<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> I would like to respond to some questions to my Pamela's Product's posting. I spoke with Pamela this morning. (11/19/97) Testing: Pamela has had her products tested this year by a firm in Australia for parts per million gluten content (to her recollection it came to about .001 parts per million), which according to the scientists with the firm, shouldn't give people with Celiac Disease any trouble. Processing: They contract the use of another firm's manufacturing equipment. They get the equipment for a full day. Their fully trained staff takes a part the equipment and thoroughly cleans the equipment before beginning the runs. (Note, other companies do make gluten products on this same equipment on different days from Pamela's; however, I am still extremely sensitive to hidden gluten--I get painful diarrhea--and have not had trouble like this with her cookies. I personally trust the cleaning processing.) The equipment is scraped clean between her runs. When a second run begins, the first batch is tossed, since it may have residue from the prior batch. Her products are Kosher, so they are carefully screened on their processes. Order of Run: The lighter flavored cookies are made first, such as the Pecan Shortbread. This means that the milk-free cookies are sandwiched between milk containing cookies. There are two kinds of cookies which contain oats. They are run last on the equipment, so should not contaminate the gluten free cookies. Ingredients: All ingredients are screened and purchased personally by Pamela to ensure that they are gluten free--including the rice syrup which some have question her about in the past. ****************************** Other comments from me: If you have questions regarding diagnosing milk protein intolerance, please address this to the list. Unfortunately, I am self diagnosed with milk intolerance. There may be some out there that have had this diagnosed by testing. (For those that asked, yes, milk protein intolerance is different from milk lactose intolerance (lactose is a sugar in milk rather than a protein). Lactose intolerance can go away for some people after the enzymes are back to normal in the small intestine. Milk protein intolerance doesn't go away, and actually may cause flattening of the villi. Removing all milk from my diet on 11/7/97 has cleared up my eczema, stopped malaise, firmed up my stool, and stopped my lips from peeling (they have been peeling since May!). However, this Monday I ate 5 of Pamela's milk-free Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookies, and my lips started peeling and cracking on Tuesday again and they still soar today--and my hands are beginning to break out in eczema again. There are some other possible causes, but I am going to try cutting out the cookies for a while and see if it clears up with no other diet changes. Perhaps I am more sensitive to milk than I thought. Good luck to everyone! Abigail --- [log in to unmask] http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Spa/4003/ Join the Monday night Celiac chats from 8PM - 10PM ET and the celiac forum at: http://www.medsupport.org