<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Maureen Kiso <[log in to unmask]> wrote: MK> Is there a type of vinegar that is 100% GF? Throughout the archives of this list you will find numerous discussions about vinegar, particularly regarding the GF status of distilled vinegar. I'll try to address this question using excerpts from previous posts. Here are excerpts regarding the various types of vinegar: -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Date: Thu, 31 Aug 1995 23:50:18 -0400 From: Michael W. Jones <[log in to unmask]> Transcript of address by Felicia Satchell, Consumer Safety Officer, F.D.A. July 15, 1995 - Celiac Disease Conference - University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland <...> Vinegar is another ingredient that seems to raise concern among the Celiac patient. Again, we do not have regulations that govern vinegar, but we do have compliance policy guides, again, that have been in effect for several years. In our compliance policy guide on vinegar we state eight different types of vinegar, and I'll briefly go through those, and their declarations. If a vinegar is declared as vinegar, cider vinegar, or apple vinegar the compliance policy guide states the product is made by the alcoholic and subsequent acetious fermentations of the juice of apples. If it's wine vinegar or grape vinegar, it is made from the juice of grapes. Malt vinegar is made from starch that has been converted by malt. Sugar vinegar - made from sugar syrup, molasses or refiner's syrup. Glucose vinegar - from glucose. Spirit vinegar, distilled vinegar, or grain vinegar - now, this is a vinegar that may present problems; it is made from distilled alcohol. Vinegar made from a mixture of spirit vinegar and cider vinegar would be as described for cider and spirit, and then vinegar made from dried apples, apple cores and apple peels. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- There is one caveat regarding this information. The following comes from _The Sprue-nik Press_, Oct. 1995: SP> Dorothy Vaughan, our dietitian advisor, has done some checking on SP> two points raised at the Baltimore conference by Felicia SP> Satchel....Felicia Satchel also reported the ingredient "vinegar" SP> must come from corn. Dorothy's investigation has determined that SP> this is NOT TRUE; the ingredient "vinegar" can come from any SP> source, including gluten-containing grains. From these passages, I would draw the following conclusions regarding the ingredients on products IN THE USA: 1. cider vinegar, apple vinegar, wine vinegar, grape vinegar, and glucose vinegar should be GF and safe for celiacs. 2. malt vinegar would generally NOT be safe, as the malt used to convert it would likely come from barley. 3. sugar vinegar is an unknown. Since it might come from molasses, and the molasses might or might not be GF, it might be best to avoid sugar vinegar. 4. the plain term "vinegar", with out any other descriptive words, is an unknown and should be avoided. 5. distilled vinegar (also known as white vinegar) could come from either a gluten or non-gluten grain. If it is from a non-gluten grain, it is safe for celiacs. If it is from a gluten grain, then you'll need to make a judgment call. This is the area that is the most controversial regarding vinegar. The following excerpt comes from Don Kasarda, a research chemist with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) who has worked on grain proteins in relation to grain quality for 30 years: -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Date: Fri, 24 May 1996 10:49:19 PDT From: "Donald D. Kasarda" <[log in to unmask]> ...I don't think there should be any problem related to celiac disease with white vinegars made from distilled alcohol because the harmful peptides are not volatile and would not distill over into the alcohol. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Others feel that if it comes from a gluten-containing grain, then the possibility of contamination exists in a plant environment even if the distillation process would theoretically not allow gluten in the final product. To further complicate matters, the various celiac organizations disagree on this point also; for example I believe the Canadian Celiac Association lists distilled vinegar as being GF, whereas CSA/USA does not. Other celiac groups (both national and local) fall on both sides of this issue. So the bottom line on distilled (or white) vinegar is this: use your own judgment. Jim Lyles ........ <[log in to unmask]> ........ Holly, Michigan, USA