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  Responses were varied.  Options are left to the reader to make an informed
decision.  Here's a sampling of some of the responses I received to my query
on gluten free wheat flour:

US groups don't accept GF wheat starch at this time and i personally
wouldn't use it.

Wheat starch is not accepted in the U.S. And even where it is accepted, there

are sensitive people who get sick from it. To me, that means even people who
don't get sick from might be doing damage, although I have no proof of such.

You have to make the decision for yourself if you feel comfortable using
products that contain wheat starch (only the approved kind) or not.  I
personally feel that Europe has been dealing with and treating Celiac
Disease longer than anyone else and if they approve a product as "safe" then
I'm willing to try it.  I live in the US and chose to live by Europe
standards (they are slightly more liberal than those here.)  Odlums in
Ireland makes a great wheat starch-based bread mix that is very good also.

the stuff made by semper is ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!
If you follow European guidelines this mix is fine (and the best GF bread you
will ever have.) If you go by American standards people will say to stay away
from it. My whole family (me, mom, brother, grandmother, cousin, and 2 aunts)
are all Celiacs... we all use it and none of us EVER get sick from it. We
follow the European standards and we eat well!

This type of flour mix is frowned upon in the States by the medical
profession.  They believe that since it does contain gluten (in very
small quantity) that it should be avoided.  The US medical profession
appear to believe that you should as a coeliac never knowingly take
gluten.

Here in Europe, we have this view in some countries while in others,
notably the UK where I am writing from, together with Eire, Denmark and
Sweden for certain, the special Codex Alimentarius wheat starch is
accepted in a GF diet.

My coeliac wife uses the Glutafin Fibre Mix and the Juvela Fibre mix,
both of which contain this material.  It's only recently that non-biopsy
diagnosed coeliacs were allowed to join the UK Coeliac Society and there
are nearly 50,000 biopsy diagnosed members or parents of members,
virtually all of whom use this class of flour, most of them being
unaware that there is any question about its safety.

I'm the spouse of a coeliac, not a coeliac.  I'm not a medic, I'm a
health and safety professional, specialising in Radiation Safety in
Universities.  My current one has a medical school and a veterinary
school and coeliac and similar animal diseases are studied there (as you
can imagine, I have my nose firmly poked in this work, and fortunately
the people concerned are friends and not just colleagues).  What I want
to emphasise is that I have very firm convictions about this matter but
they are MINE.  In the end you must make your own decision and this will
depend on a number of things.  US doctors are not stupid about their
attitude.  Anyone who is a coeliac living in the wheat belts would be
well advised to take every precaution to avoid any unnecessary exposure
to avoidable gluten, as there will be so much in the air during
harvesting.  On the other hand you may decide that they are being
overcautious in your circumstances.

Phyllis (Connecticut)

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