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All three of John Skerritt's recent postings  contain the
reason why I leave any product with wheat starch in it well alone.
 
In the posting , Subject:  wheat starch, he says, "Well prepared wheat starch
contains negligible gluten and should be fine for most coeliacs."  That
sentence alone is reason enough for me not to touch it because of the words
'well prepared', 'negligible' and 'should'..  He goes on to say "The problem
is that it requires testing before being declared as gluten-free" (How do we
do this?).  He then adds "Especially some generic brands of wheat starch
(called "cornflour" here in Australia) often contain high levels of gluten,
while the mainstream reputable brands are usually OK as many of the companies
test."  That word "usually" naturally worries me.
 
In his posting re:oats he says "Wheat starch in the cheerios should
be OK if it has been tested for gluten"  The words to worry about
here are "should" and "if it has been tested".
 
In his posting re SOBEE CEREAL PABLUM the words to worry about are
"Depends on the quality of the cornflour in it (often that is wheat
starch)"
 
Words like 'negligible' and 'usually' are not good enough when it comes to
our health and I have learnt that what ever people have to say about
wheat starch and its suitability for coeliacs falls down as a result
of the inconsistencies and uncertainties in the manufacture. One of
the sickest I have been in the last few years was after taking some
Cold Tablets which I found later contained wheat starch, and when I
queried the manufactures,  Wellcome Laboratories here in Australia they
told me the old story we have all heard, namely "they could not
quarantee their suppliers."
 
My non-medical and personal advice, based on pure experience is " Leave
 wheat starch alone".
 
RICHARD LOCKLEY
phone: +61 3 9905 5018 (work)
     : +61 3 9882 4498 (home)
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