<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Thanks to everyone who wrote back.  It seems like some people do not have a
problem with annato food coloring, but other people say it should be avoided.
It seems like it is probably not safe.  Several people wrote and said they
also wanted to find out.

Here are some of the responses:

>an-nat-to also a-nat-to also ar-nat-to --n., pl.
>an-nat-tos. 1. A tropical American evergreen shrub or small tree (Bixa
>orellana), having heart-shaped leaves and showy, rose-pink or sometimes
>white flowers. Also called lipstick tree. 2. The seed of this plant, used as
>a coloring and sometimes as a flavoring, especially in Latin American
>cuisine. 3. A yellowish-red dyestuff obtained from the seed aril of this
>plant, used especially to dye fabric and to color food products such as
>margarine and cheese. [Of Cariban origin.]
>
>Further information:
>
>Because ethyl alcohol and/or caramel color can be present in annatto color
>and is not declared on labels, people with Celiac-Sprue should consider
>avoiding this ingredient.
>
>The problem with caramel color is that it may or may not contain gluten
>depending on how it is manufactured.  In the United States caramel color
>must conform with the FDA standard of identity from 21CFR CH. 1.  This
>statute says:  The color additive caramel is the dark-brown liquid or solid
>material resulting from the carefully controlled heat treatment of the
>following food-grade carbohydrates:  Dextrose (corn sugar), invert sugar,
>lactose (milk sugar), malt syrup (usually from barley malt), molasses (from
>cane), starch Hydrolysates and fractions thereof (can include wheat),
>sucrose (cane or beet)."  Also, acids, alkalis and salts are listed as
>additives which may be employed to assist the caramelization process.
>
>That's about it.  Annatto and caramel color should be avoided.  I understand
>that some few celiacs do not have a reaction to annatto but that doesn't
>mean it is safe.  You can sustain damage without symptoms.  It pays to be
>well-informed and to conform strictly to your proper diet.

Another response:

>It's my understanding that it is a seed, used more in coloring than flavoring
>and is in the "wheat family", having the same structure, for whatever that's
>worth.  There are different ways to extract it, which some believe is the
>cause of reactions.  I do know I react to it and do not eat anything that
>contains annato.

Another:

>Annatto is used to color food yellow.  It starts w/ little seeds from a shrub
>(not a grain) & is g.f. What they do with it to get it in the food is were the
>questions are.  Is it in an alcohol base?  Is it dry & mixed w/ something as a
>filler?  I don't know.  In Puerto Rican cookery, they heat the seeds in oil to
>extract the color to make yellow rice.  In my opinion, you would probably have
>more problems w/ a product from cross contamination in manufacturing than from
>the added annatto itself.  Might be that it bothers some & not other
>also--allergy/sensitivity thing.  We probably have more questions than we have
>answers.

One more:

>it is a seed and used for coloring (minimum taste) in cheeses and Latin
>American cooking