what do you suppose is in "modified food starch?" MSG...free glutamates which is what causes the reaction...
Nope...no rotissary chicken for me.
The bad stuff hides under many different guises.
Linda c

Oh yeah, I forgot about that! We don't react to MSG either....yet.

Modified food starch is not MSG. It can be made from many different grains - corn, wheat, tapioca, etc. Sometimes it contains gluten and sometimes not. When used in foods products, most often it serves as a thickening agent, stabilizer or emulsifier. It's also used in almost all pharmaceuticals.

My guess is that it was used as an emulsifier in the seasonings that Costco uses on the chicken. Otherwise, the dry seasoning they sprinkle on the chickens would not stay blended. Most if not all bottled salad dressings or packaged seasonings of any kind contain modified food starch. I used to own a company that manufactured various seasoning blends. None of my products contained modified food starch or any other emulsifiers. However, they also did not stay blended. A quick shake was needed before each use. I just mailed some of the dehydrated pepper/salsa seasoning blend to Barnmom. All the heavier seasonings (such as salt & cumin) sink to the bottom. I instructed her to mix well each time she uses it.

A high school friend of mine is a product development scientist for General Mills. When I was developing my seasonings, I spent quite a bit of time being educated on food ingredients. I'm really glad the ingredients have to be listed now.

I am deathly allergic to MSG and anything Chipotle. I eat Costco rotisserie chickens once in a while. If it contained MSG, I would have noticed immediately as my throat closes and I have the worst time breathing.

We Americans have been spooked for years by misinformation spread around by various groups intent on their own agenda regarding our foods. Anything "natural" is supposed to be good, any ingredient name including more than 3 syllables must be bad! Phooey!

Read labels, of course. But before you categorize a food as "bad" do a few seconds worth of research on the meaning of those you don't recognize.

Teresa handled the "modified food starch" well. Recently, in another thread, someone mentioned Cheese Whiz. Yucky, plastic garbage, right? Check out the article I have linked.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bad food?

I just went to Costco and bought their chickens this morning. Five dollars for a chicken the size of theirs is a terrific buy. If chefs do it so can I. I'll live through it.

Perhaps I shouldn't have said MSG...but free glutamates. There is no reason that I know of to add "modified starch" to a dry powder but for the added "umami factor" that it lends due to the free glutamates. Modified starch according to what I know is used to stabilize thickeners and to provide stability when freezing and thawing.
Wondering what about chipotle it is that sets you off the pepper or the smoke? Since it would be possible to make chipotle from many different peppers, does another smoked pepper bother you? And what about your own spice mix you used to manufacture? didn't the peppers in that bother you?
As for Cheeze Whiz...I don't avoid it because I think it may be full of stuff to which I will react badly, but because I find it disgusting. But I have eaten several dips containing the stuff and cooked beef and onions and tomato that was good...but don't ask me to get that stuff out of the jar!
And then there is "modified vegetable protein"...just give me real, plain, cook it myself with fresh herbs and spices, food.
Linda C

LOL Metaxa. That stuff, also called 'Universal solvent', is the second ingredient. It's dangerous. You could drown in it!

I am concerned about the way msg is sneaked into almost everything, such as being sprayed on fruits and vegetables.
This article is enlightening.

Here is a link that might be useful: msg

"dihydrogen monoxide"

Ah HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Generally speaking, it's more poisonous to our wallets when we buy store chickens than to our bodies. :P

Here is a link that might be useful: Water can be considered a poison when over-consumed just like any other substance.

I was misdiagnosed as having celiac disease and was on a strict gluten free diet. The gluten to be avoided is specifically frpm wheat, rye and barley. BJ's also offers gluten free rotisseried chicken and it is extremely important for celiac patients to know this. My diet was so severely restricted for anything that tasted good to me that I thought the chicken was manna from heaven!
NAncy

Mudlady, I know what you went thru. My husband was also misdiagnosed, same as you, same restrictive diet. We found that the culprit was usually soy sause in many packaged goods.

Are you doing okay now?

And yes, we love those Costco chickens, too!

Since Costco is 30 miles from us and Sam's is 4, I tend to buy Sam's rotisserie chickens occaisionally. They are very good and a great deal. Nope I haven't read the label...not sure I want to. :-) With just DH and I most of the time, I can get 3 meals out of a $5 chicken.

lindac wrote - Wondering what about chipotle it is that sets you off the pepper or the smoke? Since it would be possible to make chipotle from many different peppers, does another smoked pepper bother you? And what about your own spice mix you used to manufacture? didn't the peppers in that bother you?

