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Well, what a wonderful response. As one listmate said..."visiting the mothership of the god PASTA" was indeed daunting!! NOT AT ALL!. Coeliac disease is very common in Italy, with mandatory screening for the disease at the age of 8. It seems that its probably the easiest european country to viist with the disease As one listmate said "."it takes on average ten years to diagnose Celiac
in the US - ten days in Italy
Thanks all,
SueAnne in OZ
Summary:
¨ In terms of health food stores -- no need. All pharmacies
carry GF goodies. Repeat: ALL PHARMACIES [pharmacia] everywhere. You just say "senza glutinay" [phoenetic] and they whip open drawers full of stuff. 

*re :restaurant cards::didn't need to read it, they just said "seal-lee-ah-chee, si si" and did their thing. Vinegars there are almost always wine,so that isn't an issue.

*Coeliac Society of Italy www.celiachia.it  is helpful as well, they have a list of restaurants that are "approved" by them ....we never ate at any of the places, and didn't
need to since everything was okay.

*The Coeliac Society gave me an excellent tip that I hadn't
thought of. DO NOT drink coffee kept warm in an urn. Most
hotels [according to them] use a mass produced coffee
that contains *barley* ... Always get a freshly-made
cappucino or latte and life will be good.
* And the very best GF pastas are also from there! Bi-Aglut, Dr. Schaar, and several others...... 
¨ CD is so common in Italy that they even have gf meals in the schools!!! I. 

¨ There are only a few things to watch out for, osso buco, for one (which has to be dredged in flour.


*There are wonderful Italian cookies (amaretti or amaretti morbidi) made without wheat (always check for regional differences), and I know that manycakes are made with potato flour. 

 ¨ Heartily recommend the Italian page from the book "Against the grain." 


¨ . The Italian translation about GF cooking can be found in the back of the Jax book.


*Restaurant Translation:"La Celiachia è un'intolleranza permanente al glutine, che provoca un danno alla mucosa intestinale,Il glutine è una proteina contenuta in alcuni cereali: frumento (grano),segale, orzo e avena. TUTTI gli alimenti che li contengono devono essere VIETATI anche in piccole quantità.
Si possono invece consumare liberamente riso, mais (granoturco), patate, verdure, legumi,carne, pesce, uova, latte, formaggio, frutta.
Contiamo sulla vostra gentile collaborazione per preparare un corretto menu senza glutine.

ALIMENTI CONTENENTI GLUTINE DI FRUMENTO, SEGALE, ORZO ED AVENA VIETATI

Pane, pasta, tortellini, ravioli,lasagne, farina, semolina, pizza, focaccia, crackers, grissini, fette biscottate, biscotti, torte e pasticcini.

PROBABILI FONTI NASCOSTE DI GLUTINE

Amido di frumento o qualsiasi altro amido alimentare non specificato, malto, alcuni tipi di caramelle, dadi, lievito, salumi ed insaccati.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

¨ Go to  http://babelfish.altavista.com -- a translation service if you wish to personalise your restaurant card

Euroo to you all/chio & thanks 

* All posts for product information must include the applicable country *