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From:
Ann Whelan <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 14 Dec 2001 12:51:55 -0500
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<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

There was a previous message to the listserv indicating that Gluten-Free
Living said dextrin was safe. Apparently the poster came to this conclusion
after reading on celiac.com that, "According to a Sept/Oct 2001 article
titled "Know the Facts," probably all dextrins made in the USA are gluten
free."

       That statement is misleading. Articles in Gluten-Free Living are very
carefully researched. It is our policy to present all the information readers
would need to make their own decisions. Rather than mislead anyone, I am
including the entire portion of the article that deals with dextrin.

       The Gluten-Free Living article also deals with maltodextrin and mono
and dyglicerides and again, celiac.com reports that  "According to a Sept/Oct
2001 article titled "Know the Facts," probably all mono and diglycerides made
in the USA are gluten free."

       We were more direct with the glycerides since the evidence permits
more directness. Still I would prefer celiacs read the entire article and
come to their own conclusion. I am posting the portion on mono and
dyglycerides in a separate message.

       Here is the material on dextrin. I hope it is helpful. Happy holidays,
Ann Whelan

Dextrin Dextrin is a trickier ingredient to deal with. The FDA defines
dextrin as and incompletely  hydrolyzed starch that can be made from
starches including corn, potato, arrowroot, rice, tapioca andor wheat.
When FDA regulations allow use of a toxic grain in an ingredient, it
surely gives pause to most celiacs.

                However, a closer look reveals that large US manufacturers of
this ingredient do not use wheat in its production. Archer Daniels Midland
Co., an international agribusiness with 350 plants worldwide, uses corn for
all the dextrin it produces in the United States, according to Leif Solheim,

ADM vice president of research for fermentation. He said he is not aware of
any company in the country that makes dextrin from wheat.

                National Starch and Chemical, aNew Jersey firm, and Staley
Manufacturing Co., an Illinois company, also onlyuse gluten-free starches in
their dextrin and all their other products. Solheim noted, however,  that
wheat starch is more commonly used in Europe than it is here, so imported
dextrin might be a concern.

                Questions about imported products come up frequently in
debates about what is safe for celiacs.So it is interesting to note that
under the FDA's Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, imported foods must meet the
same standards as those produced in the United States.

       In this case, Solheim explained that wheat starch is a byproduct of
extracting gluten from wheat. Theoretically, the process of extracting gluten
would produce wheat starch that is gluten free. Practically speaking,
however,completely extracting gluten is not guaranteed, so wheat starch could
contain residual gluten.

                This leaves celiacs with a clouded picture regarding dextrin.
In the United States, it's an ingredient that can be made from wheat, though
that apparently doesn't happen very often, if at all. It's possible that
imported dextrin might be made from wheat starch, but without extensive
research, we just don' know.

So, what's a celiac to think? You have several options, all the way from
avoiding all dextrins through calling all processors of foods that
contain dextrin and asking its source, through not questioning dextrin
at all. Given what we know, the extreme options (avoiding all dextrins
or questioning all dextrins) seem uncalled for. One of the middle
options, calling the processor when you can and not questioning dextrins
in situations where you can't, would seem to be a safe option to
consider.

                How you handle dextrin is a decision only you can make. On a
positive note, dextrin, which serves as a thickener, prevents caking of sugar
in candy and encapsulates flavor oils in mixes, is not found in processed
foods nearly as often as the safe maltodextrin.

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