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I love Sam's Choice Peanut butter cups and mint cups
distributed thru Walmarts.  I check to see if they are gluten free.
After hearing that I was concerned about the product for
medical reasons, they were most helpful.  It took about
three days to get an answer. They had to check with their
supplier, and they had to check with theirs. etc.  Eventually they
got a reply from the manufacturer saying  they are gluten free
as well as the 'about to be marketed" caramel cups.

On another matter:  It was recently reported that Hershey
stated that some of the Cadbury bars were gluten free.  I
like the Fruit and Nut.  So I called.  I got a different story than
what was reported here.

They don't guarantee any of their products to be gluten free since
they are made in the same facility where gluten products are produced.
They did state that the machines are washed between processing
but a guarantee is not possible.

Six months ago they used to provide a list.  However, since they are
aware that allergies can cause such mayhem, they no longer provide
the list or guarantee their products.  She was going to turn the matter
over to their nutritionist and would get back with me.

Which brings up an interesting point.  Over time there has been various
commentary about manufacturers being explicit in stating whether their
product is 'guaranteed' gluten free.  Since this is a free economy and
profit is the bottom line, perhaps we are seeing companies no longer
willing to make such claims because of the fear of lawsuits.  From a
medical viewpoint is seems reasonable.  From a marketing, profit viewpoint
it could be disastrous.

There has been talk about requirements and considering gluten as a poison of
sorts and should be handled as such.  The possibility of such action could
have the opposite effect whereby no one will state the absolute purity and
therefore will need to address a possible contamination problem thru inquiry
or lawsuit.  There seems to also be an interest in that there are lists on
the Internet whereby people exchange info.  It's hard to tell whether the
interest was positive or negative.

Just a different perspective and some thoughts.

Dennis
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