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

My question was:
Do you eat food made in a gluten-containing facility or a shared line
of production? Why or why not?

The responses varied depending on how sensitive the person was, and on the
cleaning methods used in the particular facility.

Some interesting comments:

- I do eat food that is made in a shared eqiupment facility.  I'm one of
those who are not terribly sensitive. I do realize that just because I do
not show outward symptoms doesn't mean I'm not ingesting something I
shouldn't.  I also realize that in the long run this might not be the
wisest decision, I just don't always have the time/energy to track down each
and every source of each and every food product I come into contact with.
I do make some inquiries and I try to make the best decision I can with the
info I have.

- In general, I am not concerned about shared lines.  If I only ate food
made on dedicated lines or in a dedicated facility, I would be limiting my
diet far beyond its current already restrictive limits.  Health regulations
require cleaning of lines.  Yes, there is a risk that at some point, I
might get the first package off a line after it's been switched from a
gluten containing package, but the odds are small.  Exceptions are
companies that have a widespeard bad reputation for contamination or
companies that produce a lot of things with flour where the risk is very
high (cereal, for example).

- This is the "missing link" in the information we get from manufacturers.
I would like to see everyone start asking about shared processing equipment
when they call a manufacturer.  It is an important piece of information
that is not getting through to us.  Over time, the "pressure" from celiacs
to use non-gluten ingredients has done a lot of good.  Now if we all
started asking about the possibility of cross-contamination, it may affect
their decisions about how to manufacture these products.

* Visit the Celiac Web Page at www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html *