<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
 
Dear Sarah,
 
Regarding your question about annatto coloring's safe
status, my understanding of annatto coloring is that
the annatto extract itself does not contain any
gluten by nature, but may very well be processed
with ethyl alcohol and may also contain caramel
coloring as well.  This does not have to be
declared by the manufacturer and if it contains
these additives, it will definately have some
level of gluten in it.
 
The source of this info is a Web page:
 
http://www.hooked.net/users/sadams/forbiden.html
 
Good luck.
 
Steve Veach in Chicago, Illinois USA