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Dear Listmates -

Wow!  I got a lot of responses on this one!

All of the responses were good.

Here is a summary:

Two list members pointed out that by Codex standards, whatever Codex
standards are (???? - Help me out on this, listmates) are for 200 ppm
(parts per million).  It was also pointed out that if an ingredient
contains 200 ppm and only a small amount of this ingredient is used in

the final product, there is less than 200 ppm in the final product.

One list member said that there is currently an effort to reduce the
standard from 200 ppm to 20 ppm.  That would be nice.  He said there are
articles about it in the magazine Gluten-Free Living.  I'll need to take a
look
at that.

Another list member summarized an article from Scandinavian Journal of
Gastroenterology, which states that foods containing up to 0.3% protein
from gluten-containing grains can be labelled gluten-free.  She said
there is a Codex GFD (gluten-free diet), and a NDG-GFD (no detectable
gluten gluten-free diet), and they are two different standards in regard to
gluten
content.

Another list member said that according to Atkins products, the US
Government says that products are legally gluten-free if they contain
less than 100 ppm.

Another pointed out that 200 ppm is the limit according to European
standards.

Several list members said there should be NO gluten - period - and I
agree.

One member suggested writing our congressmen, senators, mayors, etc.
about it.

I do think a lot of publicity and letter-writing is needed to get
anywhere - and a whole lot of persistence - from a whole lot of Celiacs.
There is power in numbers of people.

Another list member said she has seen "contains less that 200 ppm of
wheat gluten" on products, and pointed out that if all they are checking
for is wheat, we have a problem, and she is right.

Several members pointed out that it is best to make everything from
scratch, from gluten-free flours and other ingredients that you are
certain of.

Another list member said she thinks there may be a way to push for truth
in labelling i.e.  ALL ingredients, fillers, the bag itself, the
medicine capsule itself, flours on conveyor belts, etc..  A good example
of this is my effort to find out if a particular brand of Lyprinol, an
arthritis product from green-lipped mussels, is gluten-free.  I found
out that sorbitol syrup was used in processing, and contained small
amounts of gluten.  The list member suggested starting with the FDA, to
campaign for further changes to ingredients labels on products.

Finally, another list member pointed out that if manufacturers use tests
that can only detect 200 ppm or more, they can say there is no gluten if
their tests don't detect any gluten- because their test isn't more
sensitive than 200 ppm and won't measure below that level.  That way, we
can't sue them for including up to 200 ppm in their products.  Good point.

I think many Celiacs can't tolerate 200 ppm.

Thanks for all the responses, everyone!

Vicki