Are Wheat Straw Plates Gluten Free?

The Earth is steadily moving towards a more sustainable, biodegradable, and pro-user health-friendly way. Now and then, there pops up another eco-friendly product intended either for the user’s health or environment friendly and on many occasions, concerning both. One of the main concerning materials that we use every day in our life is plastic and at the same time, it is well known that plastic causes damage and pollution to our mother nature beyond our imaginations.

To prevent that from happening, many inventions are being used as alternatives to plastics. One such product is Wheat Straw Tableware such as ‘Wheat Straw Plates’. These wheat straw plates are very popular among people all around the world. But is it safe to use this item to serve our foods? Read till the end to know if they contain any potential ingredient which is a threat to the human body.

Key Takeaways

• Wheat straw plates are gluten-free. If you are on a gluten-free food diet, then you can use them without worry.
• Wheat Straw Plates are made out of harvested Wheat plants. Wheat plant stems contains Lignin which makes the fibers strong and compatible with making natural plastics.
• Non-gluten-free plant-based tableware can contaminate gluten-free foods easily.

Wheat Straw Plates and Gluten

Before jumping into the answer of if wheat straw plates contain gluten or not, first, we have to understand which one is what. It will help you to understand the relevancy between them and understand a lot of health, and environment concerning issues which we didn’t know previously. OK, Let’s start:

Wheat Straw Plates

For your easy understanding, the stems of the wheat plant contain a special substance named Lignin which makes sure that the wheat plant is standing upright. After harvesting wheat plants, through special treatment and process by mixing sugar with that Lignin can be turned into a plastic-like substance which eventually can be turned into the form of a cup, plate, spoon, etc.

Another way is to process the wheat straw into a paper-like substance, make a pulp of it and eventually give a different form to the pulp.

Gluten

Gluten is one type of organic protein that can be found primarily in wheat and some other grains like rye, barley, and triticale. Gluten, mixing with other food elements helps to keep the shape of the food product intake it is within. Though it is good for the presentation of food it has a drawback which is it is protein which is hard for our digestive system to break. Most of the people who take gluten with other food don’t gets sick of it but a few fail it to digest. As a result, they become sick of bloating, diarrhea, headaches, or skin rashes.

Are Wheat Straw Plates Gluten Free? Why or Why Not

As we now understand Wheat Straw Plates are made of natural polymers made out of wheat stems. But hold on a second! We also know Wheat contains gluten which is often non-digestive to a lot of people. Then shouldn’t the wheat straw plates also contain Gluten?

You will feel relieved to know that, ‘No, Wheat Straw Plates Don’t Contain Gluten.’ 

-How so?

As you know almost everything that is made out of wheat grains contains Gluten because the very wheat grain consists of Gluten protein. But, Wheat Straw Plates aren’t directly made out of wheat, rather they are made out of the straws or stems of the wheat plant once they are harvested. Technically, the wheat plant doesn’t contain any confirmable trace of Gluten which leads to the conclusive comment that wheat straw plates are indeed Gluten-Free. This means you will not get affected in ‘most of the conditions’ even after frequent use of wheat straw plates for eating your food.

Now you may ask if wheat Straw plates are gluten-free then why you are mentioning ‘most of the time’? Continue your reading. You will get to know.

8 Benefits of Wheat Straw Plates

Before understanding why there is an ‘IF’ regarding the use of wheat straw plastic may vary different outcome let’s know all the positive things which Wheat Straw Plates blesses us with.

1. Biodegradable

Wheat Straw Plates are Bio-gradable. Because these plates are made of plant-based natural polymers it takes more or less 3 to 6 months for disposing completely into composts. It has similarities with wheat plant disposal. After all, they are made out of wheat stems.

2. Gluten-Free

This point has already been covered briefly but there again Gluten only consists in products that are directly made out of Wheat Grains whereas Wheat Straw Plates are made out of wheat plants that don’t contain Gluten in general. Because of this, using them doesn’t cause any Coeliac disease like allergic issues, diarrhea, stomach ache, etc.

3. Renewable

One of the best things about Wheat Straw Plates is that they are 100% recyclable. Once you dump them in your trash bin they are recollected and sent for recycling. It takes a little effort to convert them into pulp again by melting. And after that, you can shape them over and over again.

4. Easy to use

Wheat Straw Plates are versatile in terms of use. Like their ceramic cousins, they also come in different shapes and colors. So you can use them to décor your type of aesthetic home. They are pretty light in terms of weight and easy to handle. You can use them just like ceramic/plastic plates but yet in a flexible way without worrying about breaking and damage.

5. Fewer resources are needed to make

Wheat Straw Plastic-based plates required very less amount of materials to make comparing artificial plastics. The Lignin found in the white plant stems forms a natural polymer in touch of sugar. After that, it is just a matter of time to become plastic pulp and converts them into products like plates.

6. Additional opportunity

Wheat Straw Plastic-based plates are a byproduct of Wheat harvesting. That means there creates an additional opportunity for the farmers who cultivate wheat to have a side income resource. It doesn’t take a large setup to process the wheat straws to make wheat straw based plastics.

7. Less Pollution

Wheat Straw Plates required a very low use of energy to make. In general, artificial plastic requires a lot of energy to process them. Melting the polymer to shape a product causes high emissions of gas like carbon (co2). Producing and recycling Wheat Straw Plates requires less energy to burn, which means less pollution to nature.

8. Sustainable

Though Wheat Straw Plates are made of plat-based resources they are formidable in terms of strength they contain. Due to their natural fibers, they are as durable as regular plastics. They can withstand daily use but keep in mind their proper storage to keep them in good shape to use gain. Also, they sustain heat as much as 100 degrees pretty easily and are safe to use in microwaves and refrigerators.

Effect Of Non-Gluten Free Tableware On Gluten Free Foods

We often see biodegradable products being used as an alternative to artificial polymer-based plastics. Though plant-based natural plastics are drawing a line between polluting the environment by using plastics, it also leaves a question mark regarding the use of them for gluten-free diet users. Though Wheat Straw Plates are gluten-free a lot of other plant-based tableware are non-gluten-free. So why not have a conclusive discussion on the effects of non-gluten-free tableware on gluten-free foods?

Many people tend to maintain gluten-free food as they are more susceptible to getting affected by celiac disease, wheat allergy, gluten ataxia, etc. So what if someone uses Non-Gluten Free Tableware?

A lot of research studies have concluded that using non-gluten-free tableware contaminates gluten-free food. So basically if you are having gluten-free food on a non-gluten-free, plant-based plastic plate or using the same type of fork, or knife you are consuming non-gluten-free foods indirectly.

Though the level of gluten in any non-gluten-free tableware varies depending on various conditions such as the plant it was based made of, processing standard, production quality, type of environment they are stored, etc. So, if you are on a gluten-free diet, make sure you are eating or drinking your gluten-free meal on gluten-free tableware like Wheat Straw Plates. On a side note, this is the ‘most of the conditions mentioned earlier. I hope now you have your answer.

FAQs

Final Thoughts

We are living in a time where environmental pollution due to non-sustainable industrialism has been bothering us big time. Eco-friendly products like Wheat Straw Plate, as an alternative to artificial plastic can be a great example for altering the course of polluting our lovely Earth. So White Straw Plates are a great way to introduce environmental awareness to our family.

They can be a great alternative to artificial plastic if used in mass volume. They look good, fit well in our house, are easy to use, recycle easily, and once done with using them you can just leave them on the soil to decompose. And if you are avoiding non-gluten-free foods then it can be a great choice for you anytime. Also, don’t forget they’re necessary for a greener Earth in the long run ahead.