not safe for tna for the flour.
http://www.edwardandsons.com/specialdiets_peanutstreenuts.itml
says at the top that they aren't counting coconut as a tree nut so there is some kind of tree nut other than coconut in the plant. Looks like the coconut water is fine though.

[hezzier]

Well, it says there are tree nuts in the same plant.  For me, I would need to make a phone call to see what the set up is, but I don't have time to do that today.

[twinturbo]

Yeah, out of all the importers that put their brand on a product of foreign origin Edward & Sons does try... but "safe" on a product that is essentially processed elsewhere unknown to the Canadian or US importer is dubious at best. Most coconut available to us here is from Sri Lanka, Philippines, Thailand. So it's less about the importer and more about the supplier and knowing first hand how those communications go I feel no less safe buying Chaokoh brand coconut milk than a can with a US brand label put on the same product. But, I would have somewhere to backtrack to if it proved to be grossly contaminated.

I do appreciate what an importer like Edward & Sons does for labeling but it's not the whole story and for products of nearly complete foreign origin with little more than an English language label put on them it's nearly impossible to sort "safe" from "unsafe".

The following is CYA from Edwards & Sons. "Life is fraught with risks.." Nice.

We have prepared a number of charts and lists to help those on special diets select appropriate items from our range of offerings. Please refer to the link "More Info -> Special Diets" on the menubar at the top of page, and refer back often when shopping our web site.

Some individuals who are sensitive to one ingredient, such as gluten, may also be sensitive to other ingredients, such as soy or fermented foods. Therefore, always read the full ingredient list for any packaged product before consuming it, and remember to consult with your physician if your safety depends upon your dietary selection.

Disclaimer: Life is fraught with risks, especially for those who have extreme food allergies. The human body is one of the most sensitive instruments on the planet.  It reacts to miniscule amounts of materials it can not tolerate, far smaller amounts than we are able to test for. As such, while we take great care to properly designate the dietary status of our foods on packaging and charts, this is intended only as a guideline to help consumers with dietary preferences to shop more easily. It is our best effort, but it is not a warranty that an offending material is positively absent from the reference food.

Remember that, when items are designated to be free-from a particular material, we mean that they are made without any ingredients that are generally considered to contain that material. For example, when we list an item as gluten-free, we are informing that it has been made without any ingredients that are generally considered to contain gluten, such as wheat, oats, barley, etc. While we randomly test the item to reconfirm the accuracy of our designation, it is important to note that such tests are always limited by the lowest level of the material the analysis is able to detect (in the case of gluten, we test to 5 parts per million). For more details, or if you have additional questions, please write to info@edwardandsons.com.

Because of how and where coconut is sourced I would not rule out Bob's Red Mill because they do their own milling and you may get even more transparency there about the exact processing than an importer that does NONE of their own milling or manufacturing, instead relying on second hand information that might have been lost in translation or changes constantly.

[hezzier]

So I'm back on the hunt.  I've emailed a few companies and it will be interesting to see what comes back.

[hezzier]

Looks like I found a brand for flour and oil...
We actually already have some of their coconut oil since a friend had suggested the brand to DH.


Hi

Thank you for writing Tropical Traditions!  The facility that processes our coconut oil and coconut products is dedicated to coconut products only. It is free of gluten, milk/dairy, peanut, and tree nuts.

I hope you will find this helpful.  If you have additional questions, please reply to this email or contact us at our toll free # 1-866-311-2626 ext. 2 and a representative will be happy to assist you.  If we are busy helping other customers, please leave a voice message with your name, phone number and a convenient time to reach you, and we will return your call.
      
Have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,

Jennifer            
Tropical Traditions Customer Service
1-866-311-2626 Ext. 2
help@tropicaltraditions.com