During one of my recent grocery store gluten-free sleuthing trips, I came across a corn cake mix that looked gluten-free, but since I was not aware of the company’s labeling allergen policy, I did not buy it. CHI-CHI’S makes the mix and the company is owned by Hormel whose policy is to list all major allergens including wheat (as required by law). However, the company does not list all forms of gluten on product labels. After checking the extensive Hormel gluten-free product list online, I found out that the CHI-CHI’S Sweet Corn Cake Mix is indeed gluten-free.
Many items in the CHI’CHI’S line are gluten-free and so are many from La Victoria which is also owned by Hormel. I’ve been using La Victoria enchilada sauce for several years now. La Victoria is actually cheaper at our Whole Foods than at Publix. Many ready-made enchilada sauces and sauce mixes still contain gluten. In most product lines that make such items, the gluten ingredient used is wheat which is easy to spot on the label.
Since I was intrigued by the corn cake mix at Publix, I kept checking the labels of various items and was surprised to find that wheat is no longer listed in the enchilada sauce from Old El Paso. However, General Mills owns that product line and presently none of the Old El Paso items are on the Live gluten-freely website which lists all items that the company deems gluten-free. It would be terrific if the sauce eventually made it to the gluten-free product list, but that might not be feasible due to the way the item is processed.
Below is a list of the CHI’CHI’S and La Victoria items that are currently on the Hormel gluten-free product list:
- CHI-CHI’S® Chips – all varieties
- CHI-CHI’S® Con Queso
- CHI-CHI’S® Corn Tortillas
- CHI-CHI’S® Fiesta Plates™ Creamy Chipotle Chicken
- CHI-CHI’S® Fiesta Plates™ Salsa Chicken
- CHI-CHI’S® Fiesta Plates™ Savory Garlic Chicken
- CHI-CHI’S® Fiesta Restaurant Seasoning Mix
- CHI-CHI’S® Fiesta Sweet Corn Cake Mix
- CHI-CHI’S® Green Chilies
- CHI-CHI’S® Nacho Cheese Snackers
- CHI-CHI’S® Taco Sauce
- CHI-CHI’S® Fiesta Salsa
- CHI-CHI’S® Garden Salsa
- CHI-CHI’S® Natural Salsa
- CHI-CHI’S® Original Salsa
- CHI-CHI’S® Picante
- CHI-CHI’S® Red Jalapenos
- La Victoria® Cilantro, Mild
- La Victoria® Cilantro, Medium
- La Victoria® Green Chiles, Diced & Whole
- La Victoria® Jalapeno Peppers, Diced
- La Victoria® Thick ‘N Chunky Verde, Mild
- La Victoria® Thick ‘N Chunky Verde, Medium
- La Victoria® Green Enchilada Sauce, Mild
- La Victoria® Green Taco Sauce, Mild
- La Victoria® Green Taco Sauce, Medium
- La Victoria® Green Salsa Jalapeno, Extra Hot
- La Victoria® Jalapeno Hot Sauce
- La Victoria® Jalapeno Peppers, Sliced
- La Victoria® Red Chili Sauce
- La Victoria® Red Enchilada Sauce, Mild
- La Victoria® Red Enchilada Sauce, Hot
- La Victoria® Red Salsa Jalapeno, Extra Hot
- La Victoria® Red Taco Sauce, Mild
- La Victoria® Red Taco Sauce, Medium
- La Victoria® Salsa Brava Hot Sauce
- La Victoria® Salsa Ranchera, Hot
- La Victoria® Salsa Suprema, M.ild
- La Victoria® Salsa Suprema, Medium
- La Victoria® Salsa Victoria, Hot
- La Victoria® Thick ‘N Chunky, Mild
- La Victoria® Thick ‘N Chunky, Hot
More information about gluten-free products from Hormel can be found on the complete listing here.
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