<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
 
>Health Valley makes several flavors of a product they call Crisp Rice Bars,
>which they label as gluten free. According to their product rep, with whom
>I talked today, the bars are not made on a dedicated line, but the
>equipment is cleaned thoroughly before a run of the GF bars, and no
>gluten-containing products are made in the same room at that time. The rep
>also said that, according to their supplier, the rice syrup in the product
>is made without malt enzymes and is GF.
 
This goes back about 3 years ago when I was one of the people that forced
the company to remove the GF label from a product that obtained considerable
cross contamination.  At that time, one of the company's VPs stated that the
GF market was very small and that instead of changing production, they would
change the label and issue a very nebulous statement about GF.  Something to
the effect "contact your doctor".  Of course they know what is included in
the product.  The product was dropped, most likley due to poor sales, within
the next year.
 
Therefore, I added the company to an informal list of ones that I would never
trust in regard to ingredient information.  We each must determine the
validity of information that is reported to us by companies.  Honest
mistakes I overlook and try to correct but some companies just do not
understand what GF means to a celiac.  That is why I ignore their GF list.
Before anyone asks, I have lost contact with many of the companies in the
last year, so I would prefer to not state which companies I avoid now.
Some of those are changing and I should investigate them again when time
permits.
 
It appears that the company is now taking celiacs serious and is attempting
to correct the mistakes from that incidence.  I only started doing followup
within the last few months and I no longer have any reservations about the
company.  Therefore, I would feel safe in eating the product.
 
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Michael Jones ([log in to unmask]) Orlando, FL USA