Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Outlined below are questions frequently asked by our customers. If you cannot find the answer to your query, please contact us.
1. Where are CORN THINS available from?
- CORN THINS are available as detailed in the 'Stockists' page.
2. What type of salt do you use in your CORN THINS products? Does it have any anti-caking agents?
- Real Foods P/L use fine sun dried sea salt for all of our CORN THINS and RICE THINS variants. This solar dried sea salt is acknowledged by Biological Farmers of Australia Co-op as suitable for use in Organic products. There are no anti-caking (free-flow) agents in this salt. Real Foods does however have anti-caking agent 551 in its flavoured CORN THINS products (Sour Cream & Chives, Tasty Cheese & Pizza). The anti-caking agent is required to ensure flavour (seasoning) can be evenly dispersed on CORN THINS corn cakes.
3. Do your products contain any gluten or wheat? If so, how do you prevent cross contamination with non-gluten containing products?
- Real Foods manufacture 7 varieties of CORN THINS (Original, Organic with Sesame, Soy & Linseed (Flax & Soy) Multigrain, Sesame, Tasty Cheese, Sour Cream & Chives, & Pizza) and 2 varieties of RICE THINS (Ancient Grains & Wholegrain), of which all are "Gluten free". You will find the "gluten free" statement on the packaging of these CORN THINS varieties mentioned on the side of the pack. The 'Gluten Free' status of Real Foods products has been verified through independent laboratory testing.
4. Are sorghum and millet gluten free as well?
- Both sorghum and millet, which are ingredients used in CORN THINS Multigrain, are gluten free.
5. How do the suppliers of your grains prevent cross-contamination with allergens?
- Real Foods uses only a select number of corn and rice suppliers to provide us with the high quality, clean and pure grain required. Each supplier has provided a written guarantee that they have the systems in place to prevent the cross-contamination of their corn and rice grains with allergens.
6. I am an anaphylactic, do any of your products contain nuts?
- Real Foods do not use any nuts in the manufacture of our products. However, we do manufacture a CORN THINS variant called "Organic Sesame". Sesame is classified as an allergen, which many nut intolerant individuals are able to consume. Our CORN THINS Organic Sesame variant contains 2% sesame seeds. Real Foods have implemented a strict manufacturing and clean down regime, which is implemented each time the CORN THINS Organic Sesame are made. Production staff are not permitted to commence manufacturing new product until the clean down program has been completed, inspected and verified by the Quality Department as satisfactory. Despite this, Real Foods recommends that people with life threatening allergic reactions to sesame not consume any Real Foods products.
7. I am lactose intolerant, do you use dairy products in the manufacture of your CORN THINS and if so, how do you prevent cross contamination?
- The flavouring component of CORN THINS Flavoured variants (Sour Cream & Chives, Pizza, and Tasty Cheese) do contain dairy (milk) products and Soy in the flavour. To ensure there is no cross contamination Real Foods have implemented a strict manufacturing and clean down regime, which is implemented each time the Flavoured CORN THINS variants are made. Production staff are not permitted to commence manufacturing new product until the clean down program has been completed, inspected and verified by the Quality Department.
8. I am allergic to eggs, do your CORN THINS products have any eggs or egg traces?
- There are no eggs used in the manufacture of any Real Foods products.
9. I am allergic to soy. Real Foods P/L make a product called Soy & Linseed (Flax and Soy), how do you prevent this product from contaminating your other product lines?
- Real Foods have implemented a strict manufacturing and clean down regime, which is implemented each time the Soy and Linseed (Flax and Soy) variant is made. Production staff are not permitted to commence manufacturing new product until the clean down program has been completed, inspected and verified by the Quality Department as satisfactory. Despite this, Real Foods recommends that people with life threatening allergic reactions to soy not consume any Real Foods products.
10. I am concerned about the increasing use of genetic technology in food, how do you ensure that your products are GM free?
- Real Foods only purchase product that has been certified as GM free. This is supported through a rigorous Vendor Quality Assurance programme which requires our suppliers to provide certified evidence that the product we are receiving is 100% GMO free. Further to this requirement, Real Foods randomly check incoming product from our suppliers for compliance to this requirement, in order to ensure total confidence in our claim.
