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

Dear all,

Thanks for all the answers!

Original massage:

"Can anyone tell me (or point to a list or archive) which
ice-creams are gf in Australia?"

I haven't got too far with my search but some of you pointed out some
brands and useful advice.

It seems that anything with caramel is suspect and most people tend to
go for safer plain and natural ice-creams. Some of you thought I could
still have lactose intolerance. I know I still get asthma from dairy and
in big doses a flu-like feeling. But it seems to me that the amount of
suffering caused by ice-cream is still 'worth' once in a while (and it
suppose to be non-damaging in the intestines) while it is not worth
playing with gluten. I contacted some manufacturers but their inquiry
procedures tend to be cumbersome (self-addressed envelope etc.).

Your responses:

All Bulla icecream except the new crunchie one, all sara lee icecream
except the ones with biscuit in, and NESTLE /PETERS ICECREAMS Icy pole
lemonade, raspberry Heaven vanilla.  are all gluten free.  I am still
on a mission to find out other stuff.  hope this helps for now.
________________________________

Is there any way you can check with the company of the 2 ice creams
that you mentioned to see if they are gf?  If one or both are gf then
you may be looking at another intolerance....ie you mentioned dairy,
but you can have some cheese.  A friend of mine in AU has many food
intolerance and can not tolerate any dairy except for some reason she
can have mozzarella cheese.  The other food problems with the ice-cream
may be salicylates, colors, or additives in the ice cream...if you want
more info on salicylates then email me and I will give you a site that
helped me...the site is in AU.  Good luck.
_________________________________

Not having read the ingredients I am just making a guess that your
problem is the flavors, not the rest of it.  Caramel coloring and
flavors are often made with barley malt and I know I can't eat Mars
bars because of this.  You may need to narrow your choices to the plain
varieties.

Since I am in the US I'm not sure of availability there, or of
different formulations, but here Ben & Jerry's are usually GF except
the obvious like Cookie Dough.
_________________________________

I eat Bulla vanilla real dairy ice cream, not the 98% fat free,  and
also Bulla Fruit "N Yogurt.  Both are gf .
_________________________________

The Cadbury's stuff is out (caramel + thickener).  Can't commment on
Serendipity.

Dairy Farmer's Blue Ribbon Vanilla & Choc flavours are OK.

If you want a treat, get Nicecream (available at various outlets, the
one I use is Russells healthfood on Glebe Pt Rd).  Outstanding flavours
and as far as I know all are gf.  Their factory outlet is at Bondi.
__________________________________

"For you Australians there, All Bulla brand stuff is gluten free, except
for the Crunchies which they can't guarantee. So enjoy your icecream
frozen yogurts."

[This was taken from Tracey Fleming's email of 8/12/99]

I found that trying out the flavoured ice creams in another brand was a
no-no...they put malt in the caramel that was swirled through...learnt
my lesson about the difference between reading the label and believing
that it told me the whole truth

Another option is to call the Coeliac Society closest to you and ask
them which brands/flavours they know of...cuts down on the calls you
have to make for yourself
__________________________________

Nik, that may be your lactose intolerance.  Aged cheeses such as
cheddar, gouda, Edam, and swiss have no or almost no lactose in them.
Ice cream has a lot.  But if you want to know which ice creams are GF,
you should get one of the books that lists GF products from Clan
Thompson or Celiac Sprue Association.
__________________________________

The 2L Sara Lea icecream which is sold in the red containers at
supermarkets is apparently G/F.  I have spoken to them about it.  Look
out for glucose syrup.  That often has wheat in it.
__________________________________

Can't help you with specifics for Australia, but have you considered
trying "plain" varieties first, such as vanilla, strawberry, etc.  I
would GUESS that caramello and the nougat are the culprits, not the
lactose.  Just my thoughts.