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

I hope that Wendy ([log in to unmask]) will not mind my posting her question to me
(about yesterday's "Forbidden Food" post), so that I can share my answer --
and ask for help --with those on the conference.

WEB> Bill - what is the problem with annatto color? I've never seen
WEB> it on a list before. And shortening and tamari and maltodextrin?
WEB> (According to Bette Hagman, maltodextrin is safe.)

(1)  Annatto:  From the American Celiac Society, Additives Alert, page 1:
"Annatto Color -- ethyl alcohol and/or caramel color can be prseent in
annatto color and is not declared.  People with Celiac should consider
avoiding this ingredient"

The annatto used as a coloring in Aztec cereal by Erewhon is GF (they claim),
and my son loves the taste.  I recall speaking to at least one other food
manufacturer who said that their annatto is from a process involving grain
alcohol.  In the early days of this internet conference, there was an active
discussion, and active disagreement, about whether wheat/or/barley-based
alcohol had gluten residue.  Someone (Don Kasarda?) posted that caramel color
can have significant amounts of gluten.

(2)  Shortening can refer to any type of vegetable oil (including wheat germ
oil or barley oil)  I cannot find the reference for my concern, but that is
probably the reason.  Also, my family is vegetarian, and unspecified
shortening is often from animal sources.

(3)  Soy sauce is usually (but not always) made with wheat. Tamari lists soy
sauce as an ingredient, although I have seen "wheat-free soy sauce" in some
tamari brands.

(4)  The Canadian Celiac Assoc agrees with you on Maltodextrin "a hydrolyzed
carbohydrate made from corn starch" (from their Pocket Dictionary).

     However the American Celiac Society, Additives Alert, page 1 disagrees:
"Maltodextrins.  From FDA 11/2/1988 The Merck Index, 10th edition, states
that Maltose Dextrin is maltose and dextrins obtained by enzymic action of
***barley malt*** or corn flour.  Spray dried hydrolyzed carbohydrates made
from corn starch.  In its natural state, corn starch is not soluble in water.
 Maltrin Grain Processing of Miscantine, IA using milk conversion techniques
produces a full range of starch hydrolyzates from which the dextrins are
made.  The FDA has not defined a standard of identity for this product and
should be avoided unless you know how it was manufactured."

The above paragraph also made me concerned about whether there was casein
residue in the maltodextrin, although I have not done any research to verify
this.

------

Anyone who has read more than 2 or 3 celiac references will find significant
differences of opinion between celiac groups.  CSA/USA, and several other
groups, have millet, quinoa, teff, buckwheat and amaranth on their Prohibited
Lists.  Don Kasarda wrote an article in the CDF (Celiac Disease Foundation)
Summer 1994 newsletter on why he felt all the above exotic grains are
probably OK --- personally I was persuaded by Don, but each person has to
make their own decision.  Has anyone on this list had a serious problem with
these grains?  Was cross-contamination ruled out as a possibility?

I wish that there was a strong "celiac lobby" to get government research
funds to carefully test products at an independent lab so that these
inconsistencies could be removed.

Bill