Product Review-Riceworks' Wildrice Crisps

Wild RiceWorks: Gourmet Wildrice Crisps 

Kashrut: OU-Parve 

Website: http://www.riceworkssnacks.com/new_index_USA.html
Website features: Recipes, links for celiacs (RiceWorks has been active in celiac awareness), the option to buy snacks online (!!-for those of us in less central geographic areas/markets), nutrition facts, and lots of social media links. On their facebook page, they are featured at the Hadassah Women's Health Fair in Sacramento, CA. Awesome! 


Overview: The nice thing about going GF is that there are still many chip snacks that don't use gluten or have trace amounts of gluten in them, so all is not lost. It is a bit more challenging to find chips that are GF/DF and kosher, though--especially chips with a reliable hekscher. The ricework wild rice crisps were good--but not great. 
Riceworks crisps come in several flavors, including Salsa Fresca, Tangy BBQ, Parmesan, Sea Salt, Sweet Chili, and 'WildRice'. (I'm only reviewing WildRice-you can find out more about them at http://www.riceworkssnacks.com/WRW_Introduction.html) 


Pro's: The chips were good, I definitely enjoyed eating them and they're a quick snack that is very convenient to eat while driving (as I did) or while working on the computer, as they're not messy at all. I spread some guacamole and salsa over the crisps and really enjoyed them
Con's: These crisps tasted a little bit salty, and I found that after eating several of them, my tongue stung a little bit. Perhaps because there 110 mg of sodium/serving (which is about 16 chips.) There is, however, 3 grams of dietary fiber and 2 grams of protein--not such a bad snack after all. 

Health and Kashrut Info: 

(found in FAQ section)

Are riceworks totally gluten free?

 We can assure you riceworks is 100% gluten free. We send our samples to an outside lab, which have returned "none detected at a 3ppm level". We rely on good manufacturing practices in our plant and with our suppliers. Although the plants are not gluten free, the lines that are used to manufacture riceworks are. There are only a small number of ingredients that include gluten in our plants. These are well marked, stored separately and used on different lines, and even in different rooms in the plants. After running any allergen containing materials, a full cleaning of the line is completed before moving back to non-allergen products.

 Why do some bags say oat fiber on the ingredient list?

The oat fiber ingredient is a carbohydrate product with all protein and therefore gluten removed. The supplier of this ingredient provided a letter to Shearer's from an independent food safety specialist who assessed the product. The specialist indicated there is no risk of the provocation of celiac disease from ingesting this product. 

(GF Kosher Chef's Opinion/Disclaimer: Some people DO have serious oat sensitivities who are celiacs or Gluten intolerant, even though this company says that they do not pose a "risk of the provocation of celiac disease," I would still check with your doctor. These aren't worth the risk of damaging yourself.) 

Is there Dairy, Casein, Eggs or Peanuts in riceworks?

We do not handle any nuts (peanuts or tree nuts) or eggs in our manufacturing facility. There are no casein or dairy ingredients in any of our current flavors except for Baked Cinnamon and Parmesan & Sundried Tomato. Some dairy ingredients are used in the plant, and some on the same production line. However, there is a full wet wash of equipment after any dairy ingredients are used to avoid cross-contamination.