11. Are your products kosher approved?
- All our Regular CORN THINS Regular variants are Kosher (Parev). Our Flavoured CORN THINS flavoured variants (Sour Cream & Chives, Pizza, and Tasty Cheese) have milk solids in the flavouring component, which are not Kosher Approved. To ensure there is no cross contamination between our Flavoured products and Regular Kosher Parev products, Real Foods have implemented a specific process in conjunction with Kashrut NSW, including a clean down regime, which is implemented each time the Flavoured CORN THINS variants are made. Production staff are not permitted to start production until a kosher supervisor has approved (koshered) the line to produce kosher products. This is verified by regular supervision inspections by Kashrut NSW. Our kosher products are identified by the KA logo.
12. Do your CORN THINS products use Australian grown product?
- Whenever possible Real Foods seek out the best quality Australian grown produce to use in our Australian made CORN THINS and RICE THINS products. Only when there are supply issues, or significant price differences, do we use non-Australian grown produce.
13. Are the CORN THINS varieties suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans?
- There are no eggs, dairy products or any other animal derivatives used in the manufacture of Real Foods Regular CORN THINS varieties, so are suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Dairy products (Milk) are used in Flavoured CORN THINS variants, so they are not vegan. The Sour Cream & Chives variant is vegetarian. To ensure there is no cross contamination between our dairy and non-dairy containing products, Real Foods have implemented a strict manufacturing and clean down regime, which is implemented each time the dairy containing CORN THINS products are made. Production staff are not permitted to commence manufacturing new product until the clean down program has been completed, inspected and verified by the Quality Department as satisfactory.
14. Do CORN THINS variants contain yeast?
- There are no yeast or yeast derivatives used in the manufacture of any Real Foods Regular CORN THINS variants [Original, Organic Sesame, Soy & Linseed (Flax & Soy) Multigrain] or RICE THINS variants (Wholegrains, Ancient Grains). There are yeast extracts in Tasty Cheese, Pizza, and Sour Cream & Chives Flavoured CORN THINS variants.
15. As a diabetic, I would like to know what is the Glycaemic Index of your CORN THINS products?
- The GI of CORN THINS corn cakes are likely to be high. Foods with high GI values raise blood glucose levels more than those with low or medium values. They are useful for dietary variety and for replenishing muscle fuel stores after exercise. To lower dietary Glycaemic Index simply combine high GI food that you would normally eat (eg corn or rice cakes, potatoes, or white rice) with lower GI foods (e.g. foods generally higher in fats and protein, such as meat, avocado, or cheese) at each meal. Each CORN THINS slice is only about 6g, so the amount of carbohydrate per slice is low (less than 5g per slice), which means the Glycaemic Load is not high when only eating a few slices.
16. How do you make your CORN THINS products?
- Real Foods source the best ingredients to manufacture CORN THINS and RICE THINS products. These products are manufactured in accordance with HACCP Food Quality system requirements, to ensure the safe consumption of products by our consumers. A measured amount of pre-mixed grain is dropped into a mould. The mould is heated and the grain pops due to the high temperature of the mould. The popping grain cannot escape and it fuses together in the circular shape of the mould that it is contained in. This is how the corn cakes are formed in the grain-popping machines. Flavoured CORN THINS variants are made exactly as above, but also have natural flavour (with no added MSG) delicately sprinkled on top to make a seriously tasty snack. More information is detailed on our 'Creation Process' page.
17. Recycling.
- The outer plastic bags in which the CORN THINS products are packaged is recyclable. These bags are low density polyethylene (LDPE), which is recycle type 4, therefore please recycle this wherever possible. The inner foil packaging of CORN THINS products is not recyclable at this time, so please dispose of responsibly (in the bin).
18. What is the Potassium content of CORN THINS products?
- As the declaration of Potassium content on packaging is not a regulatory requirement, this information has not been included in the Nutritional Panel of CORN THINS product packaging. We do realise that some people are interested in the Potassium content, so we have included this information on each of the CORN THINS variant's nutritional panels here. Original is 228mg per 100g, Soy & Linseed is 215mg/100g, Multigrain is 242mg/100g, Sesame is 225mg/100g, RICE THINS Wholgrain is 292mg/100g, Tasty Cheese is 265mg/100g, Sour Cream & Chives is 279mg/100g
19. Does Buckwheat Contain Gluten?
- No. Buckwheat is not a form of wheat and does not contain gluten. It is a seed that can be used like many other grains to produce food products. Buckwheat (like many foods, including common foods like rice or corn) is not generally known as an allergen, but a very small percentage of the population may display an allergic reaction.