<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Yesterday, Susan Carmack <[log in to unmask]> asked: >Dr. Reichelt says...'bioactive and significant amounts of protein and >peptides are taken up from the gut...the same proteins can be measured in >mothers milk.' This being the case, is it true that grain eating cows would >also have these same elements in their milk? There was also a recent post asking for assurance that honey is GF. I do not have a scientific answer to either question, but thought I would re-post the following on the topic: >>> Date: Sat, 1 Jun 1996 From: William Elkus <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Honey, Milk and Meat GF? <<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> George V. Spanos <[log in to unmask]> said: >I remember reading something about not all honey being gluten-free. >Is this true? I have never heard any reputable source claim that honey is not GF, and would be interested in hearing from anyone who has. From time to time, the issue arises whether animals who somehow digest parts of a gluten- producing plant can carry though the intact gluten into foods: milk, meat, or even honey. Months ago, we asked this question to the cel-pro group, but no one had a response. The listowners are not aware of any research on this issue. Don Kasarda, in private email (reprinted here with his permission) had the following to say about honey and milk: DK> ...honey should not be a problem as far as the bees are concerned. DK> All grasses have florets, essentially flowers, but these would not DK> have any gluten proteins in the pollen produced within them (and DK> gluten protein synthesis doesn't begin until pollination has DK> occurred). Also, I don't think bees bother much with grasses DK> (don't know for sure) because the flowers are so small and access DK> to pollen is somewhat limited. DK> DK>The processors of honey products? I don't know if they would have DK>any reason to add gluten. DK> DK> ...although I feel pretty certain about the situation with honey, DK> I don't know of any actual research regarding, say, the possibility DK> that if a cow is fed wheat some gluten peptides might end up in the DK> milk. My guess is that ruminant digestion being different from DK> human digestion, this may not happen, but I can't be sure of DK> course. In the early days of our List, Dr. Reichelt posted citations to journal articles showing that there are detectable amounts of gluten in mother's milk, although the amounts are very small. If anyone has seen research on this issue, please post it. Bill Elkus Los Angeles