The story so far: during a routine check of soy sauce bottles considerately labeled in American, I discovered that naturally-brewed varieties are made with wheat. A quick check of various online resources seemed to confirm this lamentable fact, although a few hints left here and there like so many breadcrumbs led me to believe that the shoyu situation was not a straightforward one. Let us now rejoin the narrative ...
The internet is full of people and organizations who tout the notion that soy sauce is death to us gluten-freedom fighters. The reasoning is simple: 'Wheat contains gluten, soy sauce is made from wheat, therefore soy sauce contains gluten.' It seems obvious, doesn't it? As a result, there is a whole industry based on the premise that soy sauce must be made without wheat to be gluten-free. As mentioned previously, tamari is almost always produced without wheat - the downside being that it tastes like salty fish guts and can only be truly appreciated by Buddhist monks and gourmands from Kyoto. A Google trawl revealed several soy sauces marketed as being gluten-free (either tamari in disguise or factory-produced swill containing corn syrup and caramel coloring) as well as something called 'liquid aminos', which has received rave internet reviews. I think 'liquid aminos' look just plain scary. They [it?] come[s] in a bottle that looks like the worst sort of insecticide imaginable and the FAQs on the company's website, while touting remarkable health benefits, are utterly silent about how the product is made. I am not yet that desperate.
In addition to these salty soy substitutes, the internet teems with recipes that people have devised to overcome the Wheat Problem. My favorite included beef broth, cider vinegar, and molasses amongst its many ingredients. Can you imagine bathing your best o-toro in something that vile? Neither can I. Next!
What disturbed me most about all this brouhaha and scare-mongering was the interchangeability of the terms 'wheat' and 'gluten' in almost all the commentary. Reminded of the finding that barley proteins are left behind in the distillation of whisky (thus rendering the Water of Life gluten-free), I looked for proof positive that the wheat gluten remained in soy sauce after its own lengthy production process. I could find no evidence that naturally-brewed soy sauce tested positive for gluten. In fact, I found whispers and intimations to the absolute contrary. Intrigued, I made another cup of Earl Grey and delved further.
Anecdotal evidence pointed to the possibility that wheat gluten (and soy proteins, for that matter) are broken down into their constituent amino acids by the enzymes present during lengthy fermentation. I could find frustratingly little scientific evidence to reinforce this claim, which is nonetheless bandied about by a small but dedicated group of gluten-free commandos. Their position is buttressed by two primary sources.
The first is a somewhat viral letter from a Kikkoman representative dated February 2005, which shows up in most discussions of this controversy. The author (apparently the general manager of the company's quality assurance department) explains that 'there is no officially approved or recommended method for [gluten] evaluation ... Any wheat gluten found in soy sauce is below the limits of detection as of the date this is written.' He also maintains that, should Kikkoman naturally-brewed soy sauce contain trace amounts of gluten, they are certainly below the limit of 200 micrograms per ml required to be considered gluten-free by the Codex Alimentarius.
Much internet energy has been expended dismissing this letter by individuals mistrustful of Kikkoman's motives and the Japanese government's laxity where food-labelling is concerned. Since these same theorists often recommend La Choy soy sauce as an alternative, I have my own suspicions.
The second source is a poorly-documented and described study by a Belgian outfit who purportedly sent two samples of naturally-brewed soy sauce for laboratory analysis and found that in both cases gluten levels were below 5 ppm (European legislation slated for 2012 will allow any product containing less than 20 ppm to be certified gluten-free).
Again, cries of 'Foul!' from those who seem to believe Europeans do not have the same stringent requirements that we do on this side of the Pond. This made me snort Earl Grey out of my nose, given that many European countries (northern ones, particularly) are light years ahead of us in the gluten-free arena (for example, I am reliably informed by the Rels that Marks and Spencer do an entire line of g/f prepared dishes and that the designation appears on many restaurant and pub menus these days).
So, who to believe? Without impartial, external laboratory evidence provided by independent parties, peer-reviewed and duly published, we may never know (I am starting a collection should anybody wish to donate to this worthy cause). In the mean time, I have chosen to side with science, and view naturally-fermented soy sauce as having such low levels of gluten as to make no matter. The liquid aminos and beef broth brews will just have to wait.
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