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

Because of a recent summary that included certain comments about coffee,
coffee filters, and teabags, I became concerned that people were either
spreading false or unsubstantiated information, or there was information about
specific brands that wasn't getting to folks. So I asked people who claimed to
know of regular coffee "fortified" with barley, coffee filters "held together"
with gluten, or teabags sealed with gluten glue, to please send me the brand
names so I could check them out and then post them so we'd all be warned about
specific kinds. Here are the results of the brands sent to me.

Coffees known to be fortified with barley -- None
Coffee filters with gluten -- None
Teabags held together with gluten paste -- None

Somehow I'm not surprised. Coffee filters do not contain wheat. Teabags are
mostly heat sealed, no glue at all. And until somebody shows me otherwise, I
have yet to find a regular coffee that has gluten. Even the flavored coffees
seem to be mostly or nearly all GF.

"Thanks very much, Richard, for responding to these paranoid postings.  I am
very tired of people making hysterical statements and causing me to fret about
the gluten content of absolutely everything that is in my life."

This post above summarized most of the replies I got. People are tired of
people answering questions with bad information or pure conjecture. People who
read this list want solid information and brand names, not vague assertions.
Conjecture and guesses help nobody and scare many. Someone pointed out that
some of the more seasoned and knowledgeable people have left the list for this
very reason, and that newbies get frightened to death and start seeing gluten
behind every tree.
Somebody even suggested that trolls come here and post false information
simply to stir things up.

I know that people who are new to CD and to the forum will make mistakes and
that some pass along every post they get because they aren't yet sure what is
and isn't reliable. This will happen. Without question, I've made mistakes. I
simply ask people to pause and think before they answer a post and to use some
discretion in summaries.

thanks and happy new year
richard

*Support summarization of posts, reply to the SENDER not the Celiac List*