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

                   Gluten-Free Product Evaluations
                   -------------------------------

At our May 1999 meeting we passed out bags to each attendee containing
gluten-free (GF) products.  The items were free, but there was one
catch:  Over the course of the summer you were expected to fill out an
evaluation sheet and rate each product you sampled.

We now have the results tabulated from those evaluations.  Some
products were plentiful, appearing in many of the bags.  Other
products were scattered about rather thinly, so that only a handful of
bags received them.  So you need to keep in mind that the more votes
an item received, the more reliable the rating.  Accordingly, I'm
presenting the results in three groups:  Items which received at least
5 votes, items which received 2-4 votes, and items which received only
1 vote.  Within each group I've listed the items rated best first.
The scale went from 1 (Superb) to 5 (Wretched).  (Actually we used the
words "Like" and "Dislike" on the evaluation forms, but we editors
like to embellish things a bit.)

The majority of the items were given good ratings; only a handful came
in at 3.0 or worse.  This suggests that the "state of the GF market"
has improved dramatically over the last few years.  Five years ago
there would have been far fewer products included in your sacks, and
I'm sure the average ratings would have been much lower.  So let's
give a collective "Hip, hip, hooray" to all of today's GF vendors, and
here's hoping they keep up the good work!


Items With 5 or More Votes                       # Votes   Avg. Rating
--------------------------                       -------   -----------
Kozy Shack Chocolate Pudding . . . . . . . . . . .   7         1.1
Lundberg Farms Sesame Tamari Rice Cakes  . . . . .   6         1.5
Dietary Specialties Crackers . . . . . . . . . . .  25         1.6
Dietary Specialties Pretzels . . . . . . . . . . .  20         1.7
Mrs. Leeper's Corn Elbows  . . . . . . . . . . . .   6         1.7
Lundberg Farms Buttery Caramel Rice Cakes  . . . .   6         1.8
Freeda's Zinc Lozenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  16         1.9
Legumes Plus Meatless Lentil Chili . . . . . . . .   5         2.0
Mrs. Leeper's Rice Vegetable Twists  . . . . . . .  10         2.0
Mrs. Leeper's Rice Spaghetti . . . . . . . . . . .   7         2.1
Tamarind Tree Vegetable Jaffrazi . . . . . . . . .   8         2.1
Lundberg Farms Brown Rice Pasta (Spaghetti)  . . .  11         2.2
Legumes Plus Wild Rice Lentil Soup . . . . . . . .   6         2.3
Lundberg Farms Country Wild Rice . . . . . . . . .   5         2.4
Tamarind Tree Navratan Korma . . . . . . . . . . .   7         2.6
Tamarind Tree Palak Paneer Spinach & Indian Cheese   8         3.0
Tamarind Tree Channa Del Masala Lentils w/Veg. . .   5         3.8
Tamarind Tree Dal Makhani Lentil Chili . . . . . .   5         4.0


Items With 2-4 Votes                             # Votes   Avg. Rating
--------------------                             -------   -----------
Kozy Shack Rice Pudding  . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3         1.0
Kozy Shack Vanilla Pudding . . . . . . . . . . . .   3         1.0
Lundberg Farms Wild Blend Rices  . . . . . . . . .   3         1.0
Mrs. Leeper's Corn Spaghetti . . . . . . . . . . .   3         1.0
Kozy Shack Tapioca Pudding . . . . . . . . . . . .   4         1.5
Mrs. Leeper's Corn Vegetable Raditore  . . . . . .   2         1.5
Cybros Mock Rice Bread . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3         1.7
Mrs. Leeper's Corn Rotelli . . . . . . . . . . . .   3         1.7
Lundberg Farms Brown Rice Penne Pasta  . . . . . .   4         1.8
Pamela's Shortbread  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4         1.8
Cybros Rice & Raisin Bread . . . . . . . . . . . .   2         2.0
Tamarind Tree Alu Chole  . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4         2.3
Pamela's Biscotti  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2         2.5
Mrs. Leeper's Corn Cracked Pepper Cavatappi  . . .   3         2.7
Pamela's Ginger Cookies with Almonds . . . . . . .   3         2.7
Lundberg Farms Brown Rice  . . . . . . . . . . . .   3         3.7


Items With 1 Vote                                            Rating
-----------------                                            ------
Bi-Aglut Penne Pasta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  1
Cybros Shortbread Swirl Cookies  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  1
Dietary Specialties Bran Muffin Mix  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  1
Gluten Free Delights Lemon Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  1
Gluten Free Delights Coffee Cake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  1
Gluten Free Delights Raspberry Swirl . . . . . . . . . . . . .  1
Glutano Apricot Bars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  1
Lundberg Farms Sushi Rice  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  1
Miss Roben's Cake Mix  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  1
Miss Roben's Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix . . . . . . . .  1
Miss Roben's Sugar Cookie Mix  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  1
Miss Roben's Brownie Mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  1
Pamela's Chocolate Shortbread  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  1
Pamela's Ultimate Hazelnut Biscotti  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  1
Cybros Rice Nuggets  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2
Cybros Rolls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2
Dietary Specialties White Bread Mix  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2
Lundberg Farms Rice Cakes Tamari with Sea Weed . . . . . . . .  2
Pamela's Ultimate Chocolate Nut Biscotti . . . . . . . . . . .  2
Cybros White Rice Bread  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
Kingsmill Coconut Cookies  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
Mrs. Leeper's Lasagna  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
Pamela's Ultimate Crystalized Ginger Biscotti  . . . . . . . .  4