<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

I just received this answer from Tofutti brand about their Better Than
Cream Cheese. Note that they are coming out with a new line of foods called
Super Soy Supreme that will be labled GF. It's kind of an interesting
letter. I have chosen to eat their Better Than Cream Cheese as it is, since
every chemist, celiac association and celiac expert except for the CSA (of
course) now tells us that distilled products, including grain alcohol and
distilled vinegar do not have gluten in them (unless it has been added
after the distillation process). -vance

>From: [log in to unmask]
>Hi Vance,
>Thank you for your recent e-mail.  Please feel free to send the following
>letter to the listserve.
>
>Regarding gluten, some of our products are obviously not gluten free, such as
>our Cutie ice cream sandwiches, Chocolate Cookie Crunch pint, and Tofutti
>cookies, as well as a number of our frozen food products like pizza and pizza
>bagels. Even though we do not add any gluten directly in our mixes, we
>usually do not certify any of our products as being gluten free because of
>the manner in which some of the flavors we use may be processed. Vanilla, in
>particular, is typically distilled with grain alcohol. Although it is cooked
>off during the distillation process, it could still leave some trace amounts
>of gluten. Since this information is proprietary to the flavor manufacturer,
>and ordinarily we only require the ingredient to be totally dairy free, we
>have no way of knowing for sure. What reaction an individual might have
>depends on the severity of his/her condition.
>
>Our Better Than Cream Cheese and Sour Supreme also have no gluten added,
>although, once again, alcohol could be used in the manufacture of the
>flavors. Our Veggie Soy-Cheese slices use distilled vinegar, which may
>contain traces of gluten. Although distilled vinegar is derived from grain,
>it is not certain if the vinegar contains gluten. This is a subject of great
>debate in the celiac and autistic communities, but even many conservative
>celiacs or parents of autistic children believe it is probably okay since
>most food chemists consulted by them believe that the distillation process
>should eliminate traces of gluten. We are just relating to you the opinion of
>outside consultants, not Tofutti Brands.
>
>Tofutti receives approximately ten inquiries a week about gluten. In most
>cases, those individuals are not concerned about the flavor issue since at
>worst it would be only trace amounts of gluten and their particular condition
>permits them to use the product, since they are more severely dairy
>intolerant. The majority of these inquiries involve children who are
>autistic. It has been recently discovered that in addition to not being able
>to have dairy products, autistic children cannot have gluten either. However,
>the ultimate decision to use our products rests with you, the consumer. If
>you are not comfortable with the preceding information, please do not use our
>products.
>
>Given the enormous difficulty we have in ensuring that all of our products
>are completely dairy free 100% of the time, the logistics in also ensuring
>that they would be gluten free is probably overwhelming. An additional
>problem is that unlike being dairy free, where you can rely on an
>independent, outside verification service (kosher supervision), no such
>service exists for gluten. The good news is we will be shortly introducing a
>new product line, Super Soy Supreme, which will carry the legend "no gluten
>added, may contain trace amounts of gluten." This will be as close to gluten
>free as we can get.
>
>Please feel free to contact us should you have any further questions.

A police recruit was asked during the exam, "What would you do if you had
to arrest your own mother?"

He said, "Call for backup."

I think this guy may have the same mother I did :) -vance