<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
 
George V. Spanos <[log in to unmask]> said:
 
>I remember reading something about not all honey being gluten-free.
>Is this true?
 
I have never heard any reputable source claim that honey is not GF, and
would be interested in hearing from anyone who has.  From time to time,
the issue arises whether animals who somehow digest parts of a gluten-
producing plant can carry though the intact gluten into foods: milk,
meat, or even honey.
 
Months ago, we asked this question to the cel-pro group, but no one had
a response.  The listowners are not aware of any research on this
issue.
 
Don Kasarda, in private email (reprinted here with his permission) had
the following to say about honey and milk:
 
DK> ...honey should not be a problem as far as the bees are concerned.
DK> All grasses have florets, essentially flowers, but these would not
DK> have any gluten proteins in the pollen produced within them (and
DK> gluten protein synthesis doesn't begin until pollination has
DK> occurred).  Also, I don't think bees bother much with grasses
DK> (don't know for sure) because the flowers are so small and access
DK> to pollen is somewhat limited.
DK>
DK>The processors of honey products?  I don't know if they would have
DK>any reason to add gluten.
DK>
DK> ...although I feel pretty certain about the situation with honey,
DK> I don't know of any actual research regarding, say, the possibility
DK> that if a cow is fed wheat some gluten peptides might end up in the
DK> milk.  My guess is that ruminant digestion being different from
DK> human digestion, this may not happen, but I can't be sure of
DK> course.
 
In the early days of our List, Dr. Reichelt posted citations to journal
articles showing that there are detectable amounts of gluten in
mother's milk, although the amounts are very small.
 
If anyone has seen research on this issue, please post it.
 
Bill Elkus
Los Angeles