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

The original question was to find sources other than Celiac Specialties or
Heartland for Expandex.   

I had a total of 10 responses.  Several people had the same concerns about
the expense of the product and the outrageous shipping costs.

One person suggested trying Orgran's Gluten substitute available at
Amazon.com.  I know nothing about this product but some of you probably do
and can tell the rest of us. 

It was suggested a group buy would be less expensive.  Asking the local
health food or grocery store to buy some was another suggestion.  It was
suggested buying more than one lb. would spread the shipping costs out; 
that makes sense buy I want to know I like the product before buying much. 
(At least one kind of cracker went out for the birds after I sampled one
in the package! - I expect that's happened with all of us.)

One person had tasted products containing Expandex and thought it left an
unpleasant aftertaste.

I called Corn Products to discuss the costs for Expandex and spoke with
Kim Schoot, Customer Service Team Lead.  She was sympathetic but said they
have no control over the price of the product and the shipping costs
charged by a distributor.  I pointed out to her the end result (few people
purchasing the product) would be or should be of interest to the
manufacturer - she agreed.  She also said Expandex is manufactured in
Brazil and she thinks the distributor is passing on their shipping
charges.  I mentioned it was being discussed on a celiac list to which I'm
subscribed.  Her main suggestion was for the celiac list to act as a group
and contact the distributors as well as the sales department of Corn
Products. So the end result was I got a lot of sympathy but not a
realistic solution.

I also had e-mail from Charlene Cherepinsky, C's Specialty Foods
(www.CsSpecialtyFoods), with the following information: 1 lb Expandex is
sold for $4.99 (they include what was paid for shipping in the price); the
shipping charge for using flat rate usps is $4.05 making the total cost
$9.04. The shipping charge would be the same for up to four packages but
would be higher for more than the four. 

So that's my report.  Thanks to all who replied.  It was interesting.

MJ


--
 MJ Thomas
 [log in to unmask]
 In the beautiful Finger Lakes Wine Country of New York State!

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