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

I would like to respond to some questions to my Pamela's Product's posting.
I spoke with Pamela this morning.  (11/19/97)

Testing:

Pamela has had her products tested this year by a firm in Australia for parts
per million gluten content (to her recollection it came to about .001 parts
per million), which according to the scientists with the firm, shouldn't give
people with Celiac Disease any trouble.

Processing:

They contract the use of another firm's manufacturing equipment.  They get
the equipment for a full day.  Their fully trained staff takes a part the
equipment and thoroughly cleans the equipment before beginning the runs.
(Note, other companies do make gluten products on this same equipment on
different days from Pamela's; however, I am still extremely sensitive to
hidden gluten--I get painful diarrhea--and have not had trouble like this
with her cookies.  I personally trust the cleaning processing.)  The
equipment is scraped clean between her runs.  When a second run begins, the
first batch is tossed, since it may have residue from the prior batch.  Her
products are Kosher, so they are carefully screened on their processes.

Order of Run:

The lighter flavored cookies are made first, such as the Pecan Shortbread.
This means that the milk-free cookies are sandwiched between milk containing
cookies.  There are two kinds of cookies which contain oats.  They are run
last on the equipment, so should not contaminate the gluten free cookies.

Ingredients:

All ingredients are screened and purchased personally by Pamela to ensure
that they are gluten free--including the rice syrup which some have question
her about in the past.

******************************
Other comments from me:

If you have questions regarding diagnosing milk protein intolerance, please
address this to the list.  Unfortunately, I am self diagnosed with milk
intolerance.  There may be some out there that have had this diagnosed by
testing.  (For those that asked, yes, milk protein intolerance is different
from milk lactose intolerance (lactose is a sugar in milk rather than a
protein).  Lactose intolerance can go away for some people after the enzymes
are back to normal in the small intestine.  Milk protein intolerance doesn't
go away, and actually may cause flattening of the villi.  Removing all milk
from my diet on 11/7/97 has cleared up my eczema, stopped malaise, firmed up
my stool, and stopped my lips from peeling (they have been peeling since
May!).  However, this Monday I ate 5 of Pamela's milk-free Chunky Chocolate
Chip Cookies, and my lips started peeling and cracking on Tuesday again and
they still soar today--and my hands are beginning to break out in eczema
again.  There are some other possible causes, but I am going to try cutting
out the cookies for a while and see if it clears up with no other diet
changes.  Perhaps I am more sensitive to milk than I thought.


Good luck to everyone!
Abigail
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