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

This was a large subject to tackle, and I probably won't be able to do it
as much justice as it deserves.  The original post has some information in
it regarding the processing of soy sauce.  That information still stands.

Also, I'd like to pass along the following post from Don Wiss regarding
recent research in the archives he conducted regarding soy sauces.

*****

I recently posted a list of GF soy sauces that I gleaned from this list's
archives. I received the following comment on Eden's imported wheat-free
tamari:

Just a comment on this listing.  The referenced soy sauce is made with "koji-
innoculated" soybeans.  Koji is malted barley.  The ingredients appear to be
gluten free, but if you read on the side of the bottle on how it is made, I
don't see how it can be gluten free.  I figured this out after reacting to
eating it.

Now I didn't remember anything about koji. So I searched the archives for
the word. I found 17 matches. One specifically referred to the Eden tamari:

Eden Foods 1-800-838-2326. I learned that all of Eden's products with koji as
an ingredient are rice-based according to Eden rep Cindy Eicholtz. She wants
all you food chemists to know she's talking about aspergillus oryzae, a
culture grown on rice.

But sometimes it seems it can be from barley. Some other archive findings:

Koji is a fungus.  I believe the genus is aspergillus.

Koji is defined in macrobiotic cookbook glossaries as a grain/seed
inoculated by a bacteria. There doesn't seem to be any guarantee that the
grain used is always rice. Besides sake, koji is used in making other
fermented foods: tamari soy sauce, miso (a paste), amasake (a sweet drink)

KOJI--A grain inoculated with bacteria and used in making fermented foods
such as miso, tamari soy sauce, amasake, natto, and sake.
Please notice that not all koji is necessarily made from rice, but it seems
that Maria-Louisa's is a rice product.

Koji--can contain barley because it comes from Miso

Westbrae Natural
ingredients.  They are as follows:  whole soybeans 57%, water
28%, sea salt 12%, marin (cultured rice) 2%, koji (cultured
barley) 1%.


As for Amazake, it may be gluten-free but we haven't been able to
determine that conclusively. We use an ingredient called koji which is a
cultured rice that comes from Japan. Our source for it, Miyako Oriental
Foods in Brea, California, has not been able to tell us whether there are
any other grains used in the processing besides rice.

********

This website was also given as a food industry specific Usenet group that
may be useful to some:  It is at      sci.bio.food-science

********

Tamari is essentially fermented soy sauce.   The lists of available tamari
and soy sauces have already been listed elsewhere in the archives.  I would
like to add that I did call Bragg's to check on thier liquid aminos, since
I heard it was essentially soy sauce.  It is, and it is definately also
wheat and gluten free.

Tofu is mashed soybeans and water to which a coagulant has been added and
the thickened *stuff* is what remains and is sold.  What I could come up
with was somewhat limited, so far.  My old Joy of Cooking said to use
calcium (or was it potassium) chloride and vinegar.  I suspect it is still
possible that some mfgs. may use vinegar, however, it appears that most
currently use chemical coagulants which would are more likely be gluten
free than not.  It is always best to call individual manufacturers.  I did
call Mori Nu and spoke with Linda, and theirs is definately gluten free.

Shoyu usually has wheat.  Miso is fermented, with Koji as the starter.  As
I mentioned previously, most of the time koji (a culture) is aspergillus on
barley, sometimes aspergillus on brown rice.  This culture is then applied
to another product to ferment it (like brown rice vinegar).  Any product
containing koji should have the source of the koji culture checked out
before determining it's gf status.

Most fermented products are the result of biologic activity of a
microorganism.  Such microorganisms can include bacteria, but are often of
the fungi family.  They are used in many foodstuffs, including cheeses,
vinegars and wines, as well as soybeans.  Since fermented products result
from such cultures, it is always a good idea to know the organism and what
it feeds upon as a means of helping identify possible gluten introduction
in the manufacturing process.

As mentioned above, Eden makes a brown rice vinegar, as well as tamari, and
all of their koji products are gf, because thier koji culture is from rice.
  I called to confirm this.  I also checked with Thai Kitchens, and
although thier vinegars are rice vinegars, the koji comes from a supplier
in Bankok, and they cannot confirm the grain used in the koji culture at
this time.

IN SUMMARY:  It would be wise to check out *any* fermented product
containing soybeans or koji, and probably other cultures, as well.  The
base for the microoganism will depend upon what the organism needs to eat.

Joanne