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

Last week I posted to the list that several of Arrowhead Mills dried
cereals were GF. I got several emails questioning issues such as cross
contamination, etc. Several said they had no problem with the Arrowhead
Mills cereals, however there were also several that indicated they had
problems with their products.

I again contacted Arrowhead Mills and was told the following:

They make the Sweetened Rice Flakes, Corn Flakes, and Maple Buckwheat
Flakes in their own plant. They only have one production line and their
policy is to thoroughly clean the line between each run and the first 50
pounds of each run is discarded (they actually donate it to some
charity).

The Puffed Rice is made by someone else, however they have the same
requirement. Ie. clean thoroughly between runs and discard the first 50
pounds.

The Rice n'Shine is made at their plant. It is actually rice grits.
Again they thoroughly clean between runs and discard the first 50
pounds.

The policy of cleaning and discarding applies to ALL their products.

I asked how long they had this policy of thoroughly cleaning and
discarding the first 50 pounds. I was told that it has been the policy
for at least the last 9 years (this was how long this employee had been
working at the company). Because of what I had previously read here and
the email I received in response to my posting it is obvious to me that
their attempts at cleaning are not adequate. So I told her that it is
obvious that what they are doing is not enough. She indicated they had
had a FEW complaints of cross contamination. She also indicated she
would pass on my comments about cross contamination (I told her that it
was obviously more than just a few based on comments made here).

I would suggest that anyone that has had a gluten reaction with
Arrowhead Mills contact them so they have a more realistic idea of the
true scope of the problem. Hopefully this will make them be more
diligent and give us more products that we can ALL use.

They are a small company (they only have 85 employees) and it is easier
for us to get products that do not have cross contamination when they
run only one line like is done at Arrowhead Mills vice one that
periodically has a GF run in the same space that has another line that
is having a gluten run (like the bigger companies). Of course the ideal
is a line that is dedicated to gf products.

Arrowhead Mills
Box 2059
Hereford, Texas 79045 USA

1-800-749-0730 8 am to 5 pm CT weekdays.

Betsey Carus
Baltimore, MD