I didn't start out being allergic to chipotle, the dried and smoked jalapeno. However, I developed cancer. The drugs I was on caused my body to think all kinds of things were allergens. And also, sometimes you can become allergic to a food item because you are over exposed to it. This is the case with the chipotle peppers I used in my salsa mix. That along the fact that my immune system was compromised due to the illness and drugs.
I had to sell the business but I still make the salsa mix on occasion. But I set up the bags of peppers and other ingredients outside on a picnic table. And while working with the mix I am covered up like a bee keeper. Even after it is packaged I need to air out the sealed bags in another environment other than my home. And then I have someone else dust off the bags in case there is some chipotle residue on the outside of the bag. But I think I will have to tell friends and family that request it in the future that I won't make it anymore. It's too many hoops to jump through.

Linda wrote: "There is no reason that I know of to add "modified starch" to a dry powder but for the added "umami factor". I showed my friend Leslie, the food scientist your comment. She responded, there are plenty of reasons that have nothing to do with the unami factor, but I don't have 2 hours right now to tell you about them.

teresa mn, I am so very sorry to hear about your illness hope you are in the clear! A very dear friend is going through that same battle as we speak. There is really nothing one can say.

Some people on this forum tend to jump before they think, maybe me included! I certainly donÂt think that is what lindac intended. Sometimes people paint themselves into a corner without realizing it and just try, perhaps ungraciously at times, to dig themselves out! This forum is a way for me to get away when things "in the real world" get a little too much, and I have learned a great deal in the process.

Now to the topic, I donÂt have a Costco close and have never tried a SamÂs club chicken. As I tell my, DH Publix does a wonderful rotisserie chicken, so why would I put myself to all the trouble to "cook it myself"? We get at least two meals out of it so itÂs a time saver and money saver for me. LOL

While I am sure some MSG is still being used, I thought it was a bit passe as most packaging seems very proud of NOT using it! One of my BFFs is deathly allergic to it (anaphylactic reaction) and we would know immediately if it was on the chicken!

Red

Msg is not passé at all...scan the article I linked above.

Thanks Red - yes I am in the clear. But alot of things changed during the illness process. While I can use small amounts of cilantro and basil, there is no way I can hover near a vendor's table at the market if they have huge piles of either! The sneezing fits begin! And I used to love hot sauces. I usually had a dozen or more kinds on my refrigerator door. Now I'm down to Frank's Hot Sauce or Wing Sauce and can only tolerate in small amounts.

I hope spray cheese is healthy... my cats beg for it and it is cheaper then "cat treats".

Why worry about my food when around here we have "mosquito control" trucks that drive down the road hosing the world with pesticides. Suppose it keeps my windshield bug free. I gave them a letter opting my property out of the program but they "assumed" that I changed my mind and really wanted to be sprayed after all. All I can do not to choke the Cheez Whiz out of them. If society wants to poison you to death it will and you have no say.

M/L be happy it's just trucks. I just drove down the parkway only to see signs warning that they're aerial spraying the county tonight. West Nile. Time to close the windows...

Golly gee, we and hundreds of other Costco customers at our local Costco, purchase their rotisserie chickens frequently. Haven't heard of anyone falling over dead. For those of you who think the sky is falling, raise your own chickens, free range of course!

You know it's not that I don't LIKE the super market rotisserie chicken, but I can't eat it, it given me a blinding head ache and my ears ring and I feel..."strange" and later itchy.
And since it is fairly well known that some of the ingredients listed on then contain free glutamates, I assume that's what causes my discomfort, and avoid such things.

As Teresa knows peppers cause her problems, I know free glutamates cause me problems.

Sushipup--

I am no better or worse at present and continue to search for the cause of my discomfort--severe burning pain in any muscle used even for light work. I am now in the allergy testing phase and the doctor suspects metformin, a diabetes medication. I follower the gluten free diet faithfully because I wanted to either confirm or deny the diagnosis. When I found the GF chicken in BJ's I was thrilled because the diet is so restrictive and also because I am the pickiest eater in the world and hate most of the allowed foods on the diet. I immediately emailed my local celiac disease club of my find and I hope it helped the members to find an easy source of a quick and tasty meat.

Nancy

Nancy, my Costco also prepares BBQ ribs. So make sure there is no cross-contamination in the prep areas. Some celiacs are affected by the trace amounts in cross contamination.

GF is a really tough diet to follow, but thank goodness that food labeling is more complete than ever now. Hope you get better!

i would love love to know how they made the chickens like in the 80s,flavor mmm,how was it a dry rub.near us the grocers just throw them on cook no flavor at all.i miss them.

People allergic to msg beware of the Costco Rotisserie chickens. After eating anything with msg...especially for dinner, I sometimes have problems with a racing heart beat but it always causes insomnia. I have purchased these chickens several times before with no consequences but just purchased one last week and I had negative effects. I was up all night with a racing heart and the inability to get any sleep until almost 6 a.m. For those who have more threatening reactions to msg please beware. I do not know if they changed seasonings or someone grabbed the wrong shaker but it was clearly the chicken that caused these results.