<<Disclaimer:  Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
 
                       The New Shopping Guide
                       ----------------------
                        by Jim & Vicki Lyles
 
All of our local members and US newsletter subscribers should have
received a copy of our newly updated shopping guide along with this
newsletter.  This year's shopping guide is even larger than last year,
with over 4,400 entries.  We've expanded the section on ingredients,
to give you whatever information we have received from the various
manufacturers.  We've included copies of the letters we actually used
when contacting manufacturers, so that you could see for yourself the
questions we asked and the type of ingredients we questioned.
 
Often we are asked about brands that don't appear in the shopping
guide.  Are these brands not gluten-free?  The answer is: we don't
know.  You'll notice that the shopping guide does contain a section
that lists specific brands that are not GF, according to the
manufacturers.  If a brand does not appear in that list, nor in the
list of products that are GF, it means either:  1) the company failed
to respond to our inquiries (over half of the companies don't), 2) we
didn't write to them or didn't have a good address for them, or 3) the
company responded to our inquiry, but was unable (unwilling?) to give
us a list of GF products.
 
Note that the focus of the shopping guide is products which can be
purchased in grocery and health food stores.  We do not include
products which are strictly sold via mail-order.  A list of mail-order
GF vendors is included in each new member/subscriber packet that we
give out; you can contact these companies to get their current
catalogues and price lists.
 
Soy sauce has been a difficult product to deal with over the last few
years, as formulations for popular brands (La Choy, San-J) have
changed.  To help clear up the confusion, let me tell you what we
currently know about the various soy sauces:
 
  *  La Choy regular and lite soy sauces are NOT GF.  However, La
     Choy has a new variety called Stir Fry Mandarin Soy Sauce which
     is GF.
 
  *  San-J Wheat-Free Organic Tamari is GF.  None of the other San-J
     varieties are GF.
 
  *  Eden Foods Domestic and Imported Wheat-Free Tamari are both GF.
     Eden products can be found in health food stores.
 
  *  There are no other soy sauces for which we have received
     information.
 
This year's shopping guide includes products from Revlon (cosmetics),
Bristol-Meyer Squibb Prescription Drugs, Barbara's, RC, Durkee,
Duke's, Sauer's, Fleischmann's Yeast, Godiva, Health Valley, IBC Root
Beer, Spice Islands, and Watkins.  However, there were also some
brands we had to remove from the list, including Nabisco, Oscar Mayer,
and Sandoz.
 
If you are not a member of our group or a subscriber to our printed
newsletter, you can still obtain a copy of the shopping guide.  The
cost is $10, postage included.  Send your request to:
 
   Marcia Campbell
   TCCSSG
   34638 Beechwood
   Farmington Hills, MI  48335