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

   Hello, listmates:  Yesterday I posted my frustration with what I
perceived as a situation where something labeled "Campbell's Tomato Juice
From Concentrate" might sometimes be gluten-free, and sometimes not.  I now
believe that it involved some confusion on my part.  What threw me was
seeing a post in the Archives from 2001 which gave a GF list from
Campbell's.  It listed about nine products all labeled "Campbell's Tomato
Juice", all with different UPC codes (number under the bar code).  I could
find none there that matched the number on my bottle, even though I found
what seemed to describe the same size and packaging.  I then called
Campbell's.  The representative there would only answer my question after I
provided her not just the name of the product, but the bar code number, as
well as my zip code.  My conclusion from all that was that the numbers can
vary, maybe by batch, and that I was just lucky that the one I had purchased
turned out to be a GF one.

   Then the fact that the representative seemed to just ignore my question
and change the subject when I tried to ask for a clarification made me jump
to the worst conclusion.

   A knowledgeable person clued me in:

   From what I have learned over the years about products, the bar code   is
different for each size and/or package. That way, the stores can enter
the
bar code numbers into their computers and each item will come up with
the
right price at the checkout.

The zip code is for
marketing purposes and merely identifies where you are calling from


  I received about six responses total.  One told me it's the same thing
with Tropicana fruit juices.

  One told me Wal-Mart is similarly reluctant to declare much of its store
brand as GF, since they buy from various plants according to what is the
best deal.

  (That's initially what I thought was going on with Campbell's, but now I
don't think so.  They simply don't have a user-friendly way of responding to
people's questions about products.)

  One person suggested I write Campbell's and suggest that they simply state
on their labels that a product is gluten-free.  Sounds like a good idea to
me.

  Thanks to all who responded, especially if I didn't get back to you
personally.

Diane




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