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Re: Don Wiss'  Sun, 2 May 1999 01:18:28 -0400 post.

Well Don, I'm not really sure what your motivation is regarding your post
to the List about The Gluten-Free Mall and the fact that it has chosen to
sell Tritamyl Bread Mix (after all, you have my personal e-mail address and
we have corresponded privately on many different subjects over the past
five years), but I'll do my best to respond to your inquiry.

First, I stand by the statement in my Ad, and the statements on my site:

>Place your order today and have delivered to your door a huge variety of
>gluten-free, wheat-free, soy-free, egg-free, vegetarian and dairy/casein-
>free items from many outstanding companies

The Gluten-Free Mall currently has over 600 products, all of which are
considered gluten-free by one group or another. It is true that Tritamyl
Bread Mix a.k.a Odlums Bread Mix does contain Codex Alimentarius quality
wheat starch, and that in Europe many celiac groups and doctors consider
this acceptable in the celiac diet. It is also the only product at The
Gluten-Free Mall which contains a wheat-derivative (and I believe that you
already knew this Don).  For those on the List who do not know that wheat
starch is, it is wheat flour which has been specially processed to remove
its gluten.  Odlums mill in Ireland offers the highest quality of wheat
starch available, and makes it specifically for celiacs.

As you may also know, The Gluten-Free Mall also sells products which
contain quinoa and buckwheat, and other controversial grains. From your
previous posts regarding the CSA it seems that you whole-heartily support
our position regarding these ingredients, however, I am also occasionally
forced by members of the CSA to defend the fact that we sell products which
contain these ingredients as well as the Odlums Bread Mix.

The bottom line is that we are a commercial site that has no interest in
settling the dispute between the world's celiac organizations concerning
what is safe for celiacs and what is not. People from all over the world
shop at our site, and we are interested in allowing them to make their own
choices about what they want to include in their diet, and this means
offering quinoa and buckwheat to people who do not follow the CSA, and
Codex Alimentarius quality wheat starch for people from Europe (or for
people who would otherwise cheat on their diets for lack of a "real tasting
bread"), etc.

The position that we take regarding the ingredients that we allow at The
Gluten-Free Mall is clearly stated in both our FAQ and in our Disclaimer
(i.e., we are not trying to deceive anyone). According to The Gluten-Free
Mall's rules, ingredients for all products on our site are clearly listed
on each product's page so that anything considered unsafe by any person or
group, including members of the CSA, GIG, CDF, etc., can easily avoid an
ingredient that they do not want to eat.

Last, this is actually our best selling single product. Most of our
business for this product goes to European and Irish celiacs in the USA. I
am happy to offer them a product that they cannot find anywhere else in the
USA, and one that they seem to like so much. The following statement has no
basis in science, but I also ate this bread mix every day for two weeks
with no ill effects, before deciding to allow it on our site. I am a very
sensitive celiac and react to even the smallest amount of gluten. Out of
the hundreds of orders we have had for this product we have had only one
complaint, and it was not clear in that instance if it was the offending
ingredient.

Thanks for your concern about this product Don, but I believe that it is
not dangerous to celiacs, and that people who do not want to include wheat
starch in their diets will not order it.

Scott Adams

The Gluten-Free Mall(TM)
Your Special Diet Superstore!(TM)
http://www.glutenfreemall.com/