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Hi all,

I asked for people to write and tell me about specific products that
they've discovered are not GF because the company uses flour on the
production line to prevent sticking or "clumping," and particularly
companies that don't list wheat as an ingredient. I am not trying to
convince anybody to stop asking the question, but i was curious what
folks have found.

Virtually all of the replies can be lumped into several areas:

--Several people wrote to tell me about products that have or might
have cross contamination problems. This, of course, is not what I'm
looking for. We all know there are most definitely products that
either have CC problems or are more likely to than other products. I
have no doubt at all that this is a problem with some products.

--A few people wrote to tell me that they had heard that Almond Roca
candies had undeclared wheat flour used to keep them from sticking.
Obviously I can't say whether or not this was true a few years ago,
but it's not now. I wrote them Friday and got an answer a few hours
later. The company DOES say there's a "slight" chance of cross
contamination. But flour is not put on the line to prevent sticking.

--Numerous people warned me about Brach's candy and a few quoted
posts here that said Brach's had said they use wheat flour on the
lines. I cannot say whether or not for certain they ever used flour,
but it doesn't appear they have been claiming that recently. A more
recent claim (or excuses) is that they consider all of their candy
non-GF because of CC possibilities. A while back they also said they
would examine all of their products to determine GF status. Starting
next year they WILL have to at least list the 8 allergens. Basically,
Brach's is perhaps the least cooperative major company out there and
they apparently don't care one whit whether we eat their candy or
not. My bet is they don't put flour on the lines, but in their case
it doesn't matter because of their attitude.

--Some folks wrote to say they knew of companies that use rice flour
or cornstarch or cellulose to prevent sticking so there must be
companies that use wheat flour. They didn't know for any for sure,
though.

--One person said she thought See's candies "dusts" the inside of
their chocolates. I can't say if this is true, but See's does provide
a list of its candies it considers GF. They are Almond Royals,
Toffee-ettes, Assorted Sugar Sticks, Sugar Twists, See's Dark
Chocolate with Almonds Candy Bar, See's Milk Chocolate with Almonds
Candy Bar, See's Milk Chocolate with Toffee Candy Bar, See's Milk
Chocolate Candy Bar, See's Milk Chocolate Novelties - balls, eggs,
clowns, ghosts, leprechauns, hearts, solid rabbits, pumpkins, solid
Santas, coins, etc., Milk Chocolate Drops, Super Chocolate Chips, and
Fancy Mixed Nuts.

--Another said she saw a small local company put flour on a board
before cutting chocolate (I still think this would totally change the
taste of the chocolate and would be unnecessary to boot).

--Another person said Land O' Lakes told them that other butter
companies use wheat starch on the lines. The problem with this one is
that I don't know of anybody who has ever found a non-GF butter, so
either the butter companies are lying to us or this one is off.

--Supposedly Altoids said years ago that they used wheat on the lines
but then later said they were GF but would not address production
methods. I know the general consensus is that Altoids are GF, but
Altoids gum has wheat maltodextrin that's clearly listed.

--One person was certain that based on her daughter's reaction 3M
used to use wheat starch on rubber bands for braces but was never
able to confirm this.

Maybe companies used wheat flour on production lines some years ago,
but it seems to me from my experience and from the replies I've
gotten that it never or almost never happens these days. In more than
four years of checking, I've never had a company tell me their
product wasn't GF for this reason. And yes, I've asked.

richard

* Visit the Celiac Web Page at www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html *