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

Having just thrown out two quarts of Silk soy beverage because of hidden
gluten and passing on two different brands of salad dressing at a party
yesterday because they contained "natural flavorings" or "hydrolyzed
vegetable protein", I got to wondering what it would take to get food
labels that disclose gluten content, and compliance with and enforcement
of existing regulations. That led me to wonder what the national celiac
organizations are doing about the issue of food labeling for celiacs.

This note is not intended to slam the nationals. I am writing here
because I am not AWARE of what they are or are not be doing, but believe
that these organizations should be in the lead of efforts to lobby the
FDA and USDA on our behalf and would like to hear from the leaders of
CSA/USA, GIG and CDF, in this forum, about their efforts on food
labeling and what we as individuals can do to help.

Getting our voices heard is important because it appears that we are not
making progress on labelling regulation and, in at least one recent
case, losing ground. A recent post from Lani Thompson (see below) points
this out. Now we have to worry about "water" added to ham containing
gluten. New regulations do not appear out of thin air. They are proposed
and reviewed before they are issued. We and the organizations who
represent us need to be part of the process.

Joel


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Date:         Tue, 19 Oct 1999 12:59:53 -0400
From:         [log in to unmask]
Subject:      change in federal regs: modified food starch

While researching news stories for the next issue of our celiac
newsletter, I found this item which might be of immediate concern
to those of you who live in the US.

The US Department of Agriculture has amended federal regulations
concerning the use of soy protein concentrate, modified food starch
and carrageenan as binders in cured pork products.

Anything labeled "Ham Water Added" must now be suspected of
containing soy protein concentrate, modified food starch, and/or
carraggeenan.

When I called the agency to confirm that I understood the story
correctly, the "information specialist" assured me it was true.

Apparently this change has been effect since July 23!

Regards,

Lani K. Thompson
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Joel Elias
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